Latin American Economy & Business
Economy & Business - October 2021
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- Uruguay moves on forging an FTA with China
ANDEAN COUNTRIES
- VENEZUELA: Monómeros failings ignite opposition dispute over foreign assets
- ECUADOR: Domestic opposition to planned FTA with China
- COLOMBIA: Industry experts praise new legislation on medicinal cannabis
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
BRAZIL & SOUTHERN CONE
- CHILE: Wind and sun get the green hydrogen bandwagon rolling
- BRAZIL:Mixed outlook for administrative reform
- ARGENTINA: Push and pull over budget
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
CENTRAL AMERICA & CARIBBEAN
- GUATEMALA: Guatemala sees record remittances
- COSTA RICA: Costa Rica places first in foreign direct investment index
- TRINIDAD & TOBAGO: Budgeting for a slow recovery
- CARIBBEAN POINTERS
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
MEXICO & USMCA
- MEXICO: Optimistic budget proposal assumptions are unlikely to materialise
- MEXICO: Seeking US support to expand social programmes in Central America
- MEXICO: Airport uncertainty could undermine efforts to boost tourism
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
On 7 September Uruguay’s President Luis Alberto Lacalle Pou did something he and his immediate predecessors had wanted to do for a long time: he announced a commitment to negotiate a free trade agreement (FTA) with China.
Economy & Business - September 2021
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- Uncertainty reigns over Castillo’s economic direction
ANDEAN COUNTRIES
- ECUADOR: Seeking to quell mining concerns
- VENEZUELA: Digital currency and reconversion unlikely to bring stability
- BOLIVIA: Looking to new avenues for growth
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
BRAZIL & SOUTHERN CONE
- ARGENTINA: Playing the long game with the IMF
- BRAZIL: Will Angra 3 deliver value for money?
- BRAZIL: ‘Political noise’ hits economy
- REGION: Argentina and Brazil in pipeline talks
- PARAGUAY: Top of the class for business?
- URUGUAY: Seeking out the knowledge economy
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
CENTRAL AMERICA & CARIBBEAN
- NICARAGUA: Nicaragua’s gold provides economic lifeline, but trouble may be brewing
- REGION: Increased efforts to help MSMEs deal with pandemic impacts
- REGION: Slow recovery predicted for tourism-dependent economies
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
MEXICO & USMCA
- MEXICO: New state-owned gas distributor unlikely to solve high prices
- MEXICO: Military involvement expands in business activities unrelated to security
- MEXICO: Full recovery to pre-pandemic GDP levels will not be reached this year
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
Peruvian President Pedro Castillo’s naming of radical figures from the far-left Perú Libre party in his new cabinet on 29 July sent jitters across financial markets that were only partially eased by his appointment of the moderate Pedro Francke as finance minister a few days later.
Economy & Business - August 2021
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- MEXICO: Coneval report shows poverty continues to rise in Mexico
ANDEAN COUNTRIES
- COLOMBIA: Government presents revised tax reform bill
- ECUADOR: Lasso brought to the negotiating table over price controls
- PERU: Plan to tackle inadequate and informal housing
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
BRAZIL & SOUTHERN CONE
- BRAZIL: Inflation comes back
- PARAGUAY: Comptroller general calls foul over Itaipú
- ARGENTINA: Business isn’t yet convinced
- CHILE: Raiding pension funds – part four
- REGION: Dialogue of the deaf in Mercosur?
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
CENTRAL AMERICA & CARIBBEAN
- CENTRAL AMERICA: Blackouts show need for upgrades in regional electricity system
- HONDURAS: Opposition to Zedes coalesces
- TRINIDAD & TOBAGO: Trinidad suffers slump in FDI
- THE BAHAMAS: Central bank points to slow recovery
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
MEXICO & USMCA
- MEXICO: Pemex rejects Moody’s downgrade
- MEXICO: Government claims tax reform is unnecessary
- MEXICO: USMCA labour rights arbitration avoided
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
Mexico’s national commission for the evaluation of social policy (Coneval), that federal government body that is responsible for measuring poverty and the effects that social policies have on its incidence, published a new report on 12 July analysing the impact that the government’s social policies adopted to mitigate recent disasters, in particular, the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.
