Development: On 7 March Fabricio Correa, President Rafael Correa’s elder brother, announced that he had the 250,000 signatures needed to register a new political party to contest Ecuador’s 2013 presidential and congressional elections. Significance: Fabricio, a businessman, has accused Rafael of dissembling in claiming that he did not know about Fabricio’s controversial (US$167m) contracts with his government. The president said that he cancelled all the deals with his brother’s companies when they became public. Key points: • Fabricio, 53, delivered the 250,000 signatures to the Consejo Nacional Electoral (CNE), registering his movement, Equidad, Progreso i Orden (Equipo). He wants to…

Development: On 7 March the Partido Nacionalista Peruano (PNP) announced the expulsion of Congressman Jorge Rimarachín from its ranks, accusing him of “treason”. Significance: The PNP is a member of the ruling Gana Perú political grouping and is President Ollanta Humala’s own party. The decision comes after Rimarachín, a congressman for the Cajamarca region, questioned the government’s actions in announcing the capture of the leader of Sendero Luminoso in the Huallaga Valley, ‘Camarada Artemio’ (Florencio Eleuterio Flores Hala), a couple of days after the ‘national water march’ arrived in Lima on 10 February. Rimarachín’s expulsion not only points to disgruntlement…