LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 24 January 2020
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- VENEZUELA: Guaidó seeks to rally foreign support
- COLOMBIA: Resurgent protests bring further uncertainty
- BOLIVIA: Violence avoided, but tensions higher than ever
- ECUADOR: Moreno castigates Conaie over protests
- TRACKING TRENDS
- Peruvians prepare to go to polls in open contest
Juan Guaidó is intent on capitalising on the publicity afforded by the clumsy attempt to prevent him from assuming the presidency of the national assembly for a second straight year by going on a high-profile foreign tour in defiance of a legal bar on his leaving Venezuela.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 23 January 2020
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- BOLIVIA: Growing speculation over Áñez candidacy
- In brief: Colombia issues US$1.84bn in bonds
On 22 January, several ministers in Jeanine Áñez’s interim government in Bolivia voiced their support for Áñez as a potential presidential candidate, in response to widespread speculation on Twitter about the possibility of her entry into the contest.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 22 January 2020
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- COLOMBIA: Protests return, but Duque doesn’t budge
- In brief: Peru’s gov’t unveils PPP project portfolio for next 18 months
On 21 January, the government led by President Iván Duque insisted that it is unable to negotiate on most of the demands issued by the Comité Nacional del Paro protest group, after the first major demonstrations of the year in cities across Colombia led to renewed clashes with the controversial anti-riot police (Esmad).
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 21 January 2020
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- VENEZUELA: US pledges increased support for Guaidó
- In brief: Peru’s gov’t issues 2020 forecast
On 20 January US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo committed to increasing US support for Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó’s efforts to remove Nicolás Maduro from power.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 20 January 2020
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- BOLIVIA: Morales announces MAS presidential ticket
- In brief: Ecuador’s protests cause GDP to contract
On 19 January, Bolivia’s former economy minister Luis Arce (2006-2019) was named as the Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS) presidential candidate for the May general election, with former foreign minister David Choquehuanca (2006-2017) chosen as vice-presidential candidate.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 17 January 2020
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- BOLIVIA: Armed forces deployed ahead of expected protests
- In brief: Ecuador releases 2019 unemployment statistics
From Latin American Weekly Report
- Colombian spying scandal rocks Duque government
- VENEZUELA: US amplifies pressure on Maduro
- PERU: Vizcarra vindicated but scant interest in elections
- BOLIVIA: Áñez making use of judicial action
- TRACKING TRENDS
- Embarrassing episode for Ecuador’s Moreno
On 16 January, Bolivia’s interim defence minister Fernando López announced that the armed forces had been deployed to cities across the country and will carry out regular patrols until 24 January.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 16 January 2020
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- VENEZUELA: China confirms reduced economic support due to sanctions
- In brief: Ecuador’s Mirador mega-mine sends first export to China
On 15 January, China’s foreign ministry confirmed that “China and Venezuela are stopping or slowing down some of our co-operation, due to sanctions and other factors”.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 15 January 2020
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- PERU: Dissolution of congress ruled to be lawful
- In brief: Coffee production up in Colombia
On 14 January, Peru’s constitutional court (TC) rejected an appeal claiming that President Martín Vizcarra’s dissolution of congress on 30 September 2019 was in violation of the constitution, by four votes to three.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 14 January 2020
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- BOLIVIA: Morales’ militia proposals met with anger
- In brief: Venezuela’s parliament suggests inflation is finally slowing
From Latin American Security & Strategic Review
- REGION: China shifts approach to infrastructure investment in the Andean region
- VENEZUELA: Gold rush driving violent crime
On 13 January, Bolivia’s interim justice minister Álvaro Coimbra announced that a further charge of sedition has been brought against former president Evo Morales (2006-2019), after he called for the organisation of local militias to challenge the country’s armed forces.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 13 January 2020
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- COLOMBIA: Assassination attempt highlights growing threat to peace
- In brief: FDI to Colombia up in 2019
On 12 January Colombia’s national police reported that it had thwarted an assassination attempt against Rodrigo Londoño ('Timochenko'), president of the Fuerza Alternativa Revolucionaria del Común (Farc), the political successor to the demobilised Farc guerrilla group.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 10 January 2020
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- ECUADOR: Political asylees leave for Mexico
- In brief: Colombia’s exports fall by 6.2% in 2019
From Latin American Weekly Report
- Maduro takes the plunge in Venezuela
- COLOMBIA: Security policy under scrutiny
- BOLIVIA: Áñez under pressure on all fronts
- PERU: Top court to back dissolution of congress
- ECUADOR: Tax reform takes effect, dividing indigenous
On 9 January, four national assembly members accused of conspiring against the Ecuadorean government were allowed to leave for Mexico, after spending nearly three months in the Mexican embassy in Quito, Ecuador’s capital.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 9 January 2020
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- BOLIVIA: Massive anti-corruption investigations launched
- In brief: World Bank forecasts strong economic growth in Colombia
On 8 January, Bolivia’s interim government announced the opening of investigations into 592 former government officials, accused of embezzling state funds.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 8 January 2020
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- VENEZUELA: Guaidó calls for renewed protests
- In brief: Latest inflation figures released in Bolivia
On 7 January, Venezuelan opposition leader and disputed national assembly (AN) president Juan Guaidó returned to the parliament building, outlining plans for another round of public protests against the de facto government led by Nicolás Maduro.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 7 January 2020
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- BOLIVIA: Extension of Áñez’s mandate to be contested
- In brief: Ecuador registers 0.07% annual deflation in 2019
On 6 January, the president of Bolivia’s electoral authority (TSE), Salvador Romero, confirmed that the extension of the interim government’s mandate, due to end on 22 January, will have to be approved in the legislative assembly.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 6 January 2020
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- In brief: Colombia’s annual inflation closes at 3.8% in December 2019
* Colombia’s national statistics institute (Dane) has released figures which show that annual inflation closed at 3.8% in December 2019, up from the 3.18% registered in December 2018.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 3 January 2020
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- COLOMBIA: Assassination crisis continues to undermine peace agreement
- In brief: Germany contributes €1m to Ecuador food programme
On 2 January, Colombia’s Fuerza Alternativa Revolucionaria del Común (Farc), the political successor to the demobilised guerrilla group, reported the murder of former combatant Benjamín Banguera Rosales in the south-western department of Cauca.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 02 January 2020
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- BOLIVIA: Interim government seeks to resolve diplomatic dispute
- In brief: Peru closes 2019 with 1.88% inflation
On 31 December 2019, Bolivia’s interim government announced it would appoint a high representative to the country’s embassy in Spain, in order to resolve the “impasse” over the expulsion of two Spanish diplomats from Bolivia.