LatinNews Daily - 17 March 2020

On 16 March both the Chilean and Uruguayan governments announced the closure of their respective borders to foreigners as emergency measures to try to contain the spread of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.... Read More

On 16 March, Ecuador’s President Lenín Moreno declared a national state of emergency in response to the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. ... Read More

* The Colombian peso has traded at Col$4,079/US$1 on 16 March, a new all-time low for the currency.... Read More

On 16 March, several hundred prisoners staged riots and escaped from prisons in the Brazilian state of São Paulo, after authorities suspended visits and exits as part of efforts to limit the spread of coronavirus (Covid-19).... Read More

* 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.... Read More

On 16 March Guyana’s electoral commission (Gecom) announced that it had completed “all the preparatory arrangements” for the start of the national recount of votes from the 2 March general election.... Read More

* The Central American bank for economic integration (BCIE) has announced an US$8m donation for eight Central American countries (Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and the Dominican Republic) to address the spread of the coronavirus (Covid-19).... Read More

On 16 March members of the left-wing opposition Movimiento Ciudadano (MC) bloc in Mexico's federal senate called for the resignation of the deputy health minister, Dr Hugo López-Gatell, after he implied that President Andrés Manuel López Obrador should be under no obligation to comply with the social distancing strategy adopted by the Mexican government to combat the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.... Read More

* Mexico’s influential business sector lobby, Confederación Patronal de la República Mexicana (Coparmex), has issued a statement calling on the federal government led by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to implement better fiscal stimulus measures to address the economic effects of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.... Read More

* The Argentine government has issued a resolution (130/2020) announcing its plans to seek authorisation from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to renegotiate an initial US$30.5bn of its sovereign debt issued under US law.... Read More