LatinNews Daily - 29 April 2020

On 28 April, the Colombian government issued a decree instructing its high commissioner for peace, Miguel Ceballos, to begin talks with four organised armed groups, to evaluate their appetite for a peaceful demobilisation process.... Read More

* Ecuador’s economy & finance minister Richard Martínez has confirmed that state-owned oil company Petroamazonas has requested consent from its private bondholders to defer US$175m of principal repayments until 2021, in order to free up funds for emergency spending in response to the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.... Read More

On 28 April, André Luiz Mendonça was confirmed as Brazil’s new justice & public security minister, while Alexandre Ramagem was appointed as the new head of the federal police (PF).... Read More

* Brazil’s economy ministry has announced that the levels of federal public debt fell by 1.55% in March compared with February, to a total of R$4.215trn (US$767bn), with overall net redemption yields of R$121.99bn.... Read More

On 28 April Nicaragua’s Vice President and First Lady Rosario Murillo announced that the government is going to promote social distancing, as well as the use of face masks, to contain the spread of coronavirus (Covid-19).... Read More

* The Central American institute for fiscal studies (Icefi), a Guatemala-based think-tank, has released its latest 2020 growth projections for Central America (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama), which incorporate the possible impact of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.... Read More

On 28 April federal deputy Porfirio Muñoz Ledo warned that the reforms to the federal budget law proposed by Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador would undermine the separation of powers in the country.... Read More

*Mexico and the European Union (EU) have announced the conclusion of the last outstanding element of the negotiation of their new updated bilateral trade agreement.... Read More

On 28 April Chile’s ‘Mesa Social Covid-19’, a working group of government authorities, mayors, researchers and academics focused on the response to the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, urged Chileans to respect social distancing and quarantine measures to avoid contagions, following a number of public demonstrations.... Read More

*Argentina’s national statistics institute (Indec) has released the latest figures for its monthly indicator of economic activity (Emae) which show a 2.2% fall in February 2020 compared with February 2019.... Read More