LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 14 December 2018
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- Sabre rattling from Venezuela as international pressure mounts
- In brief: Bolivia
From Latin American Weekly Report
- Vizcarra scores thumping victory in Peruvian referendum
- ECUADOR: Third time lucky for Moreno?
- COLOMBIA: Duque shakes up military and police commands
- BOLIVIA: Morales gets (another) green light
- TRACKING TRENDS
- Venezuelan elections marked by abstention
Development: On 13 December Venezuela’s foreign minister, Jorge Arreaza, said that Venezuela is prepared to wage “the mother of all battles” if it is subjected to a foreign military attack.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 13 December 2018
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- Venezuela’s Maduro denounces “diplomatic blackmail”, pledges defiance
- In brief: Ecuador
From Latin American Regional Report: Brazil & Southern Cone
- Consolidating relations with Peru
Development: On 12 December Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro said that he is determined to swear-in for a new six-year presidential term on 10 January 2019 and that he will not bow to international diplomatic pressure for him not to do so.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 12 December 2018
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- Deputies appoint new vice president in Ecuador
- In brief: Bolivia
Development: On 11 December Ecuador’s national assembly appointed Otto Sonnenholzner Sper as vice president to replace María Alejandra Vicuña, who had relinquished her position last week in the face of corruption charges.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 11 December 2018
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- Venezuela municipal elections slammed by the US
- In brief: Ecuador
Development: On 10 December the US Assistant Secretary of State of Western Hemisphere Affairs, Kimberly Breier, described the municipal elections held in Venezuela the previous day as “profoundly flawed” and called for the restoration of democratic order in the country.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 10 December 2018
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- Referendum produces clear victory for Peru’s Vizcarra
- In brief: Bolivia
Development: On 9 December a majority of Peruvians that voted in the national referendum on a series of proposed judicial and political reforms overwhelmingly voted in favour of those promoted by President Martín Vizcarra.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 07 December 2018
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- Anti-Morales protests turn deadly in Bolivia
- In brief: Ecuador
From Latin American Weekly Report
- ECUADOR: Corruption charges topple vice president
- PERU: Uruguay denies García asylum
- VENEZUELA: Turkey offers rhetorical support
- COLOMBIA: Odebrecht probe raises questions
- TRACKING TRENDS
- Bolivian opposition fractures ahead of registration deadline
Development: On 6 December Bolivia’s interior minister Carlos Romero announced that a woman was killed during protests which took place in Riberalta municipality, Beni department.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 06 December 2018
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- TSE ruling on Morales’ candidacy sparks protests in Bolivia
- In brief: Colombia
Development: On 5 December Fernando Cuéllar, the head of the civic committee of the city of Santa Cruz, capital of the eponymous department, announced a strike in response to the previous day’s ruling by Bolivia's national electoral authorities (TSE) which allows President Evo Morales to run in the October 2019 general election.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 5 December 2018
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- Ecuador’s Vicuña bows to pressure and resigns
- In brief: Ecuador/Colombia
Development: On 4 December Ecuador’s Vice President María Alejandra Vicuña resigned her position definitively.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 4 December 2018
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- In brief: Colombia
- Chile’s Piñera under mounting pressure over Carabineros’ chief
* Colombia’s national statistics agency (Dane) has released its latest export figures, which show that Colombian exports increased by 15.8% year-on-year in October 2018.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 03 December 2018
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- Marches against Morales in Bolivia
- In brief: Peru
From Latin American Economy & Business
- Colombia: U-turn on VAT leaves a hole in the budget
- Economic Highlights
- Cuba-Venezuela: Trump considers sanctions on Cuban officials
Development: Over the weekend of 1-2 December, three marches began from the departments of Beni, Oruro, and La Paz to Bolivia’s capital La Paz, calling for President Evo Morales to respect the results of a 2016 referendum which rejected changing the 2009 constitution to allow him to seek a further term in office.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 30 November 2018
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- Scarcity continues to fuel discontent in Venezuela
- In brief: Colombia
From Latin American Weekly Report
- COLOMBIA: ELN talks founder, Farc peace under threat
- PERU: Devida launches anti-drug offensive in Vraem
- TRACKING TRENDS
- Developing an action plan to deal with Venezuelan exodus
Development: On 29 November hundreds of public sector teachers staged demonstrations across various cities in Venezuela in demand of improved salaries and demanding the resignation of Education Minister Aristóbulo Istúriz.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 29 November 2018
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- Opposition alliance fractures in Bolivia ahead of registration deadline
- In brief: Colombia
Development: On 28 November Samuel Doria Medina, the leader of the main opposition Unidad Nacional (UN) party, announced he was breaking his alliance with Santa Cruz Governor Rubén Costas of the Partido Demócrata Social (PDS).
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 28 November 2018
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- Ecuador’s vice president accused of corruption
- In brief: Colombia
Development: On 27 November Ecuador’s Vice President María Alejandra Vicuña rejected the corruption allegations levelled against her and insisted that she will disprove them.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 27 November 2018
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- Colombia’s truth commission starts work amid challenges for peace
- In brief: Colombia
Development: The truth commission set up by Colombia's former president, Juan Manuel Santos (2010- August 2018), to clear up the root causes of the country’s internal armed conflict will start working on 29 November.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 26 November 2018
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- Ecuador’s Moreno starts cabinet shake-up
- In brief: Colombia
Development: On 25 November Ecuador’s President Lenín Moreno announced three cabinet changes and added that he would evaluate the performance of the rest of his ministers between now and the end of 2018.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 23 November 2018
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- Venezuelan government corruption probes deepen
- In brief: Bolivia
From Latin American Weekly Report
- Odebrecht aftershocks still shaking region
- VENEZUELA: Higher oil price not a panacea
- BOLIVIA: Opposition fails to unite ahead of elections
- TRACKING TRENDS
Development: On 22 November Venezuela’s attorney general, Tarek William Saab, reported that his office had opened a new investigation against the former national treasurer Alejandro Andrade (2007-2011) over the suspected irregular sale of sovereign bonds and that he will seek his extradition.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 22 November 2018
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- Uruguay comes under pressure to reject García’s asylum request
- Duque gov’t U-turn on tax reform in Colombia
- In brief: Ecuador
From Latin American Regional Report: Andean Group
- Introduction
- Tourism in Peru: must the bubble burst?
- Private foreign capital: A priority to improve Colombian infrastructure
- Who controls the narrative in Bolivia?
- Spreading terror
- Economic Highlights
Development: On 21 November the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), an international NGO, issued a communiqué asking the Uruguayan government to reject the political asylum request recently filed by Peru’s former president, Alan García (1985-1990; 2006-2011).
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 21 November 2018
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- Colombian government urges Cuba to arrest ELN leader
- In brief: Bolivia
Development: On 20 November Colombia's foreign ministry appealed to the Cuban government to comply with an Interpol Red Notice to capture ‘Gabino’ (Nicolás Rodríguez Bautista), the maximum leader of the Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN) guerrilla group.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 20 November 2018
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- Colombia’s Duque threatens to break off diplomatic relations with Venezuela
- In brief: Ecuador
From Latin American Security & Strategic Review
- Colombia: Student unrest adds to Duque’s problems
Development: In an interview with local daily El Tiempo, published on 19 November, Colombia’s President Iván Duque said that his government will break off all diplomatic relations with Venezuela in January 2019 if President Nicolás Maduro remains in power.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 19 November 2018
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- Corruption probe prompts Peru’s García to seek asylum
Development: On 18 November Peru’s foreign ministry confirmed that former president Alan García (1985-1990; 2006-2011) had sought political asylum from Uruguay.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 16 November 2018
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- Ecuador’s indigenous stage widespread protests
- In brief: Peru
From Latin America Weekly Report
- COLOMBIA: Duque battles internal revolt
- PERU: García and Fujimori escape censure
- VENEZUELA: Opposition calls for new elections
- TRACKING TRENDS
- Venezuela-Colombia humanitarian crisis could worsen
Development: On 15 November Ecuador’s largest umbrella indigenous organisation Confederación de Nacionalidades Indígenas del Ecuador (Conaie) carried out protests across the country, making a series of demands, foremost among which were improved access to and preservation of drinking water supplies, and the scaling back of extractive activities.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 15 November 2018
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- Bolivia's legislature calls for Mesa to be investigated
- In brief: Colombia
Development: On 14 November Bolivia’s bicameral 166-member national legislature approved the decision to send its final report on the investigation into the region-wide bribery scandal involving Brazilian engineering firm Odebrecht to the attorney general’s office and called for those mentioned in it to be investigated.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 14 November 2018
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- Electoral alliances register ahead of Bolivia vote
- In brief: Venezuela
Development: On 13 November two political opposition alliances and seven political parties registered with Bolivia’s supreme electoral court (TSE) ahead of the 27 January 2019 party primaries.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 13 November 2018
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- Public sector workers back on the streets in Venezuela
- In brief: Bolivia
Development: On 12 November dozens of employees from the Caracas metro took to the streets in Venezuela's capital to protest against “unjustified dismissals”.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 12 November 2018
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- Colombia’s Duque maintains strong stance against ELN
- In brief: Peru
Development: On 11 November, Colombia’s President Iván Duque said that he would not be “blackmailed” by the Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN) insurgent guerrilla group and that his government will only resume formal peace negotiations with the ELN when the group suspends all of its criminal activity.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 09 November 2018
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- Opposition and chavistas protest low wages in Venezuela
- In brief: Peru
From Latin American Weekly Report
- What lies behind fatal clash on Colombo-Venezuelan border?
