Weekly Report - 04 May 2023 (WR-23-18)

Paraguay’s elections on 30 April could scarcely have gone any better for the ruling Asociación Nacional Republicana-Partido Colorado (ANR-PC).... Read More

Following the collapse of two pillars of his legislative alliance last week, Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro has turned to his left-wing base to pressure congress to approve his reform agenda.... Read More

In a move that could have long-lasting consequences for the Venezuelan oil sector, officials from the US Justice Department revealed on 30 April that the Office of Foreign Assets Control (Ofac) would not block a sale of shares in PDV Holding – the parent company of Citgo, the US subsidiary of Venezuela’s state oil company Petróleos de Venezuela (Pdvsa).... Read More

VENEZUELA | Disappointing start to 2023 for Venezuela’s economy.... Read More

President Alberto Fernández, his economy minister, Sergio Massa, and other top officials flew to Brasília for an emergency meeting with their Brazilian counterparts on 3 May, in an attempt to come up with a bilateral trade financing mechanism that will provide Argentina with some financial relief.... Read More

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed decrees on 28 April which gave legal recognition to six indigenous territories across Brazil, a promise made on the campaign trail last year.... Read More

Brazil’s supreme court (STF) ordered the technology companies Google, Meta (owner of Facebook and Instagram), Spotify, and Brasil Paralelo, on 2 May, to take down any ads, articles, and other content which spread the claims made in an official blog post by Google, entitled ‘The Fake News bill could increase the confusion about what is true or false’, a link to which was shared on the search engine’s Brazil homepage on 1 May.... Read More

BRAZIL | Lula’s nod to workers.... Read More

Mexico’s congress is in recess until 1 September following the closure of the current legislative session on 30 April.... Read More

Mexico’s opposition Va por México coalition has its sights set on the capital.... Read More

MEXICO | Pemex profits fall.... Read More

Honduras’s economic development minister, Pedro Barquero, has become the first senior cabinet member to resign since the leftist Libertad y Refundación (Libre) government led by President Xiomara Castro took office in January 2022.... Read More

Two people were reportedly killed in a gunfight with the security forces near the indigenous village of Pikin Saron on 2 May.... Read More

Panama’s 71-member unicameral assembly last week shelved a proposed asset forfeiture bill (625).... Read More

NICARAGUA | Remittances surge.... Read More

Guatemala’s President Alejandro Giammattei paid a visit to Taiwan where he met President Tsai Ing-wen last week.... Read More

“If death awaits us for defending our rights, let’s die for this cause if necessary.”... Read More