LatinNews Daily - 20 January 2020

On 17 January the Honduran government led by President Juan Orlando Hernández announced that it had failed to reach an agreement with the Organization of American States (OAS) to renew the mandate of the OAS-sponsored Mission to Support the Fight against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras (Maccih).... Read More

On 19 January, Bolivia’s former economy minister Luis Arce (2006-2019) was named as the Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS) presidential candidate for the May general election, with former foreign minister David Choquehuanca (2006-2017) chosen as vice-presidential candidate.... Read More

* Ecuador’s central bank (BCE) has revealed that the 11 days of protests between 3-13 October 2019 cost the economy an estimated US$821m, and contributed to a 0.08% contraction of the country’s GDP in 2019.... Read More

On 17 January, Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro sacked Roberto Alvim as the government’s secretary of culture after he appeared to reference Nazi propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels in a video broadcast online the previous day.... Read More

* Brazil’s secretary-general to the presidency, Jorge de Oliveira Francisco, has announced that President Jair Bolsonaro has sanctioned the 2020 national budget which was approved by congress last December.... Read More

* Cuba’s government has announced the successful conclusion of the first tests by the country’s first biomass electric generation plant, which is located near the Ciro Redondo sugar mill, in Ciro Redondo municipality, Ciego de Ávila province, to synchronise it to the national electricity system.... Read More

On 18 January Mexico’s national migration institute (INM), the country’s migration authority, reported the detention of over 1,000 migrants who attempted to forcefully enter Mexico from Guatemala.... Read More

* The United Nations (UN) Department of Economic and Social Affairs (Desa) has presented its ‘World Economic Situation and Prospects 2020’ report, in which it notes a “sharper-than-expected downturn” in Mexico.... Read More

On 18 January thousands of people dressed in black marched in silence through central Santiago to protest against police repression of long-running social unrest in Chile, and to demand the resignation of President Sebastián Piñera.... Read More

* Argentina’s economy ministry has announced the launch of a bond swap offer for peso-denominated treasury bonds issued under Argentine law (Lecaps) worth Ar$146bn (US$2.4bn) that are due to expire in coming weeks.... Read More

Argentina: On 10 January the Argentine government led by President Alberto Fernández announced the appointment of a new ambassador to the US, and a team to represent Argentina at various international organisations based in Washington DC.... Read More