- BOLIVIA: Mesa and Revilla join forces
- TRACKING TRENDS
- Correa ordered to stand trial in Ecuador
Development: On 8 November, protestors from both Venezuela’s opposition and the pro-government chavistas took to the streets to demand yet again an improvement in public-sector salaries.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 08 November 2018
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- Colombia’s Duque trips up over VAT
- In brief: Venezuela
Development: On 7 November Colombia’s President Iván Duque acknowledged that “the biggest challenge” his government had faced during his first three months in office was winning approval in congress for the 2019 draft budget which would include contentious tax-reform proposals.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 07 November 2018
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- Venezuela’s opposition accuses Maduro gov’t of links with ELN
- In brief: Colombia
Development: On 6 November opposition deputies in Venezuela’s national assembly (AN) accused the Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela (PSUV) government led by President Nicolás Maduro of running an extortion ring preying on Venezuelan gold miners in conjunction with the Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN), the Colombian insurgent guerrilla group.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 06 November 2018
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- Vizcarra refutes coup accusations in Peru
- In brief: Venezuela
Development: On 5 November, Peru’s President Martín Vizcarra denounced claims by former president, Alan García (1985-1990; 2006-2011), that his government is carrying out a coup as “irresponsible”.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 05 November 2018
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- Glas prison transfer stokes tension between Ecuador and Bolivia
- In brief: Colombia
From Latin American Economy & Business
- Patchy regional recovery to continue
- Peru: Firing up non-traditional exports
- Economic Highlights
- Venezuela: Government prioritises servicing Pdvsa 2020 bond
- Region: Corporate Radar
Development: On 4 November Bolivia’s President Evo Morales urged the international community to intercede to “preserve the life” of Ecuador’s former vice president Jorge Glas (2013-2017) who is staging a hunger strike after being transferred to a maximum security jail.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 02 November 2018
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- US imposes sanctions on Venezuelan gold sector
- In brief: Colombia
From Latin American Weekly Report
- PERU: Keiko Fujimori jailed for three years
- VENEZUELA: Maduro puts out feelers
- COLOMBIA: Uribistas press for reform of transitional justice court
Development: On 1 November, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing new economic sanctions to Venezuela’s gold industry.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 01 November 2018
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- Keiko Fujimori under preventative detention in Peru
- In brief: Colombia
Development: On 31 November, a local judge put the leader of Peru’s main opposition Fuerza Popular (FP, Fujimoristas) party, Keiko Fujimori, under preventative detention for 36 months as she awaits trial for money laundering and bribery charges.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 31 October 2018
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- Mesa and Revilla forge opposition alliance in Bolivia
- In brief: Colombia
Development: On 30 October, Bolivia’s former president, Carlos Mesa (2003-2005), of the opposition Frente Revolucionario de Izquierda (FRI) party, and the leader of the Soberanía y Libertad para Bolivia (Sol.bo) opposition group and current mayor of La Paz, Luís Revilla, came to an agreement to form an electoral alliance named ‘[email protected]’ to contest the 2019 general election.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 30 October 2018
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- Duque denies alleged Bolsonaro alliance on Venezuela
- In brief: Venezuela/Colombia
Development: On 29 October Brazilian daily Folha de São Paulo reported that, according to a Colombian diplomatic source, Colombia’s President Iván Duque is prepared to back Brazil’s far-right president-elect Jair Bolsonaro if he decides to intervene militarily in Venezuela.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 29 October 2018
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- More evidence emerges against Peru’s attorney general
- In brief: Peru
Development: On 26 October, two new leaked audio recordings from 8 and 11 May this year were published by Peruvian daily El Comercio, compounding evidence as to the involvement of the country’s attorney general, Pedro Chávarry, in an influence trafficking and corruption scandal.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 26 October 2018
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- “Common future” for Peru and Ecuador
- In brief: Venezuela
From Latin American Weekly Report
- PERU: Fuerza Popular in meltdown
- Demobilised Farc leaders avoid falling foul of JEP
Development: On 25 October Ecuador’s President Lenín Moreno received his Peruvian counterpart, Martín Vizcarra, on a state visit to “strengthen ties” between the two countries.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 25 October 2018
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- Revilla and Mesa announce alliance to defeat MAS in Bolivia
- In brief: Venezuela
Development: On 24 October, the leader of the Soberanía y Libertad (Sol.bo) party and current mayor of Bolivia's capital La Paz, Luís Revilla, announced an alliance with former president Carlos Mesa (2003-2005) for the 2019 general election.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 24 October 2018
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- Duque calls on Brussels to further isolate Venezuela
- In brief: Colombia
From Latin American Regional Report: Andean Group
- Introduction
- Bolivia’s water wars: twenty years on, what has changed?
- A balance of Santos’ achievements in the education sector
- Andean region continues to struggle with food security
- Economic Highlights
Development: On 23 October, during a debate in Brussels with Robert Maylle, the president of the International Crisis Group (ICG), Colombia’s President Iván Duque called on the European Union (EU) to further the diplomatic isolation of the Venezuelan government led by President Nicolás Maduro.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 23 October 2018
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- Peru’s Vizcarra vetoes ‘LeyFuji’
- In brief: Region
Development: On 22 October Peru’s President Martín Vizcarra vetoed a recently approved bill that would have seen former president Alberto Fujimori (1990-2000) released from jail and placed under house arrest.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 22 October 2018
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- Correa’s communications secretary flees Ecuador
- In brief: Colombia
From Latin American Security & Strategic Review
- Being fiscally smart against crime
- Colombia: Stand-off with ELN continues
- Peru: Security implications of political roller coaster
- Venezuela: Migrant crisis is growing exponentially
Development: On 20 October, Ecuador’s interior minister, María Paula Romo, confirmed reports that former communications secretary Fernando Alvarado had managed to remove his electronic tag and is suspected of having fled the country.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 19 October 2018
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- Verbal confrontation produces rift between Ecuador and Venezuela
- In brief: Bolivia
From Latin American Weekly Report
- Fujimorismo strikes back as Peru corruption scandal takes fresh twist
- VENEZUELA: Can Saleh release secure political process?
