LatinNews Daily - 20 July 2021

On 19 July the far-left Perú Libre candidate Pedro Castillo was proclaimed president-elect by Peru’s national electoral court (JNE), with his challenger from the right-wing Fuerza Popular, Keiko Fujimori, vowing to recognise the results of the disputed 6 June run-off election.... Read More

* Colombia’s national statistics department (Dane) has published new figures which show the country's trade deficit reached U$1.011bn in May up from US$491.3m in May 2020.... Read More

On 19 July, Brazil registered 15,271 new cases of coronavirus (Covid-19), the smallest figure since November 2020, and 541 new deaths from the virus, the lowest number since February, according to health ministry figures.... Read More

* Brazil’s central bank (BCB) has released its latest Focus bulletin, a weekly survey of economists and market analysts, in which inflation is now forecast to close the year at 6.31%, up from expectations of 6.11% a week earlier.... Read More

On 19 July Haiti’s interim prime minister Claude Joseph confirmed he would step aside and cede power to Ariel Henry, who President Jovenel Moïse had named as PM days prior to his assassination.... Read More

* Panama’s national statistics institute (Inec) has released new figures which show Panama’s GDP contracted 8.5% in the first quarter of 2021 compared with the same period in 2020 as a result of the impact of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.... Read More

On 19 June the financial intelligence unit (UIF) of Mexico’s finance ministry announced that it would appeal a decision by the attorney general’s office (FGR) to drop a corruption investigation into the president of the federal electoral tribunal (TEPJF), José Luis Vargas.... Read More

* Mexico’s agriculture ministry has presented new figures which show Mexico’s agri-food trade balance presented a US$4.23bn surplus between January and May 2021 – the fourth largest surplus for the sector in 27 years.... Read More

On 19 July, Paraguay’s comptroller general’s office (CGR) unveiled its findings from an audit of the debt of Itaipú Binacional, the binational company that manages the eponymous hydroelectric dam on the Brazil-Paraguay border, which shows that the 1973 treaty establishing the terms for the functioning of the Itaipú dam was knowingly violated. ... Read More

* The index for the Santiago stock exchange (IPSA) in Chile has increased by 1.9%, bucking the trend which saw most Latin America-listed stocks fall yesterday (19 July).... Read More