Economy & Business - July 2021
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- EL SALVADOR: El Salvador’s bitcoin adventure raises concerns
ANDEAN COUNTRIES
- REGION: Exporting countries hit hard by fall in FDI
- COLOMBIA: Counting the costs of weeks of protests
- COLOMBIA-VENEZUELA: Border closure drives growth in illicit trade
- ECUADOR: Lasso’s planned tax reform likely to be diluted
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
BRAZIL & SOUTHERN CONE
- BRAZIL: Green light for Eletrobras privatisation
- ARGENTINA: Payments default postponed (again)
- ARGENTINA: Signs of recovery – but will they last?
- PARAGUAY: Back on a growth path
- URUGUAY: Small country, big unicorn
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
CENTRAL AMERICA & CARIBBEAN
- REGION: Development plan aims to improve connections with southern Mexico
- REGION: Mottley renews her call for debt relief, others look for reform
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
- REGION: Mottley renews her call for debt relief, others look for reform
MEXICO & USMCA
- MEXICO: Complaints over labour conditions in Mexico mar USMCA anniversary
- MEXICO: Banxico decision to raise interest rates highlights inflation concerns
- MEXICO: Lithium production remains unlikely despite official efforts to boost it
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
President Nayib Bukele is moving ahead with plans to make the cryptocurrency, bitcoin, legal tender in El Salvador despite concerns at home and abroad.
Economy & Business - June 2021
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- Colombia loses investment grade with S&P
ANDEAN COUNTRIES
- PERU: Pension reform rises up the political agenda
- ECUADOR: Lasso faces political tightrope away from state-led development
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
BRAZIL & SOUTHERN CONE
- CHILE: Uncertainty over constituent assembly
- BRAZIL: Central bank thinks digital currency
- BRAZIL: Bus company takes flight
- URUGUAY: IMF praises policies, but Covid flare-up poses challenges
- REGION: Brazil, Argentina, and Chile are leading the wind power race
- ARGENTINA: Where’s the beef?
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
CENTRAL AMERICA & CARIBBEAN
- CENTRAL AMERICA: Regional leaders emphasise importance of energy transition
- GUATEMALA: Controversial free trade zone reform approved
- THE BAHAMAS: Economic recovery at the mercy of politics
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
MEXICO & USMCA
- MEXICO: Concerns over cost and potential success of refinery purchase
- MEXICO: Markets react positively to new Banxico and SHCP appointees
- MEXICO: Downgrading of air safety rating will complicate airlines’ recovery
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
On 19 May, international credit ratings agency Standard and Poor’s (S&P) announced that it had downgraded Colombia’s credit rating from ‘BBB-’ to ‘BB+’, placing it below investment grade for the first time in over ten years.
Economy & Business - May 2021
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- Brazil’s budget deal is made for breaking
ANDEAN COUNTRIES
- VENEZUELA: Agriculture lobbies warn of consequences of fuel shortages
- ECUADOR: Lasso’s proposed economic agenda likely to face pushback
- COLOMBIA: Committed to reviving the ‘orange economy’
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
BRAZIL & SOUTHERN CONE
- BRAZIL: Cedae auction signals privatisations still on the agenda
- CHILE: IMF sounds an approving note
- PARAGUAY: Omega Green works set to start later this year
- ARGENTINA: Internal tensions over electricity subsidies
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
CENTRAL AMERICA & CARIBBEAN
- CENTRAL AMERICA: Poverty rises due to economic impact of pandemic
- REGION: Coffee farmers in need of assistance despite rising prices
- BELIZE: The honeymoon is over
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
MEXICO & USMCA
- MEXICO: Cautious optimism despite negative GDP figures
- MEXICO: Increased auto production and exports despite input shortages
- MEXICO: Disappointing job recovery marked by precariousness, inequality
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
On 22 April, the deadline for final approval of this year’s federal government budget, Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro appeared to have squared the circle, signing off on a budget bill which preserves a constitutional spending cap while at the same time spreading enough money around to keep the so-called ‘centrão’ group of political parties happy, and on-side with his government.
