LatinNews Regional Monitor: Brazil & Southern Cone - 31 January 2020

Argentina’s President Alberto Fernández embarked on his first foreign trip this week in which he sought support for his government’s attempts to renegotiate the country’s debt with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).... Read More

A recent public opinion poll has revealed that, for many Brazilians, President Jair Bolsonaro and his government are not performing as poorly as recent mainstream news coverage would suggest.... Read More

With the first round due on 4 October, Brazil’s municipal elections are now just under nine months away.... Read More

International scrutiny of the government led by President Sebastián Piñera has intensified this week following the arrival of an observer mission from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).... Read More

On 30 January, the public prosecutor’s office in Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro state (MPRJ) arrested 33 people, including 11 current or former police officers, as part of an operation against the ‘milícia’ paramilitary vigilante groups which operate in some of the state’s disadvantaged neighbourhoods. ... Read More

* Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro has announced that the federal government will release R$892m (US$210m) in emergency credit for the country’s three south-eastern states which have been affected by heavy rains over the past week – Minas Gerais, Espírito Santo, and Rio de Janeiro.... Read More

Violent clashes broke out between protesters and the police in the Chilean capital Santiago on 29 and 30 January, after a football fan was killed by a police van, leading to a further death and over 100 arrests. Analysis:... Read More

* Argentina’s central bank (BCRA) has lowered its benchmark interest rate, the Leliq, from 50% to 48%.... Read More