LatinNews Daily - 22 January 2019

Development: On 21 January there were impromptu street protests in Venezuela in support of the actions of a group of officers from the Guardia Nacional Bolivariana (GNB) military police who had taken over a military barracks and declared themselves in rebellion against the de facto government led by Nicolás Maduro.... Read More

* A Colombian delegation has arrived at the 2019 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, hoping to promote the image of Colombia as a country in a transformative phase which offers an attractive and safe destination for investment.... Read More

Development: On 21 January, five attacks were recorded in Brazil’s north-eastern state of Ceará against public buildings and vehicles, including a school and a school bus, incidents which are being treated as part of the ongoing violent attacks organised by criminal gangs that have been plaguing the state since the start of the year.... Read More

* The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has released its latest World Economic Outlook Report in which it has slightly increased its 2019 economic growth projections for Brazil, going against the wider trend of an economic slow down in emerging and developing countries.... Read More

Development: On 21 January El Salvador’s presidential spokesperson Roberto Lorenzana blamed a recent rise in violence on one of the country’s two main gangs, Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), citing electoral aims.... Read More

* Costa Rica’s finance ministry has released new figures which show the country’s fiscal deficit closed at 6% of GDP in 2018, down from the 7.2% forecast.... Read More

Development: On 21 January, international press freedom NGO Reporters Without Borders (RSF) called upon Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to carry out a complete overhaul of state provisions for protecting journalists in Mexico.... Read More

* In its most recent World Economic Outlook (WEO) report, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasts 2.1% GDP growth for Mexico in 2019 and 2.2% in 2020.... Read More

Development: On 21 January Argentina's President Mauricio Macri signed a decree of necessity and urgency (DNU) implementing an asset forfeiture law to empower prosecutors to confiscate the assets of people under investigation for serious crimes.... Read More

* Paraguay’s deputy industry & commerce minister, Luis Llamosas, has said that the government is considering imposing “licenses that would regulate the importation of foreign products”, due to the devaluation of the Argentine and Brazilian currencies.... Read More