Economy & Business - April 2021
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- Mexico raises economic growth forecast, but recovery remains slow
ANDEAN COUNTRIES
- ECUADOR: Pandemic deals major blow to poverty reduction progress
- REGION: Pandemic drives surge in e-commerce across the Andean region
- PERU: Peru announces sale of lithium deposits
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
BRAZIL & SOUTHERN CONE
- URUGUAY: There is carbon in those trees
- BRAZIL: The virus is undermining the recovery
- ARGENTINA: Doing the dance with the IMF
- REGION: Mercosur’s unhappy 30th birthday
- CHILE: Pension dispute intensifies
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
CENTRAL AMERICA & CARIBBEAN
- REGION: Caribbean faces long-haul recovery
- EL SALVADOR: Bukele faces financial constraints
- PANAMA: Disquiet at home and abroad over economic outlook
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
MEXICO & USMCA
- MEXICO: Reform of hydrocarbons law will only benefit Pemex
- MEXICO: Agreement over changes to outsourcing will mitigate their impact
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
Mexico’s finance ministry (SHCP) on 31 March updated its economic growth forecast ahead of its 2022 budget proposal.
Economy & Business - March 2021
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- Costa Rica tops regional ranking for e-commerce readiness
ANDEAN COUNTRIES
- ECUADOR: An uphill struggle to increase oil production
- PERU/COLOMBIA: Cautious hopes for economic recovery
- BOLIVIA: Government announces discovery of major new gas well
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
BRAZIL & SOUTHERN CONE
- BRAZIL: Bolsonaro moves Petrobras goalposts
- CHILE: Economic recovery in sight?
- ARGENTINA: Time to improve the Hidrovía
- URUGUAY: Slight hitch on the road to recovery?
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
CENTRAL AMERICA & CARIBBEAN
- GUATEMALA: Seeking to boost exports and FDI
- JAMAICA : Sets course for recovery
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
MEXICO & USMCA
- MEXICO: Arbitration request points to worsening of investment conditions
- MEXICO: Social policy programmes fail to mitigate increase in poverty
- MEXICO: Audit report shows widespread irregularities in public accounts
- MEXICO: Pemex’s 2020 results point to worsening situation
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) has ranked Costa Rica first in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) for preparedness to support online shopping.
Economy & Business - February 2021
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- Ecuador’s mining industry at a crossroads
ANDEAN COUNTRIES
- VENEZUELA: Maduro eyes digital economy in response to hyperinflation
- PERU: Wind power reaches the sierra
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
BRAZIL & SOUTHERN CONE
- BRAZIL: Looking for a rare earth revolution
- BRAZIL: Stop dancing in the streets
- ARGENTINA: YPF faces financial squeeze
- ARGENTINA: ‘Wealth tax’ comes into force
- PARAGUAY: The call of the Peoples’ Republic
- CHILE: Moving beyond fossil fuel
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
CENTRAL AMERICA & CARIBBEAN
- REGION: Campaigns target visitors following dire year for tourism
- COSTA RICA: Alvarado pins hopes on IMF deal
- THE BAHAMAS: Mixed feelings over oil search failure
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
MEXICO & USMCA
- MEXICO: Growth forecast will not offset 2020 contraction
- MEXICO: Electricity reform plans deepen investors’ concerns
- MEXICO: Alternative plan may avoid Banxico reform
- MEXICO: Semiconductors shortage undermines auto production
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
Ecuador’s mining sector grew substantially in 2020, albeit from a low base, as large-scale mining production accelerated rapidly after being launched in late 2019.
Economy & Business - January 2021
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- Argentina’s policy zig-zags cloud investor outlook for 2021
ANDEAN COUNTRIES
- ECUADOR: Progress made in US trade talks
- PERU: Agrarian law stirs controversy
- COLOMBIA: Cerrejón cuts a deal with striking miners
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
BRAZIL & SOUTHERN CONE
- BRAZIL: The vaccine is not an economic silver bullet
- URUGUAY: No longer the pandemic poster boy
- REGION: A six-month window for a Mercosur-EU deal?
- CHILE: Finance minister blasts SQM
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
CENTRAL AMERICA & CARIBBEAN
- REGION: Struggles to rebuild after Hurricanes Eta and Iota
- REGION: Multinational telecoms firms drive FDI
- TRINIDAD & TOBAGO: Pressure on central bank to help recovery
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
MEXICO & USMCA
- MEXICO: Pension reform welcome but concerns remain
- MEXICO: More Chinese involvement in railway projects
- MEXICO: Mexican airlines at risk of collapse
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
The Argentine government led by President Alberto Fernández completed the first of its four years in office on 10 December 2020.