- BOLIVIA: Mesa declares bid for the presidency
- Security forces land blow on Colombia’s Clan del Golfo
Development: On 18 October the governments of Ecuador and Venezuela expelled the top diplomats from the other’s embassies.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 18 October 2018
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- Minister resigns as Peru crisis deepens
- In brief: Colombia
Development: On 17 October Peru’s interior minister, Mauro Medina, tendered his resignation.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 17 October 2018
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- Stein urges coordinated response to Venezuelan migrants
- In brief: Ecuador
Development: On 16 October the United Nations (UN) special representative for Venezuelan refugees and migrants, Eduardo Stein, called for a more concerted regional and international response to the exodus of people fleeing the economic crisis in Venezuela.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 16 October 2018
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- Peru’s attorney general issues veiled threat against President Vizcarra
- In brief: Andean countries
Development: On 15 October Peru’s attorney general Pedro Chávarry said that he is prepared to re-open the investigations into corruption in the awarding of the Chinchero airport contract.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 15 October 2018
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- Colombia calls for coffee cultivating countries to unify
- In brief: Peru
Development: On 14 October, Colombia’s President Iván Duque called for the heads of states of coffee producing countries to unite and demand fairer prices for coffee growers.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 12 October 2018
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- Executive and legislative branches once again clash in Peru
- In brief: Colombia
From Latin American Weekly Report
- PERU: National parties pummelled in regional elections
- VENEZUELA: Political polarisation deepens
- COLOMBIA: Human trafficker brings down municipal official
Development: On 11 October Peru’s President Martín Vizcarra criticised the actions of the opposition-controlled national congress and rejected the accusations made by opposition legislators that his government was preparing an institutional putsch against the legislature.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 11 October 2018
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- Upheaval in Peru as Keiko Fujimori is arrested
- In brief: Bolivia
Development: On 10 October a Peruvian judge, Richard Concepción Carhuancho, ordered the preventative arrest of Keiko Fujimori, the leader of the main right-wing opposition Fuerza Popular (FP) party for ten days.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 10 October 2018
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- Bolivia’s Costas rules out alliance with Mesa ahead of 2019 election
- In brief: Peru
From Latin American Economy & Business
- Region: Don’t spend more, spend better
- Economic Highlights
- Colombia: No jam today
- Venezuela: What is the big sister thinking?
- Region: Andean interest rates heading up?
Development: On 9 October Rubén Costas, governor of Bolivia's eastern Santa Cruz department, announced that the opposition Movimiento Demócrata Social (MDS) would present its own presidential candidate in the October 2019 general election.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 09 October 2018
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- Death of imprisoned political dissident heightens tensions in Venezuela
- In brief: Peru
Development: On 8 October Venezuela’s attorney general’s office announced that Fernando Albán Salazar, a member of the political opposition, committed suicide at the headquarters of the national intelligence service (Sebin) where he was being held.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 8 October 2018
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- Peru’s elections produce some surprises
- In brief: Ecuador
Development: On 7 October Peruvians went to the polls to elect 25 regional governors, 196 provincial mayors, and 1,875 district mayors.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 05 October 2018
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- Peru’s congress dismisses top judge as judicial crisis continues
- In brief: Colombia
From Latin American Weekly Report
- ICJ deals blow to Bolivia’s Morales in dispute with Chile
- COLOMBIA: Farc shuns wobbling peace negotiator
- PERU: Fujimori ruling damaging for Vizcarra
Development: On 4 October Peru’s national congress voted in favour of dismissing Supreme Court Justice César Hinostroza and banning him from holding public office for 10 years.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 04 October 2018
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- Annulment of Fujimori pardon shakes up Peru’s political environment
- In brief: Peru
Development: On 3 October Peru’s supreme court (CSJR) annulled the presidential pardon issued last year in favour of disgraced former president Alberto Fujimori (1990-2000) and ordered him to return to prison to serve out the rest of his 25-year sentence for human rights violations.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 3 October 2018
Development: On 2 October Venezuelan public sector workers took to the streets again in nationwide protests in demand of improved salaries and working conditions.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 02 October 2018
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- Chile claims victory over Bolivia in ICJ ruling
- Colombia’s Duque alters drug strategy
- In brief: Peru
Development: On 1 October Chile’s President Sebastián Piñera hailed the same-day ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague on Bolivia’s claim that Chile had a legal obligation to negotiate with it a sovereign access to the Pacific.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 01 October 2018
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- Peru’s race for mayor of Lima set for photo finish
- In brief: Bolivia
Development: On 30 September candidates running for mayor of Lima participated in the second and final debate organised by the national electoral council (JNE) ahead of Peru’s municipal and regional elections on 7 October.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 28 September 2018
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- UN adopts resolution against Venezuela
- In brief: Colombia
From Latin American Weekly Report
- Diplomatic conflict over Venezuela intensifies
- COLOMBIA-VENEZUELA: Combating record coca cultivation
- PERU: Elections pick up steam
- TRACKING TRENDS
- Ecuador terminates then resuscitates intelligence agency
Development: On 27 September the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) approved a resolution calling for the Venezuelan government to accept humanitarian assistance to help alleviate the humanitarian emergency in the country resulting from the scarcity of food and basic goods.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 27 September 2018
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- Venezuela’s Maduro offers to “talk” with US gov’t
- In brief: Peru
From Latin American Regional Report: Andean Group
- Introduction
- Decentralisation and regional development: where is the money going?
- Will electoral reform be a remedy to Peru’s corruption ills?
- Water offers Moreno chance to soothe political tensions
- China weighs up its debt-saddled sibling
- Economic Highlights
Development: On 26 September Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro said he was willing to “reach out his hand...
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 26 September 2018
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- US, region apply more pressure on Venezuela at UNGA
- In brief: Venezuela
From Latin American Security & Strategic Review
- Colombia: Little movement on the ELN
- Venezuela: Fear and paranoia
Development: On 25 September US President Donald Trump used his speech before the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to call on the international community to do more to help “restore democracy in Venezuela” and undermine the “repressive regime” led by President Nicolás Maduro
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 25 September 2018
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- Venezuela crisis: Maduro and Duque ratchet up rhetoric
- In brief: Peru
- Risk of diplomatic tensions between Mexico and Venezuela
Development: On 24 September Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro accused the governments of Chile, Colombia, and Mexico of complicity in an alleged assassination attempt on his life by drones last month, while his Colombian peer Iván Duque called for the international community to impose a “diplomatic blockade” to bring down the “dictatorship”.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 24 September 2018
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- Venezuela renews accusations against regional neighbours ahead of UNGA
- In brief: Peru
Development: On 23 September the Venezuelan government demanded explanations from its counterparts from Chile, Mexico, and Colombia over the allegations that they were implicated in a suspected assassination attempt targeting President Nicolás Maduro last month.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 21 September 2018
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- Outcry in Bolivia after TSE bars opposition party from running in elections
- In brief: Venezuela
From Latin American Weekly Report
- Vizcarra’s brinkmanship pays off in Peru
- VENEZUELA: Intervention in Venezuela has different faces
- BOLIVIA-REGION: Embattled Unasur gets shiny new headquarters
- COLOMBIA: New ‘chuzadas’ scandal emerges
- TRACKING TRENDS
Development: On 20 September Bolivia’s electoral authorities (TSE) announced that opposition organisation Soberanía y Libertad (Sol.bo) would not receive its credentials in order to run as a party in the October 2019 general election.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 20 September 2018
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- Peru’s Vizcarra wins face off with opposition in congress
- In brief: Andean
Development: On 19 September Peru’s national congress gave its vote of confidence in the executive led by President Martín Vizcarra and agreed to debate the reforms that his administration has been pushing to try to address the current crisis affecting Peru’s judicial and political systems.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 19 September 2018
Development: On 18 September Peru’s national congress unanimously approved the proposed complete reform of the national magistrates’ council (CNM) tabled by the government led by President Martín Vizcarra.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 18 September 2018
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- Military intervention in Venezuela stokes tensions
- In brief: Peru
Development: On 17 September the secretary general of the Organization of American States (OAS), Luis Almagro, urged the international community not to stand by and watch Venezuela sink into an ever-more serious humanitarian crisis, while promising “to keep fighting against the dictatorship anywhere, anyhow, until it falls”.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 17 September 2018
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- Peru’s Vizcarra issues ultimatum to congress
- In brief: Bolivia
Development: On 16 September Peru’s President Martín Vizcarra ordered congress to hold an extraordinary session to debate his government’s proposed anti-corruption reforms as a ‘matter of confidence’ in his administration.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 14 September 2018
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- Correístas stage protest march in Ecuador
- In brief: Venezuela
From Latin American Weekly Report
- PERU: Chávarry ensnared in spreading scandal
- COLOMBIA: Stepping up the war on drugs
- VENEZUELA: Overt criticism, covert talks
- Chevron ruling causes political recriminations in Ecuador
Development: On 13 September several thousand supporters of Ecuador’s former president Rafael Correa (2007-2017) demonstrated in the centre of Quito to protest against the economic austerity policies being implemented by the government led by his successor President Lenín Moreno.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 13 September 2018
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- Colombia reiterates call for regional action on Venezuela migrant crisis
- In brief: Bolivia
Development: On 12 September, the secretary general of the Organization of American States (OAS), Luis Almagro, arrived in Bogotá, Colombia, as part of a visit to assess the impact of the Venezuelan migrant crisis in the region.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 12 September 2018
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- Colombia’s Duque defends under fire minister
