LatinNews Daily - 24 May 2018

Development: On 23 May the bishops from Nicaragua’s catholic episcopal conference (CEN) announced the “indefinite suspension” of the national dialogue which it is mediating between the government led by President Daniel Ortega and the opposition Alianza Cívica por la Justicia y la Democracia which includes students, civil-society groups, and the private sector.... Read More

Development: On 23 May Germán Vargas Lleras, the independent centre-right candidate in Colombia’s 27 May first-round presidential election, called on the Colombian authorities to prevent money coming from Venezuela from being used to influence the election.... Read More

Peru: The energy & mining ministry has repealed five decrees awarding oil exploration and exploitation concessions on five offshore blocks to multinational firm Tullow Oil.... Read More

Development: On 23 May, Brazil’s state-owned oil company Petrobras agreed to lower diesel prices by 10% after three days of strikes from lorry drivers protesting over fuel prices.... Read More

*The former governor of Brazil's Minas Gerais state, Eduardo Azeredo (1995-1999), has become the first member of the centre-right Partido da Democracia Brasileira (PSDB) party to be convicted as part of the vote-buying 'mensalão' scheme.... Read More

Central America... Read More

Development: On 23 May local NGO Acción Ciudadana Frente a la Pobreza reported that it has detected instances of vote-buying and coercion in at least 25 of Mexico’s states ahead of the 1 July general election.... Read More

*Mexican dairy company Grupo Lala has announced the temporary closure of its distribution centre in Ciudad Mante, a city in the north-eastern border state of Tamaulipas, citing the “lack of security conditions to maintain its functioning”.... Read More

Development: On 23 May, teachers from various parts of Argentina gathered in the capital, Buenos Aires, for the last stage of the so-called ‘federal march’ demonstration.... Read More

Argentina: Argentina’s national statistics institute (Indec) has released new figures which show that Argentina’s exports reached US$5.16bn in April, while imports reached US$6.10bn, leaving a trade deficit of US$938m.... Read More