Latin American Economy & Business
Economy & Business - November 2020
Click here for full report
- Mexico continues to discriminate against private energy firms
ANDEAN COUNTRIES
- BOLIVIA: The future of lithium
- ECUADOR: Local referendum threatens mining industry
- VENEZUELA: Battle over state assets continues
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
BRAZIL & SOUTHERN CONE
- ARGENTINA: Rising pressure for devaluation
- CHILE: Developing a green hydrogen strategy
- URUGUAY: Not this summer?
- BRAZIL: Start-ups rise up amid the pandemic storm
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
CENTRAL AMERICA & CARIBBEAN
- GUYANA: Counting its money and its luck
- COSTA RICA: Fiscal problems worsen
- GUATEMALA: Economy shows unexpected signs of life
- HONDURAS: Underemployment is driving migration to US
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
MEXICO
- MEXICO: Elimination of trust funds increases centralisation
- MEXICO: Gov’t complains about low levels of bank lending
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
Mexico’s energy regulatory commission (CRE) announced on 13 October that its board would centralise the issuing of permits.
Economy & Business - October 2020
Click here for full report
- REGION: US aims to counter China with ‘América Crece’
ANDEAN COUNTRIES
- PERU: Mining sector at the heart of economic revival efforts
- ECUADOR: State oil apparatus braces for austerity
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
BRAZIL & SOUTHERN CONE
- REGION: Amazon fires put EU–Mercosur trade agreement at risk
- BRAZIL: Farmers save the day
- ARGENTINA: Should I stay or should I go?
- CHILE: No go for Pascua Lama gold project
- CHILE: Doorstep delivery, please
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
CENTRAL AMERICA & CARIBBEAN
- NICARAGUA: Unorthodox approach to coronavirus can’t save economy
- REGION: Pandemic accelerates growth in ecommerce
- TRINIDAD & TOBAGO: Trinidad looks to the future
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
MEXICO
- MEXICO: Draft 2021 budget maintains austerity
- MEXICO: Flagship infrastructure projects face rising costs
- MEXICO: Raffle does not solve presidential plane dilemma
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
Despite its relatively low profile following an official launch in December 2019, US-backed regional infrastructure investment plan ‘América Crece’ (‘Growth in the Americas’) has gained considerable momentum in recent months.
Economy & Business - September 2020
Click here for full report
- BRAZIL: Salvation by Selic?
ANDEAN COUNTRIES
- ECUADOR: Gov’t strikes new IMF credit agreement
- COLOMBIA: Hidroituango dam project gets new board of directors
- VENEZUELA: DirecTV back on screens
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
BRAZIL & SOUTHERN CONE
- URUGUAY: Changing the paradigm (but gradually)
- ARGENTINA: Direction of post-debt rescheduling policy still unclear
- REGION: MercadoLibre surges to number one
- BRAZIL: Delta helps Gol repay loan
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
CENTRAL AMERICA & CARIBBEAN
- CENTRAL AMERICA: Four Central American nations buck negative regional trade trend
- PANAMA: Labour reform sparks trade union uproar
- BARBADOS: IMF emphasises importance of sticking to reforms
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
MEXICO
- MEXICO: Gov’t agrees to consider amending fiscal pact
- MEXICO: Domestic trade recovers but remains below pre-pandemic levels
- MEXICO: UNDP highlights need to support businesses to mitigate income poverty
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
Amid the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic and a global economic recession, the Brazilian economy is having a hard time, with GDP contracting by 9.7% quarter-on-quarter in the second quarter.
Economy & Business - August 2020
Click here for full report
- Worrying times for agriculture in Central America
ANDEAN COUNTRIES
- REGION: Pandemic stems flow of remittances
- ECUADOR: Government seals debt restructuring deal
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
BRAZIL & SOUTHERN CONE
- ARGENTINA: Bond deal done, more restructuring required
- URUGUAY: Lacalle Pou seeks to attract foreign residents
- CHILE: Will they go for more?
- BRAZIL: Could green jobs be the answer?