- In brief: Ecuador
Development: On 11 September Colombia’s President Iván Duque offered his full support to his finance minister, Alberto Carrasquilla, in the face of the allegations of impropriety levelled against him.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 11 September 2018
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- Colombia’s Duque seeks to strengthen ties with Panama
Development: On 10 September Colombia’s President Iván Duque met his Panamanian counterpart Juan Carlos Varela to discuss trade and security cooperation among other issues.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 10 September 2018
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- Venezuela gov’t condemns US-led coup plot allegations
- In brief: Colombia
From Latin American Economy & Business
- Venezuela’s surreal red package
- Bolivia: The rise of the high-rise: construction and real estate trends
- Economic Highlights
- Region: Eclac trims back growth
- Region: Higher oil prices failing to bolster the region's economies
- Ecuador: Government efforts to drum up private investment
- Region: Higher metals prices having a more positive impact
- Region: Tough times for coffee producers
Development: On 9 September Venezuela’s foreign minister, Jorge Arreaza, condemned as “totally unacceptable” the reports in US media that US government officials have secretly met with Venezuelan military officers to try to promote a coup d’état against the government led by President Nicolás Maduro.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 07 September 2018
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- In brief: Venezuela
From Latin American Weekly Report
- ECUADOR: ‘Emperor’ overhauls national institutions
- VENEZUELA: Government denies migrant crisis as region meets
- BOLIVIA: New law on political parties proves contentious
- TRACKING TRENDS
- Farc faces fracture
Venezuela: Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro has signed a decree creating of a new technical commission tasked with restructuring the country’s state-owned oil firm, Pdvsa, and all of its subsidiaries.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 06 September 2018
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- Colombia’s Duque unmoved by ELN gesture
- In brief: Colombia
Development: On 5 September Colombia’s President Iván Duque said that his government will not continue the peace dialogue with the Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN) insurgent guerrillas until the ELN releases all of its hostages.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 5 September 2018
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- Region agrees on joint response to Venezuelan crisis
- In brief: Peru
Development: On 4 September representatives from 11 Latin American governments concluded a two-day gathering in Quito, Ecuador, with an 18-point declaration on the Venezuelan migrant crisis.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 4 September 2018
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- Bolivia’s Morales faces more coca-related unrest
- In brief: Venezuela
- Argentina’s Macri takes drastic measures to try to restore market confidence
Development: On 3 September thousands of coca producers (cocaleros) from Bolivia’s traditional Yungas coca producing area (La Paz department) marched in the capital, La Paz.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 3 September 2018
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- Growing calls for regional response to Venezuelan migrant crisis
- In brief: Venezuela
Development: On 1 September Martin Santiago, the United Nations (UN) Resident Coordinator for Colombia, supported President Ivan Duque’s call for a coordinated regional response to the continued exodus of migrants from Venezuela.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 31 August 2018
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- Venezuela detains 92 for disregarding price freezes
- In brief: Colombia
From Latin American Weekly Report
- COLOMBIA: Glorious defeat
- PERU: End of the honeymoon
- REGION: Venezuelan exodus: a failure of regional diplomacy?
- TRACKING TRENDS
Development: On 30 August, Venezuela’s attorney general, Tarek William Saab, said in a press conference that 92 people have been arrested for “speculation and economic destabilisation”.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 30 August 2018
Development: On 29 August the Bolivian police announced that two cocaleros (coca producers) had died during clashes between local residents and officials carrying out coca eradication efforts in La Asunta municipality, La Paz department.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 29 August 2018
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- Unions mobilise against government in Ecuador
- In brief: Venezuela
Development: On 28 August the Frente Unitario de Trabajadores (FUT), Ecuador’s main umbrella workers’ union, called for national demonstrations for today (29 August) against the recent economic policies implemented by the government led by President Lenín Moreno
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 28 August 2018
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- Colombia’s Duque makes combatting corruption a priority
- In brief: Venezuela
Development: On 27 August, Colombia’s President Iván Duque announced that he would meet this with the supporters of Colombia’s recent referendum on anti-corruption measures today (28 August) to discuss the legislative agenda on the fight against corruption.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 24 August 2018
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- Ecuador ratchets up pressure on Venezuela by leaving Alba
- In brief: Colombia
From Latin American Weekly Report
- Venezuelan domestic policies drive exodus
- COLOMBIA: Duque and Uribe diverge over corruption
- PERU: Good news for Vizcarra
- TRACKING TRENDS
- Bolivia’s Morales breaks presidential record
Development: On 23 August President Lenín Moreno announced Ecuador’s withdrawal from the Venezuela-led leftist bloc Alianza Bolivariana para los Pueblos de Nuestra América (Alba).
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 23 August 2018
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- Colombia’s Farc puts forward first proposed bill
- In brief: Bolivia
- Brazil’s public security minister visits Colombia
From Latin American Regional Report: Andean Group
- Introduction
- Money laundering in Peru’s cooperatives sector
- Social acceptability concerns threaten Colombia’s mining sector
- Bolivia’s changing socioeconomic inequality and class structure
- Hyperinflation razes the Venezuelan economy
- Economic Highlights
Development: On 22 August, legislators from Fuerza Revolucionaria del Común, the political party made up of former members of Colombia’s demobilised Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Farc) guerrilla group, presented a bill proposing differential treatment for small-scale farmers who cultivate illegal crops.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 22 August 2018
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- Economic confusion reigns in Venezuela
- In brief: Ecuador
- Colombia: Seven to four on corruption
From Latin American Security & Strategic Review
- Environmental activists in the firing line
- Venezuela: Migrant crisis continues to unfold
Development: On 21 August the Venezuela's political opposition and some trade union movements carried out a general strike against the economic policies of the government led by President Nicolás Maduro.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 21 August 2018
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- Migrant crisis fuels institutional tensions in Ecuador
- In brief: Venezuela
Development: On 20 August Ecuador’s ombudsman’s office called on the country’s judiciary to annul the requirement that Venezuelan nationals must show a passport in order to enter the country.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 20 August 2018
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- In brief: Colombia
- Venezuelans flee violence in Brazil
Colombia: Colombia’s President Iván Duque has announced that he will present his national economic reactivation plan in September.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 17 August 2018
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- Duque tables plan to improve public security in Colombia
- In brief: Bolivia
From Latin American Weekly Report
- COLOMBIA: Duque seeks to reinforce sovereignty
- VENEZUELA: Crisis politics of oil and money
- PERU: Vizcarra taps public support to pressure congress
- Region reacts to Venezuelan humanitarian crisis
Development: On 16 August Colombia’s President Iván Duque presented a 100-day security plan to crack down on inner city crime.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 16 August 2018
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- Venezuela’s Maduro sentenced to prison by exiled supreme court
- In brief: Colombia
Development: On 15 August, Venezuela’s supreme court (TSJ) in exile sentenced President Nicolás Maduro to 18 years and three months in prison on corruption charges related to the bribery scandal involving Brazilian engineering firm Odebrecht.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 15 August 2018
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- Venezuela’s congress seeks to pile the pressure on the Maduro gov’t
Development: On 14 August Venezuela’s opposition-controlled national assembly (AN) called for the staging of a protest march in the western state of Zulia in repudiation of the interruption of electricity, natural gas, water and other public services in the state.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 14 August 2018
Development: On 13 August Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro announced during a televised address that petrol prices would go up.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 13 August 2018
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- Colombia’s Duque sends strong message to ELN
- In brief: Peru
Development: On 10 August Colombia’s new president, Ivan Duque, warned the guerrillas from the Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN) that he will not be intimidated and will not tolerate any kidnappings by the group.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 10 August 2018
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- Peru’s Vizcarra pushes congress to fast-track key reforms
- In brief: Venezuela
From Latin American Weekly Report
- Maduro orders crackdown after alleged assassination attempt
- COLOMBIA: Duque takes over amid expectancy
- TRACKING TRENDS
Development: On 9 August Peru’s President Martín Vizcarra presented three major constitutional reform projects to the national congress.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 09 August 2018
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- Colombia’s Duque makes his first visit as president
- In brief: Venezuela
Development: On 8 August Colombia’s new President Iván Duque paid a visit to the San Andrés, Providencia, and Santa Catalina archipelago.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 8 August 2018
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- Colombia’s Duque identifies political reform and public security as priorities
- In brief: Venezuela
- Brazil re-opens border with Venezuela after closing it for 15 hours
Development: On 7 August during his inauguration speech, Colombia’s President Iván Duque outlined what would be the main priorities of his new administration, placing significant emphasis on promoting a political reform aimed at resolving the country’s polarisation and improving public security by focusing more efforts on combating organised crime.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 7 August 2018
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- Venezuelan authorities arrest perpetrators of drone attack
- In brief: Colombia
Development: On 6 August Venezuela’s de facto attorney general Tarek William Saab announced the arrest of “all of the material authors” of the alleged drone assassination attempt on President Nicolás Maduro during a military parade two days earlier.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 06 August 2018
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- Suspected presidential assassination attempt shakes Venezuela
- In brief: Bolivia
From Latin American Economy & Business
- Foreign direct investment down again in 2017
- Bolivia: A growing appetite for private consumption
- Colombia: Alberto is the man
- Economic Highlights
- Region: The recovery is getting tougher for some
- Region: Making the case for e-government
- Region: Free trade rules (maybe)
- Region: Agro sector set to grow
- Region: Corporate Radar
Development: On 5 August Venezuela’s armed forces (FANB) issued a statement declaring its “unrestricted loyalty” to President Nicolás Maduro.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 03 August 2018
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- Currency controls scrapped in Venezuela?
