LatinNews Regional Monitor: Brazil & Southern Cone - 18 October 2018

Development: On 17 October, NGO Amnesty International (AI) expressed its concerns regarding the wave of electoral violence in Brazil in the context of the presidential election, the second round of which is due to take place on 28 October, and urged the Brazilian state to take action to prevent and investigate such incidents.... Read More

* Brazil and Mexico have announced their intention to create a Mexico-Brazil business council, with the aim of bringing together business leaders from both countries, and of reinforcing their trade and economic relations.... Read More

Development: On 17 October Argentina’s finance minister, Nicolás Dujovne, said that the rapid acceleration of the national inflation rate in September was transitory and he insisted that it would now start trending down.... Read More

* A survey conducted by Focus Economics, an economic consultancy firm, found that the consensus view among economists is that Uruguay's GDP will grow by 2.2% this year, down from 2.7% previously.... Read More

Brazil held the first round of its much-anticipated general election this month.... Read More

Brazil’s 2018 general election was seen as a salvation moment – in a mix of naïveté and desperation.... Read More

The first round of Brazil’s general election was held on 7 October, making headlines around the globe due to the highly polarised nature of the presidential race and the massive corruption scandal that has destroyed any lasting trust Brazilians had in their politicians, political parties, and the political system as a whole.... Read More

Whoever wins the run-off presidential election on October 28 will have to tackle the crisis in Brazil’s public finances quickly – or face a rapid deterioration.... Read More

Brazil’s roads are getting worse.... Read More

Uruguay’s political opposition is incorporating new figures to try to wrestle power away from the ruling coalition that has won the last three presidential elections, ahead of the October 2019 general election in which it will be forced to forge alliances.... Read More

For decades, Paraguay has occupied the unenviable position of being one of the world’s more corrupt countries.... Read More

Inefficient spending: On 24 September the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) released a new report on government spending, which found that Argentina has the highest level of inefficient government spending in Latin America.... Read More