- BRAZIL: Huawei decision still casting a shadow over relations with the US
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
CENTRAL AMERICA & CARIBBEAN
- REGION: Finding a way forward for the Caribbean
- DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Abinader faces economic storm after winning election
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
MEXICO
- MEXICO: Confidence returning to construction sector despite major contraction
- MEXICO: Pension reform likely to be approved with widespread support
- MEXICO: Decreasing household income leads to increase in poverty
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
On 2 July Guatemala announced that it had started the process of leaving the International Coffee Organisation (ICO), the London-based body that drives cooperation between almost 50 coffee-producing countries, amid concern for regional agriculture.
Economy & Business - July 2020
Click here for full report
- Canadian mining interests face coronavirus criticism
ANDEAN COUNTRIES
- PERU: Pandemic threatens to devastate economy
- ECUADOR: Pensions reform looms as social security deficit worsens
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
BRAZIL & SOUTHERN CONE
- BRAZIL: The emergency income – an accidental success?
- BRAZIL: The fires are burning again
- PARAGUAY: Lockdown difficulties across the border with Brazil
- URUGUAY: Good start for Lacalle Pou
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
CENTRAL AMERICA & CARIBBEAN
- CARIBBEAN: Covid-19 inflicts unprecedented damage
- CENTRAL AMERICA: Northern Triangle remittance inflows suffer sharp fall
- CENTRAL AMERICA: Costa Rica border restrictions throw regional trade into doubt
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
MEXICO
- MEXICO: USMCA benefits are only likely to materialise in the medium term
- MEXICO: Growing concern over public debt levels
- MEXICO: Economic effects of the pandemic will undermine investment
- MEXICO: Anti-corporate tax evasion drive compounds challenges for businesses
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
Restrictions imposed in response to the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic may have slowed mining activity in the Andean region, but even these scaled-back operations have faced continued criticism for overlooking concerns about the health of workers, and for using the pandemic to push for a loosening of environmental controls.
Economy & Business - June 2020
Click here for full report
- Airlines try to fly out of trouble
ANDEAN COUNTRIES
- ECUADOR: Government seeks to shore up future finances
- VENEZUELA: Oil sector seeks reform to survive
- BOLIVIA: GMO decree ignites war of words
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
BRAZIL & SOUTHERN CONE
- CHILE: Copper: a manageable problem in 2020?
- ARGENTINA: Are we there yet?
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
CENTRAL AMERICA & CARIBBEAN
- CENTRAL AMERICA: Fiscal pressures intensify due to coronavirus pandemic
- CARIBBEAN: Feeling for a way forward
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
MEXICO
- MEXICO: Electricity market regulation changes spark confrontation
- MEXICO: Aviation industry wounded
- MEXICO: Auto industry back on the road to recovery
- MEXICO: Unemployment data continues to deteriorate
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
The coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, and resultant quarantine measures and travel bans, has hit Latin America’s airlines particularly hard.
Economy & Business - May 2020
Click here for full report
- China’s ‘face mask diplomacy’ tests geopolitical ties
ANDEAN COUNTRIES
- ECUADOR: Triple emergency drives debate on debt restructuring
- PERU: Indigenous groups call for clean-up of extractive industries
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
BRAZIL & SOUTHERN CONE
- REGION: Argentina does a U-turn on Mercosur
- PARAGUAY: Down but not out
- URUGUAY: Looking for long weekends
- BRAZIL: Who is in charge?
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
CENTRAL AMERICA & CARIBBEAN
- CENTRAL AMERICA: Tourism industry lobbies for gov’t support
- CENTRAL AMERICA: Palm oil industry seeks to turn a page
- CARIBBEAN: Unprecedented pressure on Caribbean economies
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
MEXICO
- MEXICO: Trying to adjust to oil price crash
- MEXICO: Credit ratings downgrades
- MEXICO: Banxico takes differing approach
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
Amid ‘China virus’ jibes emanating from the US and from Brazilian congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro, the Chinese government has busily supplied stressed Latin American health systems with unprecedented medical aid.