- In brief: Peru
From Latin American Weekly Report
- PERU: Vizcarra raises the political stakes
- COLOMBIA: Uribe U-turn on momentous decision
- VENEZUELA: Maduro implicated in billion-dollar corruption scheme
- TRACKING TRENDS
Development: On 2 August Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro announced that the government-controlled national constituent assembly (ANC) had repealed various laws imposing restrictions on foreign exchange and currency transactions.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 02 August 2018
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- Colombia’s Santos fails to secure ELN ceasefire
- In brief: Peru
Development: On 1 August Gustavo Bell, the Colombian government’s chief negotiator in the peace negotiations with the Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN) leftist guerrillas, announced the conclusion of the talks’ sixth negotiation round, in which he said that progress had been made but that an agreement extending the current bilateral ceasefire could not be reached.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 1 August 2018
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- Caracas blackout spurs fresh protests in Venezuela
- In brief: Bolivia
Development: On 31 July a major power outage left much of Venezuela's capital, Caracas, and surrounding states without electricity.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 31 July 2018
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- Venezuela’s Maduro admits “responsibility” for economic crisis
- In brief: Peru
Development: On 30 July Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro assumed responsibility for the severe economic crisis afflicting the country and said that his government will have to change the country’s economic model in order to overcome the crisis.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 30 July 2018
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- Peru’s Vizcarra proposes judicial reform referendum
- In brief: Venezuela
Development: On 28 July Peru’s President Martín Vizcarra closed his first Independence Day speech by proposing to hold a national referendum on a series of changes to the judicial and political system aimed at stamping out corruption.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 27 July 2018
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- Colombian president seeks ELN ceasefire before handing over to successor
- In brief: Peru
From Latin American Weekly Report
- PERU: Crisis of the judiciary continues
- COLOMBIA: Uribe waves goodbye to the senate
- TRACKING TRENDS
- TRADE BLOCS: Joint way forward for Pacific Alliance and Mercosur?
Development: On 26 July, Colombia’s outgoing president, Juan Manuel Santos, announced that the peace negotiations between his government and the Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN) leftist insurgent guerrillas being held in Havana, Cuba, were close to reaching an agreement on a bilateral ceasefire.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 26 July 2018
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- Venezuela’s Maduro announces new economic measures
- In brief: Colombia
From Latin American Security & Strategic Review
- Colombia: Security priorities to shift under Duque
- Venezuela: Keeping the military onside – but for how long?
Development: On 25 July Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro announced on national television and radio a series of economic measures intended to boost the country’s struggling economy.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 25 July 2018
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- Colombia’s Uribe resigns from senate
- In brief: Bolivia
From Latin American Regional Report: Andean Group
- Introduction
- The progress of land restitution in Colombia
- The US-Colombia free trade agreement at six: is Colombia benefitting?
- How welcome are Venezuelans in Peru?
- Social protests spread as Venezuela collapses
- Economic Highlights
Development: On 24 July Álvaro Uribe, Colombia’s former president (2002-2010) and recently re-elected senator, announced on Twitter that he would be resigning from his senate seat with immediate effect to fight off the criminal allegations levelled against him by Colombia’s supreme court.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 24 July 2018
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- Peru’s congress declares judiciary in state of emergency
- In brief: Ecuador
Development: On 23 July Peru’s national congress voted overwhelmingly in favour of declaring a state of emergency in the national magistrates’ council (CNM) for a period of nine months.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 23 July 2018
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- Venezuela’s Maduro throws a bone to the crisis-ridden health sector
- In brief: Ecuador
Development: On 21 July Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro announced US$344m worth of investment to address the country’s health crisis, most of which will be spent on importing much needed medical equipment and medicines.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 20 July 2018
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- Judicial crisis deepens in Peru
- In brief: Peru
From Latin American Weekly Report
- PERU: Grappling with a growing scandal
- COLOMBIA: Duque forms cabinet
- VENEZUELA: Maduro launches mission impossible
- Purge of Ecuador’s state institutions deepens
Development: On 19 July the heads of Peru’s judiciary and of the national council of magistrates (CNM), respectively Duberlí Rodríguez and Orlando Velásquez, tendered their resignations.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 19 July 2018
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- Union strikes multiply in Venezuela
- In brief: Peru
Development: On 18 July Ángel Navas, the president of the Federación Venezolana de Trabajadores Eléctricos (Fetraelec), Venezuela’s main electricity sector workers’ union, announced that union members would stage an indefinite strike beginning on 23 July in protest at insufficient salaries.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 18 July 2018
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- Ecuador’s electoral council fired en masse
- In brief: Peru
- In brief: Argentina
Development: On 17 July all five members of Ecuador’s national electoral council (CNE) were summarily dismissed.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 17 July 2018
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- Peru declares state of emergency in region bordering Colombia
- In brief: Venezuela
Development: On 16 July Peru’s President Martín Vizcarra announced that the previous day he had declared a 60-day state of emergency in the Putumayo district of Loreto region located along the border with Colombia.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 16 July 2018
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- Peru’s president jettisons justice minister over judicial corruption
- In brief: Venezuela
Development: On 13 July Peru’s justice minister, Salvador Heresi, tendered his resignation at the behest of President Martín Vizcarra over a corruption scandal embroiling senior magistrates in the national justice system.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 13 July 2018
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- US, Mexico, Colombia, and Panama commit to combat Venezuela corruption
- In brief: Colombia
From Latin American Weekly Report
- Ecuador’s presidential conflict triggers regional diplomatic realignment
- PERU: Scandal hits the judiciary
- COLOMBIA: Duque will face multiple security challenges
- VENEZUELA: Uncertain outcome for rebellion by political prisoners
- TRACKING TRENDS
- Bolivia’s Morales accused of moving against key opponent
Development: On 12 July representatives from the US, Mexico, Colombia, and Panama held a meeting in the Colombian city of Cartagena de Indias, in which they committed to increasing international cooperation and the exchange of information on the issue of government corruption in Venezuela.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 12 July 2018
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- Corruption crisis hits Peru’s judiciary
- In brief: Colombia
Development: On 11 July Peru’s President Martín Vizcarra announced that his government would launch an urgent reform of the national justice system.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 11 July 2018
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- Imprisoned political dissidents riot in Venezuela
- In brief: Ecuador
Development: On 10 July, it was reported that a group of critics of the Venezuelan government led by President Nicolás Maduro, who are being held at the El Helicoide headquarters of the national intelligence service (Sebin) in Caracas, have staged a riot demanding their release.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 10 July 2018
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- Peruvian President calls for investigation into judges
- In brief: Colombia
Development: On 9 July, Peruvian President Martín Vizcarra called upon congress to investigate and ultimately remove senior members of the judiciary found to have committed grave misdemeanours, after audio recordings emerged of judges offering to sell their influence.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 09 July 2018
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- Ecuador protests erupt over violence on Colombian border
- In brief: Venezuela
From Latin American Economy & Business
- Getting ready for the trade war
- Region: Alternatives to trickle down
- Economic Highlights
- Ecuador: Deflation begins to weigh on economy
- Region: Mobile getting more competitive
- Venezuela: Oil production nosedives
Development: On 6 July, thousands of Ecuadoreans gathered in the border city of San Lorenzo to protest against ongoing violence from the overspill activity of Colombian armed groups, many of them linked to narcotrafficking.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 06 July 2018
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- Surge of violence against Colombian social leaders
- In brief: Ecuador
From Latin American Weekly Report
- VENEZUELA: ‘Little protests’ spreading
- COLOMBIA: ELN peace talks face difficulties
- PERU: Teachers’ strike crumbles
Development: On 5 July, President Juan Manuel Santos called upon Colombia’s security forces to respond to an escalating wave of violence against social and community leaders, four of whom have been murdered in recent days.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 05 July 2018
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- Venezuela’s Maduro exhorts military to defend country
- In brief: Peru
From Latin American Regional Report: Mexico & Nafta
- Venezuelan women victims of sexual trafficking in Mexico
Development: On 4 July, an Associated Press report citing anonymous sources claimed that on several occasions last year US President Donald Trump met then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and National Security Advisor H.R.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 04 July 2018
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- Ecuador’s Correa faces arrest over kidnapping case
- In brief: Peru
Development: On 3 July Ecuador’s public prosecutor’s office announced that it had made a request to Interpol to have former president Rafael Correa (2007-2017) arrested in Belgium, where he currently lives with his family, for the purpose of extradition for his alleged involvement in the kidnapping of former opposition deputy Fernando Balda in 2012.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 03 July 2018
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- Public protests continue in Venezuela as economic crisis drags on
- In brief: Peru
Development: On 2 July dozens of people took part in a series of demonstrations in cities around Venezuela in protest at the deterioration of public services resulting from the country's deep economic crisis.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 2 July 2018
Peru: Peru’s national statistics institute (Inei) has revealed figures which show that in May the value of total exports increased by 14.34% compared to May 2017.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 29 June 2018
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- Civilians facing military justice in Venezuela
- In brief: Colombia
From Latin American Weekly Report
- Policy change on coca eradication in Colombia?
