LatinNews Daily - 19 February 2021

On 18 February thousands of people took to the streets in Guatemala’s capital, Guatemala City, in protests organised by a leading indigenous organisation, Comité de Desarrollo Campesino (Codeca), calling for President Alejandro Giammattei to resign.... Read More

On 18 February Bolivia’s national health council (Conasa) began a 10-day general strike to protest against a new emergency health law approved by the government led by President Luis Arce.... Read More

*Colombia’s official export promotion agency, ProColombia, has reported that the country’s agri-food exports reached US$7.81bn in 2020, up 7% on 2019.... Read More

On 18 February, Brazil’s justice & public security ministry published a ministerial order permitting the deployment of the national guard (FNSP) to the state of Acre for 60 days to help with border control.... Read More

* Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro has announced that the government will temporarily suspend the PIS/Cofins federal tax on diesel, which is set at R$0.35 (US$0.06) per litre, effective for two months from 1 March.... Read More

* Honduras’ central bank (BCH) has released a new report which shows Honduras's foreign debt (public and private) totalled US$10.85bn at the end of 2020, up US$1.33bn on the amount registered at the end of December 2019.... Read More

On 18 February, 100 or so women took to the streets of Chilpancingo, the capital of Mexico’s Guerrero state, to protest the candidacy of Félix Salgado Macedonio, who has been accused of sexual abuse by several women, in the Guerrero gubernatorial election due to be held on 6 June. ... Read More

* Mexico’s economy ministry (SE) has released new figures which show foreign direct investment (FDI) to Mexico totalled US$29bn in 2020, an 11.7% drop on the amount received in 2019.... Read More

On 18 February legislators from Argentina’s main opposition coalition, Juntos por el Cambio (JxC), demanded the immediate suspension of national deputy, Benedicto Vázquez, following reports that he had received a dose of the vaccine against the coronavirus (Covid-19) even though he is not part of the priority section of the population that should be inoculated first under the national vaccination programme. ... Read More

*Chile’s economic prosecutor’s office (FNE) has announced that it has launched an anti-trust investigation into the purchase of local electricity distribution firm CGE by Chinese state-owned electricity company, State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC).... Read More