Weekly Report - 18 January 2024 (WR-24-02)

“Guatemala’s democracy and the will of Guatemalan voters triumphed over corrupt and antidemocratic forces.” This was the response by Brian Nichols, a senior Western Hemisphere official at the US State Department, which appeared to sum up international relief at the inauguration of anti-corruption outsider Bernardo Arévalo as Guatemala’s new president on 14 January.... Read More

Ten days after President Daniel Noboa declared that rampant gang violence had tipped Ecuador into a state of “internal armed conflict”, the country’s dramatic security meltdown had appeared to be stabilising somewhat, with the military deployed around the country and violent uprisings subdued in seven prisons.... Read More

Colombian opposition media and politicians have jumped on allegations of excessive and unnecessary spending by First Lady Verónica Alcocer as well as other members of the entourage of President Gustavo Petro.... Read More

Bolivia’s former president Evo Morales (2006-2019) is pinning his comeback hopes on the country’s overdue judicial elections, which were supposed to take place last year but have been postponed due to legislators’ inability to agree on a shortlist of candidates.... Read More

Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro delivered his annual state-of-the-nation address to the national assembly on 15 January.... Read More

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Ricardo Lewandowski, who sat on the supreme court (STF) from 2006-2023, was confirmed as Brazil’s next minister for justice & public security on 11 January.... Read More

The federal government sent an inter-ministerial working group to Brazil’s south-eastern state of Rio de Janeiro on 16 January.... Read More

BRAZIL | Annual inflation within target.... Read More

Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador is preparing a bumper reform package to present to congress next month.... Read More

The presidential candidacy of federal deputy Jorge Álvarez Máynez of the leftist opposition Movimiento Ciudadano (MC), is facing various challenges.... Read More

MEXICO | Strong economic growth.... Read More

Suriname’s former president Desi Bouterse has gone missing.... Read More

REGION | Tourism.... Read More

Argentina’s President Javier Milei travelled to Davos, Switzerland, for the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) this week.... Read More

“There cannot be democracy without social justice, and social justice cannot prevail without democracy.”... Read More