- VENEZUELA: EU widens sanctions
Development: On 28 June the Venezuelan human rights NGO Foro Penal denounced that 803 civilians had been tried in military courts in the country since 2017.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 28 June 2018
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- Uribismo pushes changes to Colombia peace accord through senate
- In brief: Peru
From Latin American Regional Report: Andean Group
- Introduction
- Caught in the crossfire: ongoing violence between rival armed groups in Norte de Santander
- Practical and legal impacts of autonomy for Bolivia’s Santa Cruz
- Moreno continues along extractive path but resistance mounts
- The dying days of Pdvsa – and the rise of Rosneft
- Economic Highlights
Development: On 27 June Colombia’s national senate approved a bill outlining the procedural regulations for the transitional justice system (JEP) created by the peace accord that the Colombian government signed with the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Farc) leftist guerrillas in 2016, which includes two amendments introduced by the right-wing Centro Democrático (CD, Uribistas) party.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 27 June 2018
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- University unrest continues in Bolivia
- In brief: Andean
From Latin American Security & Strategic Review
- Latin Americans scared of the dark, says Gallup
- Venezuela: Reading the tea-leaves of Maduro’s latest reshuffle
Development: On 26 June Bolivia’s communications minister, Gisela López, reiterated a call for dialogue with authorities from Universidad Pública de El Alto (Upea), the public university of El Alto, La Paz department.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 26 June 2018
Development: Coca cultivation and potential annual cocaine production in Colombia increased significantly in 2017, according to figures released on 25 June by the US Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP).
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 25 June 2018
Development: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank conducted visits to Ecuador last week.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 22 June 2018
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- Incoming Colombian president begins transition talks
- In brief: Peru
From Latin American Weekly Report
- Duque triumphs in Colombia but congress holds key
- VENEZUELA: Cabello gets seat at top table again
- Ecuador’s Moreno unveils border-security plan
Development: On 21 June, Colombia’s outgoing president, Juan Manuel Santos, met with his elected successor, Iván Duque, at the Casa de Nariño presidential palace to discuss the government transition process ahead of Duque’s formal inauguration scheduled for 7 August.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 21 June 2018
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- Cabello election prompts negative reaction from opposition in Venezuela
- In brief: Colombia
Development: On 20 June Venezuela’s main opposition coalition, Mesa de la Unidad Democrática (MUD), declared that it does not recognise the election of Diosdado Cabello as the new president of the national constituent assembly (ANC).
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 20 June 2018
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- Colombia’s Santos calls on senate to approve key bill
- In brief: Peru
Development: On 19 June, Colombia’s outgoing president, Juan Manuel Santos, urged the national senate to pass the procedural legislation which regulates the transitional justice system (JEP) under which demobilised guerrillas from the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Farc) are to be tried, warning that if a vote is not held by today (20 June) he would summon the senate to hold extra sessions to debate the bill.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 19 June 2018
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- ELN reaches out to Duque in Colombia
- In brief: Bolivia
Development: On 18 June, the leadership of the Ejército de Libreación Nacional (ELN) guerrilla group called on Colombia’s President-elect Iván Duque to continue with the formal peace negotiations that the outgoing government has been holding with the ELN.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 18 June 2018
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- Duque claims convincing victory in Colombia
- In brief: Peru
Development: On 17 June, Colombia’s electoral authorities (Registraduría) declared Iván Duque, the presidential candidate of the right-wing opposition Centro Democrático (CD) party, as the virtual winner of the presidential run-off election held on the same day.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 15 June 2018
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- Candidates receive last minute endorsements ahead of Colombia vote
- In brief: Venezuela
From Latin American Weekly Report
- COLOMBIA: Petro needs huge surge to deny Duque
- PERU: Going gets tough for Vizcarra
- ECUADOR: Correa probe exacerbates political divisions
- Venezuelan opposition sent mixed message
Development: On 14 June various civil-society groups formally expressed their support for one of the two candidates taking part in Colombia's 17 June second-round presidential run-off election.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 14 June 2018
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- Venezuelan gov’t releases more prisoners
- In brief: Colombia
Development: On 13 June Delcy Rodríguez, the president of the national constituent assembly (ANC) convened by the Venezuelan government led by President Nicolás Maduro, announced the release of 45 individuals that had been imprisoned for taking part in recent anti-government protests.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 13 June 2018
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- Duque secures more support in Colombia
- In brief: Peru
Development: On 12 June, a group of supporters of Sergio Fajardo, the defeated presidential candidate of the Coalición Colombia centre-left coalition, announced that they would be backing Iván Duque, the presidential candidate of the right-wing Centro Democrático (CD) party, in the 17 June second-round presidential run-off.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 12 June 2018
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- Maduro gov’t makes more gestures to Venezuela’s opposition
- In brief: Peru
Development: On 11 June Venezuela’s attorney general, Tarek William Saab, announced that the government will soon release a third batch of individuals whom the political opposition describe as ‘political prisoners’.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 11 June 2018
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- Duque in ascendancy as Colombian campaign draws to a close
- In brief: Venezuela
From Latin American Economy & Business
- Call to think big on trade
- Region: Currencies take a hit
- Venezuela: Economic crash after the elections?
- Economic Highlights
- Colombia: Economic suggestions for the next president
- Region: Export growth strong but slowing
- Bolivia: Will Morales surf the lithium wave?
