Weekly Report - 10 November 2022 (WR-22-45)

“This is the first time in our country’s history that the public voted thinking of their families’ well-being and not of political parties…convinced that there is no other course than that of voting for the Frente Sandinista.” This was President Daniel Ortega’s response to the 6 November municipal elections in Nicaragua which produced a clean sweep for his party, taking all 153 municipalities, up from 135 in the previous 2017 election.... Read More

Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro is tantalisingly close to having safely steered the first of his big policy objectives through congress.... Read More

Three Ecuadorean provinces are under strict emergency measures following a wave of seemingly coordinated violence on 1 November.... Read More

Having suffered a string of setbacks over the past week, including a damaging defeat in the supreme court, large anti-government protests, and the expansion of a corruption investigation, President Pedro Castillo turned to a drastic measure in an effort to regain the initiative.... Read More

Summarising his government’s achievements as he marked his first two years in power on 8 November, Bolivia’s President Luis Arce made no mention of the severe civil unrest that has gripped the eastern department of Santa Cruz since 22 October [WR-22-42].... Read More

President Gabriel Boric’s ruling coalition clung on to the leadership of the lower chamber of congress on 7 November after an emboldened opposition sought to seize control of the presidency of the body, which would have been a significant setback for his government’s efforts to advance its stalled legislative agenda.... Read More

It was mission accomplished for Uruguay’s President Luis Alberto Lacalle Pou when he visited Japan at the tail end of October, accompanied by senior cabinet ministers to mark the centenary of bilateral relations.... Read More

With political tensions still high in Brazil, after one of the most polarised elections in the country’s recent history, president-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, of the leftist Partido dos Trabalhadores (PT), is rushing to make arrangements to ensure the sustainability of his future government, which will be inaugurated on 1 January.... Read More

ARGENTINA | Massa expands portfolio of exchange rates.... Read More

Civil society groups, academics, business leaders, and opposition politicians are among those to confirm their participation in a demonstration taking place in Mexico City (CDMX) on 13 November in defence of Mexico’s national electoral institute (INE).... Read More

Authorities in Mexico City (CDMX) are at loggerheads with the attorney general’s office (FGE) in neighbouring Morelos state.... Read More

In recent weeks Costa Rica’s President Rodrigo Chaves has repeatedly urged the opposition-controlled 57-member legislature to approve the issuance of US$6bn in Eurobonds, designed to finance the country’s external debt.... Read More

Argentina’s Vice President Cristina Fernández made her long-awaited return to the political stage on 4 November after two months out of the public eye.... Read More

“They know that this vote is a vote for peace.... Read More