CUBA: EU’s top diplomat in Havana

Main Briefing

CUBA: EU’s top diplomat in Havana

On 25 May the High Representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell kicked off a three-day visit to Cuba – his first official visit there in his current post.... Read More

Andean

PERU: López Obrador declared persona non grata

On 25 May Peru’s congress voted to declare Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador persona non grata, in relation to his repeated questioning of President Dina Boluarte’s legitimacy and his criticism of her response to anti-government protests.... Read More

In brief: Ecuador’s Petroecuador rattled by Yasuní drilling referendum

* The CEO of Ecuador’s state oil company Petroecuador, Ramón Correa, has said that a referendum on whether to ban oil drilling in the Yasuní national park could cost the state US$16.47bn in lost earnings over the next 20 years.... Read More

Brazil

BRAZIL: Congress begins inquiry into 8 January riots

On 25 May Brazil’s congress held the first session of a joint select committee inquiry (CPMI) to investigate the events of 8 January, when supporters of the right-wing former president Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2023) stormed government buildings in Brasília.... Read More

In brief: Tax breaks aim to boost Brazil’s car industry

* Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has unveiled a series of measures aimed at making cars more affordable and stimulating growth for vehicle manufacturers, including a reduction in federal taxes for carmakers.... Read More

Central America & Caribbean

In brief: Nicaragua claims progress in FTA talks with China

* Nicaragua’s minister for development, business, and industry (Mific), Jesús Bermúdez, has said that an early harvest deal with mainland China, part of a free trade deal (FTA) which the two countries are currently negotiating, has entered effect.... Read More

Mexico

MEXICO: López Obrador appeals to US Hispanics to shun DeSantis

On 25 May Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador urged Hispanic voters in the US not to support Ron DeSantis, the Republican governor of Florida, who had, a day earlier, announced his intention to run for the US presidency in 2024, on an anti-immigration platform.... Read More

In brief: Slim’s corporation gains access to Mexico’s Zama oilfield

* Talos Energy, the US oil and gas firm that discovered the Zama oilfield in the Gulf of Mexico, has announced that it has sold a 49.9% stake in the company’s Mexican subsidiary, Talos Mexico, to Grupo Carso, the conglomerate owned by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim.... Read More

Southern Cone

LatinNews Daily - 26 May 2023