LatinNews Daily - 09 July 2021

On 8 July the presidents of Uruguay and Brazil insisted that the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) regional customs union must reform its rules for it to remain as an effective tool that promotes its members’ economic development.... Read More

On 8 July a major police operation was launched in Venezuela's capital, Caracas, after large swathes of the city were engulfed in running gun battles between rival gangs, which have continued for a second day.... Read More

* The United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (Eclac) has released its latest growth forecasts for 2021 which show Peru topping the list of South American countries.... Read More

On 8 July Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro rebuffed a request by the parliamentary commission of inquiry (CPI), set up by the senate to investigate the federal government’s management of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, to clarify the acquisition of supplies of the Covaxin vaccine produced by the Indian pharmaceutical firm Bharat Biotech amid allegations of corruption. Analysis:... Read More

*Brazil’s national statistics institute (Igbe) has published the latest figures for the consumer price index (IPCA), reporting monthly inflation of 0.53% in June – marking a decline from the 25-year high of 0.83% posted the previous month.... Read More

On 8 July Haiti’s national police (PNd’H) chief, Léon Charles, said 15 Colombians and two Haitian-Americans had been detained in relation to the investigation into the assassination of Haiti’s President Jovenel Moïse the previous day.... Read More

* The Central American development bank (BCIE) has signed a US$36m loan with the Honduran government to finance the expansion of the drinking water supply system in Gracias city, Lempira department, which is expected to benefit over 76,000 people.... Read More

On 8 July digital media platform Latinus and journalist Carlos Loret de Mola presented video footage of Martín 'Martinazo' Jesús López Obrador, a brother of Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, receiving wads of cash from David León Romero, a former civil servant.... Read More

* The Mexican and US governments have announced an agreement under the terms of the Mexico-US-Canada Agreement (USMCA) regional trade deal in relation to a dispute over the alleged violation of labour rights at a General Motors plant in Silao, Guanajuato state.... Read More

* The Argentine government has announced that it will supply additional natural gas to Chile to help it overcome its current energy crisis stemming from a shortage of the fuel in Chile.... Read More