LatinNews Daily - 12 July 2023

* Guatemala’s presidential spokesperson Kevin López Oliva has announced the resignations of the country’s economy minister and private secretary to the presidency, Janio Rosales Alegría, and minister of energy & mining (MEM), Alberto Pimentel. López said that both resignations were for “personal reasons”, without providing further details. Pimentel had been in the post since the government led by President Alejandro Giammattei took office in January 2020. Rosales took over the role of economy minister, in addition to his existing role as private secretary to the president in March 2022, when he was named to replace Antonio Malouf. A report by Guatemala’s state news agency Agencia Guatemalteca de Noticias (AGN) cites as Rosales’ main achievements as, among other things, strengthening economic relations with the US through ‘nearshoring’, strengthening the digital economy, attracting investment and promotion of the Sello Blanco ‘White Seal’ programme – a government programme which seeks to promote and highlight high-quality products in international markets. The government’s economic policy has been praised by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which in an April report highlighted low fiscal deficits, low debt-to-GDP ratio, a stable currency, and large international reserves. Yet the government has failed to address inequality and poverty which the World Bank estimates will affect 55.2% of the population in 2023.

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