LatinNews Regional Monitor: Brazil & Southern Cone - 04 March 2020

In a 3 March press briefing, Word Health Organisation (WHO) Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged all Latin American countries to adopt “comprehensive strategies” to contain the outbreak of coronavirus (Covid-19).... Read More

On 3 March, the legislative assembly in Brazil’s São Paulo state (Alesp) voted in favour of a reform to the state public sector workers’ pensions system, while the riot police clashed with protesting state employees.   ... Read More

* Brazil’s central bank (BCB) has released a statement in which it says it is “carefully monitoring the impacts of the coronavirus outbreak on the Brazilian financial conditions and economy”. The BCB’s monetary policy committee (Copom) is due to meet in a fortnight, and the bank says this period will allow a better assessment of the impact of global economic deceleration due to the Covid-19 outbreak on Brazil’s economy and inflation trajectory, and thus inform the Copom’s monetary policy decisions, notably regarding the benchmark interest rate (Selic), accordingly.... Read More

* Following talks with the Mesa de Enlace farmers’ organisation, Argentina’s ministry of agriculture, livestock and fisheries has informed that the tax on soya exports will be increased by 3 percentage points to 33%.... Read More