LatinNews Regional Monitor: Brazil & Southern Cone - 29 April 2020

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 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

As they buckle under the combined effects of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, the gathering global economic recession, and a slump in commodity prices, Latin American countries are all scrambling to launch countercyclical fiscal measures.... Read More

There is a long-standing narrative that Argentina will be saved from its economic travails by the development of the ‘Vaca Muerta’ (‘dead cow’) shale oil and gas fields in Patagonia.... Read More

Abruptly falling energy demand, record low international oil and gas prices, and pandemic-related financial turbulence are all delivering a serious blow to Brazil’s hydrocarbons sector.... Read More

URUGUAY| Government sets up ‘coronavirus fund’.... Read More