LatinNews Regional Monitor: Brazil & Southern Cone - 22 February 2019

On 21 February, Brazil’s presidential spokesperson Otávio do Rêgo Barros said that the government saw no risk of friction with Venezuela, following the country’s de facto president Nicolás Maduro’s decision to close the border, and that Brazil is focusing on delivering humanitarian aid.... Read More

* Brazilian mining giant Vale has reached a preliminary agreement with the local authorities to anticipate emergency payments to the people affected by the dam failure at the Corrego de Feijão mine in Brumadinho, Minas Gerais state, on 25 January.... Read More

On 21 February, President Sebastián Piñera rejected criticism from the opposition that he had politicised Chilean foreign policy by electing to visit the Colombian border city of Cúcuta in person to oversee the stockpiling of humanitarian aid destined for Venezuela.... Read More

* Argentina’s national statistics institute (Indec) has issued a new report which shows that the country’s exports reached US$4.59bn in January, down 4.7% on January 2018, while imports reached US$4.21bn (down 26.5% on January 2018).... Read More

President Jair Bolsonaro’s first 50 days in office have been far from plain sailing.... Read More

Argentina’s security minister Patricia Bullrich and justice and human rights minister Germán Garavano unveiled plans on 19 February to reduce the age of criminal responsibility from 16 to 15, part of a package of tougher law enforcement measures.... Read More

URUGUAY | Tax take up.... Read More