LatinNews Daily - 17 March 2020

* Brazil’s Economy Minister Paulo Guedes has announced emergency measures aimed at mitigating the impact of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic on the economy, and protecting the most vulnerable. The government will inject R$147.3bn (US$29.46bn) into the economy over the next three months, of which R$83.4bn will be destined to making funds available to the country’s elderly population, while almost R$60bn will go towards maintaining jobs, notably by delaying employers’ payment of social security charges, and at least R$4.5bn will go directly towards supporting the public health system in its efforts to fight the pandemic. Guedes noted that these public resources come from the reallocations and anticipation of planned expenses and from credit lines, and do not affect the budget’s fiscal space. His announcement came as the real continued to devaluate against the US dollar, closing the day at R$5.05/US$1 yesterday (16 March), a new record low.

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