LatinNews Daily - 09 October 2018

Development: On 8 October Venezuela’s attorney general’s office announced that Fernando Albán Salazar, a member of the political opposition, committed suicide at the headquarters of the national intelligence service (Sebin) where he was being held.... Read More

*The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has released a new update on its global economic growth forecasts, which project that Peru’s GDP will increase by 4.1% this year.... Read More

Development: On 8 October, Brazil’s presidential candidate Fernando Haddad of the Partido dos Trabalhadores (PT) said that he will be looking to unite “the country’s democratic forces” behind him.... Read More

*The Brazilian markets surged following the results of the first round of the 7 October presidential election.... Read More

Development: On 8 October the local press reported that some 50 former employees of the Escobal silver mine, one of the largest in the world, have been protesting in Guatemala's capital, Guatemala City, calling for it to resume operations.... Read More

*The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has released its latest global World Economic Outlook (WEO) update which forecasts that Panama is expected to lead economic growth in Central America in 2018, with 4.6% GDP growth forecast, followed by Honduras (3.5%), Costa Rica (3.3%), Guatemala (2.8%), and El Salvador (2.5%).... Read More

Development: On 8 October the incoming government of President-elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced the early cancellation of the public security consultative forums for peace and national reconciliation.... Read More

*Mexico’s state-owned oil company Pemex has announced that operations have resumed in an oil pipeline situated on private land in the municipality of Nanchital, Veracruz state, after it suffered an oil spill last week.... Read More

Development: On 8 October Argentina’s energy minister, Javier Iguacel, defended the government’s decision to increase natural gas tariffs retroactively on the grounds that the devaluation of the national currency had made imports more expensive for energy companies.... Read More

*The European Union (EU) has disbursed €15m (US$17m) to Paraguay’s education & science ministry (MEC) as part of a €46m non-refundable plan to improve the quality of education in Paraguay.... Read More