Weekly Report - 11 June 2020 (WR-20-23)

As we go to press on 11 June a small group of US soldiers is poised to complete two weeks of compulsory quarantine in Colombia ahead of its deployment with a view to enhancing counter-narcotics cooperation between the US and Colombian security forces.... Read More

If last week’s pandemic co-operation pact could be considered a step forward in the road towards a peaceful resolution of Venezuela’s political crisis [WR-20-22], the decision by the supreme court (TSJ) on 5 June to strip the opposition-led national assembly (AN) of responsibility for appointing a new electoral council (CNE) dragged the process two steps back.... Read More

As the legislative process for Ecuador’s ‘humanitarian support law’ and ‘public finances law’ enters its third month, their designation as ‘emergency laws’ has become more than a little ironic.... Read More

The Brazilian government’s website presenting national data on the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic went down for several hours on 6 June.... Read More

The quarantine measures adopted by the government led by President Alberto Fernández to contain the coronavirus (Covid-19) may be limiting the loss of life due to the pandemic in Argentina.... Read More

Chile’s President Sebastián Piñera has conducted his fourth cabinet reshuffle since the start of his current term in 2018.... Read More

BRAZIL | The end of Bolsa Família? “We learnt during this crisis that there are 38m invisible Brazilians who also deserve to be included in the labour market,” Brazil’s Economy Minister Paulo Guedes said on 9 June, after announcing post-pandemic plans to stimulate employment and unify existing social programmes under a new banner named ‘Renda Brasil’.... Read More

Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador denounced a plot on 9 June by opposition parties (including former presidents), business groups, magistrates, and journalists to forge a united front against his government aimed at removing him from power.... Read More

MEXICO | WB loan.... Read More

Preliminary electoral results released this week in Guyana, after a protracted recount, and Suriname reveal that the incumbents were defeated.... Read More

This week Nicaragua’s opposition grouping Coalición Nacional wrote a letter to the United Nations Secretary General António Guterres requesting “urgent measures”, such as the designation of a special envoy to Nicaragua, in response to the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.... Read More

Having begun the process of reopening Panama’s economy, shuttered to stop the spread of coronavirus (Covid-19), President Laurentino Cortizo was recently forced to reintroduce some restrictions in certain parts of the country which overall has the highest number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in Central America (17,233 cases and 403 deaths as of 9 June).... Read More

Prime Minister Timothy Harris and his Team Unity coalition were re-elected in St Kitts & Nevis on 5 June consigning the St Kitts-Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP) to a second straight term in opposition.... Read More

“[The council of state] has a special interest in knowing…the activities [the US Army’s 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade (SFAB)] will be carrying out and their purpose…The political constitution stipulates that in cases of the transiting of foreign troops across national territory…the government should first consult the council of state.” The president of Colombia’s council of state, Álvaro Namén, in a letter addressed to President Iván Duque.... Read More