At first glance the staging of a march just 11 days after taking office looks like a dangerous development for any new head of state. But President Michelle Bachelet was well aware of the social climate in Chile when she ran for a second term and will have been unperturbed by the self-proclaimed ‘march of marches’ held in Santiago on 22 March. In the first two weeks of her second term in office, her government has made significant overtures to students, the indigenous Mapuche, environmentalists and gay rights groups. Each of Bachelet’s cabinet ministers has been tasked with moving swiftly…

BRAZIL | S&P downgrade. On 24 March the credit ratings agency, Standard & Poor’s (S&P), announced it was downgrading Brazil’s sovereign debt rating from BBB to BBB-. Though anticipated, the timing of the decision surprised some market watchers and government officials, who expected the news to come after October’s elections. The fact the downgrade has come now shows the extent of the gloom pervading market analysis of Brazil’s future growth prospects. Brazil had its long-term debt rating downgraded to BBB-, the agency’s lowest investment-grade rating. It now ranks below Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Panama and Peru in the region. According to…

Representatives of the Buenos Aires provincial government failed to reach an agreement with the striking teachers’ unions in the province on 26 March. Miguel Díaz, the leader of the provincial teachers’ union (UDOCBA), told reporters that the administration of Governor Daniel Scioli had not presented a new proposal, adding that “they only promised us they would continue discussing and negotiate again in September”. The unions are demanding a 35% pay increase; so far the government has only offered 30.9% spread over two instalments. Speaking after the break-up of another round of talks, Díaz said: “They have to give us 6,400…

On 25 March, the US supreme court revealed that Mexico, France and Brazil had presented statements of amicus curiae (friend of the court briefs) to the judicial body in support of Argentina’s case against its holdout bondholders. A further seven petitions were entered by private organisations and individuals, including Nobel-prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz. The briefs argued that if the ruling is not reversed and Argentina is forced to pay the holdouts, who rejected debt restructurings after Argentina’s 2001 debt default, it could set a precedent that would make future sovereign restructurings more difficult and costly, potentially compromising the stability…

Bounded by the highways of the Avenida Brasil to the west, and the Linha Vermelha to the east, the Complexo do Maré sits between the two main roads into and out of the city of Rio de Janeiro. Getting to or from the international airport at Galeão requires passing the sprawling favela complex, with its 144,000 residents. As such it remains a strategic location that the state government has long been promising to pacify. Earlier this week, it began the process, bolstering the local police force with personnel from the federal armed forces. The decision to occupy the Complexo do…

After two years and seven months of struggles, negotiations and intense lobbying, Brazil’s lower chamber of congress approved the landmark civil rights framework for the internet, known as the ‘marco civil’, on 25 March. The text now goes to the senate for approval. The passage of the legislation represents a major victory for the government, given that only a few weeks ago, Eduardo Cunha, the head of the Partido Movimento Democrático Brasileiro (PMDB) in the lower chamber said he saw no sign of the legislation proceeding. Despite his party’s coalition with the ruling Partido dos Trabalhadores (PT), Cunha has been…