LatinNews Daily - 09 October 2023

*Guatemalan private sector lobbies and domestic producers in sectors such as dairy as well as export lobbies in neighbouring countries like El Salvador have warned of the impact of the ongoing protests and blockades across Guatemala on the supply of basic foods and fuel. The protests, which began on 2 October, are calling for the resignation of attorney general María Consuelo Porras and her colleagues, and for the 20 August presidential run-off election result, which gave a victory to anti-corruption candidate Bernardo Arévalo, to be respected. For example, Guatemala’s airlines association (AGLA) has issued a statement warning that flights could be affected due to fuel shortages. A statement by Guatemala’s deputy energy & mining (MEM) minister, Luis Ayala, said that MEM was monitoring gas stations, and that while overall there were no fuel supply issues, there were some exceptions in areas in the departments of Totonicapán, Huehuetenango, and Jutiapa. The chamber of milk producers has also issued a statement warning that milk producers in parts of rural Guatemala, responsible for producing 1.5m litres of milk on a daily basis, are being affected by shortages of key supplies as well difficulty in transporting milk. Meanwhile industry bodies in neighbouring countries like El Salvador, such as export lobby Corporación de Exportadores (Coexport) are warning of the impact on intraregional trade. Coexport issued a statement highlighting paralysis in El Salvador’s exports to Guatemala which it notes were worth US$3.38m on a daily basis alone.