- Region: Corporate Radar
Development: On 10 June, the official campaign period ended exactly one week ahead of the second round of Colombia’s presidential election.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 08 June 2018
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- Colombia’s Duque consolidating advantage
- In brief: Peru
From Latin American Weekly Report
- VENEZUELA: Maduro’s overture overwhelmingly rejected
- PERU: Tuesta’s departure reveals government vulnerability
- COLOMBIA: Questions about transitional justice
Development: On 7 June, the Consejo Gremial Nacional (CGN), Colombia’s largest economy-wide business association, declared its support for the presidential candidacy of Iván Duque of the right-wing Centro Democrático (CD) party.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 07 June 2018
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- Petro reaches out to political centre in Colombia
- In brief: Ecuador
Development: On 6 June Gustavo Petro, the presidential candidate of the Colombia Humana leftist opposition coalition, appealed to all those in the political centre to vote for him in the 17 June second-round presidential run-off election.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 6 June 2018
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- OAS turns its back on Venezuela
- In brief: Colombia
Development: On 5 June, the General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS) approved a resolution that does not recognise the result of the 20 May presidential election staged by the Venezuelan government led by President Nicolás Maduro
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 5 June 2018
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- Peru's economy & finance minister resigns over policy differences
- In brief: Venezuela
Development: On 4 June, Peru’s President Martín Vizcarra announced that he had accepted the resignation of his economy & finance minister, David Tuesta.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 4 June 2018
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- Venezuela’s Maduro seeks dialogue with gesture on prisoners
- In brief: Ecuador
Development: On 1 and 2 June, Venezuelan authorities confirmed the release of a total of 79 prisoners serving time for “political violence”, among them three opposition congressional deputies.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 01 June 2018
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- Venezuelan government announces release of political prisoners
- In brief: Bolivia
From Latin American Weekly Report
- Colombia’s Duque the favourite after first round victory
- ECUADOR: Moreno conducts sweeping change
- VENEZUELA: Making sense of Maduro
- Peru’s Vizcarra cancels Tullow Oil contracts
Development: On 31 May, following a meeting between the four opposition governors and Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro, Communications & Information Minister Jorge Rodríguez announced that the process of releasing some political prisoners would begin at midday on 1 June.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 31 May 2018
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- Colombia’s PC and PL back Duque for president
- In brief: Venezuela
From Latin American Regional Report: Andean Group
- Introduction
- Northern Peru grows impatient with delayed reconstruction efforts
- Peruvians clamour for justice over Sodalitium scandal
- Morales declares war on contraband
- The participation of women in the Colombian peace process
- The beginning of the end?
- Economic Highlights
Development: On 30 May, national legislators from Colombia’s centrist Partido Liberal (PL) party announced their decision to back the bid of Iván Duque, the presidential candidate of the right-wing opposition Centro Democrático (CD) party, in the second round of the presidential election scheduled for 17 June.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 30 May 2018
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- OAS finds evidence of human rights violations in Venezuela
- In brief: Colombia
From Latin American Security & Strategic Review
- Crime in numbers
- Venezuela: Maduro – the beginning of the end?
- Colombia: Talks with ELN resume but uncertainty remains
- Region: Big increase in piracy, but still small beer
Development: On 29 May, the secretary general of the Organization of American States (OAS), Luis Almagro, issued a statement via Twitter in which he declared that a report compiled by a panel of independent international experts outlining evidence of human rights abuses committed in Venezuela would be submitted to the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague for consideration.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 29 May 2018
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- Polar opposites to battle for Colombia presidency
- In brief: Venezuela
Development: On 27 May, Colombia’s electoral authorities released the full preliminary vote count of the first-round presidential election held that day, in which no candidate obtained the requisite 50%+1 of the vote to secure an outright victory.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 25 May 2018
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- Colombia set for highly polarised presidential vote
- In brief: Venezuela
From Latin American Weekly Report
- Abstention mars Maduro victory but what’s next for Venezuela?
- COLOMBIA: Fraud allegations mark close of campaigning
- PERU: Vizcarra administration starts to make its mark
- BOLIVIA: Gas field sparks regional tensions
- UK seeks to revive regional relations
Development: On 24 May, the five main candidates running in Colombia’s 27 May first-round presidential election took part in a final debate.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 24 May 2018
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- Vargas Lleras warns of Venezuelan influence on Colombia’s presidential election
- In brief: Peru
Development: On 23 May Germán Vargas Lleras, the independent centre-right candidate in Colombia’s 27 May first-round presidential election, called on the Colombian authorities to prevent money coming from Venezuela from being used to influence the election.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 23 May 2018
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- Venezuela’s Maduro goads the US
- In brief: Ecuador/Peru
Development: On 22 May, Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro declared the US Chargé d’Affaires in Venezuela as persona non grata and ordered him to leave the country.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 22 May 2018
Development: On 21 May, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing new economic sanctions on the Venezuelan government led by President Nicolás Maduro.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 21 May 2018
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- Venezuela falls further into political limbo
- In brief: Colombia
Development: On 20 May, Venezuela’s national electoral council (CNE) declared President Nicolás Maduro the winner of the presidential election held the same day.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 18 May 2018
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- Venezuela looks set to defy regional neighbours
- In brief: Peru
From Latin American Weekly Report
- VENEZUELA: Could oil fiasco produce Maduro shock?
- COLOMBIA: ELN declares electoral ceasefire
- TRACKING TRENDS
Development: On 17 May the president of Venezuela’s national electoral council (CNE), Tibisay Lucena, said that she is convinced that the results of the upcoming 20 May presidential election convened by the government led by President Nicolás Maduro will be recognised by the international community.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 17 May 2018
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- Bolivia’s Morales begins talks over departmental gas dispute
- In brief: Ecuador
Development: On 16 May Bolivia's President Evo Morales met representatives from Chuquisaca department.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 16 May 2018
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- Concern for Santrich’s health increases in Colombia
- In brief: Colombia
Development: On 15 May Francisco de Roux, the head of the truth commission set up by the Colombian government to clear up the root causes of the country’s internal armed conflict, urged ‘Jesús Santrich’ (Seuxis Pausias Hernández), a former leader of the demobilised Fuerazas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Farc) guerrillas, to end his hunger strike.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 15 May 2018
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- Lima Group issues Venezuela with ultimatum
- In brief: Ecuador
Development: On 14 May the Lima Group of 14 American countries that are monitoring Venezuela’s political crisis issued a new joint statement issuing a “final call” on the Venezuelan government led by President Nicolás Maduro to suspend the presidential election it has convened for 20 May.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 14 May 2018
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- Venezuela’s Maduro makes final push
- In brief: Venezuela
From Latin American Economy & Business
- Economic Highlights
- Ecuador: Fiscal consolidation efforts underwhelm
- Colombia: Solid report card from the IMF
- Peru: Mining picks up pace
Development: On 12 May Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro appealed to all generations of Venezuelans to “unite as a single family” and vote in favour of his re-election this weekend.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 11 May 2018
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- Colombian government resumes peace talks with ELN
- In brief: Venezuela
From Latin American Weekly Report
- COLOMBIA: New home for ELN dialogue found
- VENEZUELA: Maduro tries to buy way to record 10m votes
- TRACKING TRENDS
- Ecuador’s Moreno shakes up army command
Development: On 10 May negotiating teams representing the Colombian government and the Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN) guerrilla group renewed peace talks in Cuba.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 10 May 2018
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- Tensions rise over gas field dispute in Bolivia
- In brief: Peru
Development: On 9 May the Bolivian authorities announced that 37 people had been arrested and at least two police officers injured in clashes which took place in Macharetí municipality, Chuquisaca department.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 09 May 2018
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- Opposition candidates unite in Venezuela
- In brief: Bolivia
Development: On 8 May Luis Alejandro Ratti, one of the four opposition candidates running against Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro in the 20 May presidential election being organised by his government, announced that he was withdrawing his candidacy and endorsing that of fellow opposition candidate Henri Falcón.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 08 May 2018
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- Almagro calls for economic sanctions on Venezuela
- In brief: Colombia
Development: On 7 May the secretary general of the Organization of American States (OAS), Luis Almagro, called on OAS member countries to impose economic sanctions on Venezuela to end the “dictatorship” led by President Nicolás Maduro and “rescue” the Venezuelan people.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 04 May 2018
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- Venezuela refuses to suspend election despite international pressure
- In brief: Colombia
From Latin American Weekly Report
- Ecuador’s Moreno shakes up security strategy
- PERU: Cabinet clinches congressional clearance
- COLOMBIA: Santos denies peace process unravelling
- VENEZUELA: Maduro takes up arms in economic war
- TRACKING TRENDS
Development: On 3 May the president of Venezuela’s national electoral council (CNE), Tibisay Lucena, rejected the call issued by the European Parliament (EP) for the country to suspend the 20 May presidential election called by the government led by President Nicolás Maduro.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 03 May 2018
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- Vizcarra’s cabinet gets vote of confidence in Peru
- In brief: Venezuela
From Latin American Regional Report: Andean Group
- Introduction
- PERU: The complex struggle against illegal logging
- PERU: Are Peru’s clean water ambitions being drained?
- ECUADOR: The challenges facing Moreno in building bridges with social movements
- VENEZUELA: Carrots abandoned as region threatens a bigger stick against Maduro
- VENEZUELA: Pdvsa grinds to a halt under military management
- Economic Highlights
Development: On 2 May Peru’s unicameral national congress gave its vote of confidence to the new ministerial cabinet appointed by President Martín Vizcarra and led by Prime Minister César Villanueva.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 02 May 2018
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- Bolivia’s Morales upsets private sector
- In brief: Venezuela
From Latin American Security & Strategic Review
- It’s the corruption, stupid!