Economy & Business - April 2020
Click here for full report
- Fiscal austerity out the window – for now
ANDEAN COUNTRIES
- VENEZUELA: The continued importance of trade with China
- BOLIVIA: Future of state-owned companies up for debate
- ECUADOR: Tricky path to a US trade agreement
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
BRAZIL & SOUTHERN CONE
- ARGENTINA: A dead cow, not a golden goose
- BRAZIL: Petrobras better placed to navigate the slump?
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
CENTRAL AMERICA & CARIBBEAN
- CENTRAL AMERICA: Coronavirus highlights need to reform labour markets
- CARIBBEAN: Paradise lost
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
MEXICO
- MEXICO: Limited measures to mitigate Covid-19 economic impact
- MEXICO: Infrastructure investments
- MEXICO: Beer plant cancellation
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
As they buckle under the combined effects of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, the gathering global economic recession, and a slump in commodity prices, Latin American countries are all scrambling to launch countercyclical fiscal measures.
Economy & Business - March 2020
Click here for full report
- Coronavirus poses risks to Mexico’s economy
ANDEAN COUNTRIES
- REGION: Facing major challenges to meet clean palm oil targets
- COLOMBIA: Technological innovation and transport: the trials of Uber in Colombia
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
BRAZIL & SOUTHERN CONE
- CHILE: Under the cosh
- URUGUAY: Arbeleche’s balancing act
- BRAZIL: A green hole in Petrobras strategy?
- BRAZIL: The expansion of Pentecostalism: an economic matter?
- REGION: A busy year in energy-related M&A
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
CENTRAL AMERICA & CARIBBEAN
- CENTRAL AMERICA: Wrangling threatens much needed energy investment
- CARIBBEAN: Seeking to address the brain drain
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
MEXICO
- MEXICO: A worrying time for Pemex
- MEXICO: Changes under way in the telecoms sector
- ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
The Mexican economy, like many others, is exposed to the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.
Economy & Business - February 2020
Click here for full report
- The new face of China's chequebook diplomacy in Central America
Andean Countries
- VENEZUELA: Struggling to address the electricity crisis
- ECUADOR: Tax reform a much-needed victory for the government
- BOLIVIA: Economy faces ongoing challenges in 2020
- Economic Highlights
Brazil & Southern Cone
- BRAZIL: Riding the dragon
- BRAZIL: The Brazil-Mexico trade option
- ARGENTINA: Beware the ides of March
- PARAGUAY: Fly me to Asunción
- Economic Highlights
Central America & Caribbean
- REGION: IMF urges Caricom to renew integration efforts
- REGION: Guyana’s oil surge distorts regional outlook
- Economic Highlights
Mexico
- MEXICO: GDP data confirms economic recession in 2019
- MEXICO: Interest rates fall to three year low
- MEXICO: Energy policy in the spotlight
- Economic Highlights
On his 1-6 December 2019 visit to China, El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele announced the latest infrastructure investment from the country’s new Asian benefactor would be “gigantic” and “non-refundable”.
Economy & Business - January 2020
Click here for full report
- Does poverty drive protest?
ANDEAN COUNTRIES
- ECUADOR: The costs of protest: Ecuador digs itself into a deeper economic hole
- COLOMBIA: Chinese companies win Bogotá Metro contract
- Economic Highlights
BRAZIL & SOUTHERN CONE
- ARGENTINA: Alberto Fernández gets off to a reasonably good start
- ARGENTINA: Can a dead cow save the country?
- URUGUAY: IMF sends message to Lacalle Pou team
- CHILE: Broken retail faces adjustments
- Economic Highlights
CENTRAL AMERICA & CARIBBEAN
- REGION: Ambitious plans for Central American integration
- GUATEMALA: Giammattei faces a raft of issues as Guatemala’s new president
- SURINAME: Suriname finds oil at last
- Economic Highlights
MEXICO
- MEXICO: US Congress ratifies USMCA
- MEXICO: Market sentiment calms as tensions ease
- MEXICO: Minimum wage rises sharply
- Economic Highlights
Protests in Ecuador, an abrupt change of government in Bolivia, strikes in Peru, demonstrations in Colombia and the ongoing political crisis in Venezuela suggest the Andean region as a whole is in the throes of an upheaval.