LatinNews Daily - 02 September 2021

On 1 September Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador presented a characteristically upbeat annual state-of-the-nation report (Informe) to congress, highlighting his government’s achievements and announcing a constitutional reform of the electricity industry.... Read More

On 1 September, right-wing parties in Peru’s unicameral national congress presented a motion to question Labour Minister Iber Maraví Olarte after uncovered police reports linked him to terrorist attacks in the 1980s.... Read More

* International credit ratings agency Moody’s Investors Service has downgraded Peru’s long-term local and foreign-currency issuer and senior unsecured ratings from ‘A3’ to ‘Baa1’, indicating moderate credit risk.... Read More

On 1 September, Brazil’s national statistics institute (Ibge) released the figures for second quarter growth, which show that the country’s GDP contracted 0.1% in the three months to June. ... Read More

* Brazil’s economy ministry has released the latest figures on trade, which show that the country recorded a US$7.7bn trade surplus in August, a record for that month since the historical series began in 1989.... Read More

On 1 September demonstrators staged protests in El Salvador’s capital San Salvador to protest a new law passed by the government of President Nayib Bukele which implements cryptocurrency bitcoin as legal tender, alongside the US dollar, the country’s official currency.... Read More

* Costa Rica’s finance ministry has unveiled its proposed budget for 2022 for ¢11.5trn (US$18.5bn), up 1.94% on 2021.... Read More

* Private sector economists consulted by Mexico’s central bank (Banxico) have lowered their forecast for Mexico’s GDP growth in 2021 to 5.99%.... Read More

On 1 September, the constitution committee in Chile’s chamber of deputies gave its approval to an initiative allowing Chileans to withdraw 10% of their pension funds for the fourth time since the start of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.... Read More

* Paraguay’s government has presented its 2022 budget proposal for G$92.1trn (US$13.3bn), which finance minister Oscar Llamosas said can be expanded to G$96.1trn if a request is approved to raise the cap on the fiscal deficit from 1.5% of GDP, as stipulated in the fiscal responsibility law (LRF), to 3% of GDP.... Read More