LatinNews Daily - 29 October 2021

On 28 October, coca growers in Colombia’s Norte de Santander department released 180 soldiers that they had held captive for two days in protest at the military’s coca eradication operations.... Read More

* Ecuador’s President Guillermo Lasso has resubmitted his government’s tax reform to the national assembly, one month after a first attempt at reform, submitted as part of a double-pronged bill that also included a labour reform, was rejected on technical grounds.... Read More

On 28 October, Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro lashed out at state-controlled oil company Petrobras, saying that it was making too much profit and that the government is considering privatising the energy behemoth.... Read More

* The Instituto Brasileiro de Economia (Ibre) at the Fundação Getúlio Vargas (Ibre/FGV) university and think-tank in Brazil has released the latest figures for both its index of confidence for the services sector (ICS) and index of confidence in commerce (Icom); both show an uptick in October compared with September.... Read More

On 28 October the local press reported that Xiomara Castro, the presidential candidate for opposition alliance ‘Alianza por el Pueblo’, told the head of the Organization of American States (OAS) electoral observation mission (OAS-EOM), Luis Guillermo Solís, that democracy was being threatened by the ruling Partido Nacional (PN).... Read More

* The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) has reported that the Panama Canal closed the 2021 fiscal year (which ran 1 October 2020 to 30 September 2021) with a record 516.7m Panama Canal/Universal Measurement System tonnes (PC/UMSt), up 8.7% on FY2020 and up 10% on FY2019, the last fiscal year before the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic struck..... Read More

On 28 October, Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador brushed off concerns regarding the negative environmental implications of his controversial electricity reform.... Read More

* Mexico’s state-owned oil company Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) has released new figures which show that it registered a net loss of M$77.2bn (US$3.77bn) in the third quarter of 2021, compared with a M$1.4bn profit in the same period in 2020.... Read More

On 28 October Paraguayan opposition deputies claimed that Brazil will force a reduction in the price it pays Paraguay for electricity generated by the jointly owned Itaipú hydroelectric complex.  ... Read More

* Argentina’s central bank (BCRA) has announced that foreign tourists visiting Argentina will be able to open a dual currency savings account giving them access to financial services and electronic means of payment, a measure which seeks to attract foreign currency to the country.... Read More