- Venezuela: A most difficult neighbour
- Colombia-Ecuador: On Colombia’s other border, Ecuador and the US rebuild security ties
Development: On 1 May, Bolivia’s President Evo Morales promulgated decrees establishing a 5.5% general salary increase and a 3% increase in the national minimum wage for this year.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 1 May 2018
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- Farc dissidents challenge Ecuadorean authorities
- In brief: Venezuela
Development: On 30 April the so-called 'Frente Oliver Sinisterra' (FOS), led by ‘Guacho’ (Walter Patricio Artízala), called for the creation of a humanitarian corridor on the border between Colombia and Ecuador in order to return the bodies of the three murdered employees of the Quito daily El Comercio, as well as two further Ecuadoreans it is holding hostage.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 30 April 2018
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- Colombian peace process under renewed strain
- In brief: Ecuador
Development: On 28 April, ‘Iván Márquez’ (Luciano Marín Arango), the former head of the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Farc) negotiating team in Cuba, urged Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos to take action to save the peace process.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 27 April 2018
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- Opposition candidate demands electoral guarantees in Venezuela
- In brief: Bolivia
From Latin American Weekly Report
- COLOMBIA: Parties rally to Vargas Lleras but not people
- VENEZUELA: Electoral campaign gets underway
- Peru’s Vizcarra faces first challenges
Development: On 26 April, Luis Alejandro Ratti, one of the four presidential candidates standing against Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro in the 20 May presidential election organised by the Maduro government, called on the national electoral council (CNE) to offer full guarantees for the process.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 26 April 2018
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- Correa’s links to Farc under investigation in Ecuador
- In brief: Peru
Development: On 25 April Ecuador’s attorney general’s office announced that it had opened a formal investigation into allegations that the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Farc) guerrillas provided illegal campaign financing for Ecuador’s former president Rafael Correa (2007-2017).
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 25 April 2018
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- Campaigning, tensions intensify in Venezuela
- In brief: Bolivia
Development: On 24 April, the four opposition candidates competing against Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro in the 20 May presidential election criticised the Maduro administration’s economic record and mooted the possibility of joining forces to try to defeat him in the polls.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 24 April 2018
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- Bolivia fighting rearguard action to save Unasur
- In brief: Ecuador
Development: On 23 April, Bolivia’s President Evo Morales said he would pull out all the stops to try and solve the political crisis threatening to break up the Union of South American Nations (Unasur).
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 23 April 2018
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- Colombian drug region rises up against violence
- In brief: Peru
Development: On 22 April, some 6,000 inhabitants of the Catatumbo geographical region in north-eastern Colombia demonstrated against a violent turf war for control of coca crops and drug trafficking routes in the area.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 20 April 2018
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- Colombian debate could sway voters ahead of elections
- In brief: Bolivia
From Latin American Weekly Report
- Region unites against corruption and on Venezuela
- COLOMBIA-ECUADOR: Uniting to fight a common enemy
- TRACKING TRENDS
Development: On 19 April Colombia’s six presidential candidates participated in the first national debate ahead of the first-round presidential election on 27 May.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 19 April 2018
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- Ecuador’s Moreno takes drastic action in response to border insecurity
- In brief: Colombia
Development: On 18 April Ecuador’s President Lenín Moreno announced that his government will not continue hosting the peace dialogue table between the Colombian government and the Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN) guerrillas until the latter commits to ceasing all terrorist activities.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 18 April 2018
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- Ecuador pushes for international cooperation following new kidnapping
- In brief: Venezuela
Development: On 17 April, Ecuador’s interior minister César Navas confirmed that two more civilians have been kidnapped by the ‘Oliver Sinisterra’ front, a dissident group of the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Farc) guerrillas that operates in the Colombia-Ecuador border area.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 17 April 2018
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- Ecuador, Colombia move against Farc dissidents
- In brief: Andean
Development: On 16 April, Ecuador’s President Lenín Moreno gave ‘Guacho’ (Walter Patricio Artízala Vernaza), the leader of a Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Farc) dissident guerrilla group, 10 days to turn himself in to the authorities or face the prospect of renewed military actions by the Ecuadorean and Colombian armed forces.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 16 April 2018
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- Hemispheric heavyweights denounce Venezuelan election
- In brief: Ecuador/Colombia
From Latin American Economy & Business
- Stronger fiscal policies needed
- Region: The Brookings view
- Region: Putting some numbers on climate change
- Peru: Tuesta to chase investment
- Economic Highlights
- Venezuela: Currency redenomination looms
- Region: Record number of oil and gas auctions
- Region: Corporate Radar
Development: On 14 April, 16 countries attending the Summit of the Americas (SOA) hosted by Peru signed a statement refusing to recognise the validity of the Venezuelan presidential election scheduled for 20 May.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 13 April 2018
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- Ecuador’s Moreno issues ultimatum
- In brief: Peru
From Latin American Weekly Report
- COLOMBIA: Santrich arrest tests solidity of peace process
- VENEZUELA: Vaccinating against failure
- ECUADOR: Correa in the firing line
- PANAMA: Relations with Venezuela hit new low
- Peru prepares to spearhead anti-corruption crusade
Development: On 12 April Ecuador’s President Lenín Moreno gave the kidnappers of the three Ecuadorean journalists, snatched by a suspected dissident group of the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Farc) guerrillas, 12 hours to provide his government with proof of life of the abductees, or face potential military action.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 12 April 2018
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- Farc dissident group announces deaths of Ecuadorean journalists
- In brief: Venezuela
Development: On 11 April the 'Oliver Sinisterra' front, a dissident group of the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Farc) guerrillas, announced the deaths of two Ecuadorean journalists and their driver, who had been abducted by the group last month.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 11 April 2018
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- Political tensions resurface in Ecuador
- In brief: Venezuela
Development: On 10 April, hundreds of sympathisers of Ecuador’s former president, Rafael Correa (2007-2017), staged a protest march in Quito in defence of the Correa administration’s political legacy and in rejection of the incumbent government led by President Lenín Moreno.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 10 April 2018
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- Colombia’s peace process faces new key test
- In brief: Colombia/Venezuela
Development: On 9 April, Colombia’s attorney general’s office announced the arrest of the former Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Farc) leader, ‘Jesús Santrich’ (Seuxis Pauxias Hernández Solarte), on drug trafficking charges filed by the US.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 9 April 2018
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- Protests continue in Venezuela as election approaches
- In brief: Bolivia
Development: On 7 April, dozens of people demonstrated outside a military base in Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, in protest at the shortage of childhood vaccinations.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 06 April 2018
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- Irregularities found in Colombia’s post-conflict programmes
- In brief: Colombia
From Latin American Weekly Report
- PERU: Can Vizcarra’s cabinet square the circle?
- VENEZUELA: Police cell deaths highlight criminal justice crisis
- VENEZUELA: Essequibo dispute provides a political wild card
- Security issues still daunting in Colombia
Development: On 5 April, Colombia’s attorney general’s office announced that it had discovered evidence of irregularities in the contracting process for post-conflict development projects in the country, and that it will be opening a criminal investigation into potential misbehaviour by government officials regarding the allocation of these funds.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 05 April 2018
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- Correa targeted by corruption investigation in Ecuador
- In brief: Colombia
Development: Ecuador’s transitional citizen participation and social control council (Cpcss) announced on 4 April an investigation into decisions taken by former president Rafael Correa (2007-2017), as part of the campaign against corruption by the new Alianza País (AP) government led by President Lenín Moreno.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 4 April 2018
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- Journalists’ kidnapping case feeds Ecuador-Colombia tensions
- In brief: Colombia
Development: On 3 April, the Ecuadorean government rejected the release by the Colombian media of a proof-of-life video of three recently kidnapped Ecuadoran journalists and called on the Colombian government to do more to find the journalists.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 3 April 2018
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- Vizcarra names new cabinet in Peru
- In brief: Ecuador
Development: Peru’s new president, Martín Vizcarra, swore-in his new cabinet on 2 April, making major changes right across government.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 29 March 2018
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- Deadly prison riot in Venezuela
- In brief: Venezuela
From Latin American Weekly Report
- Peru’s Vizcarra gears up for challenges ahead
- COLOMBIA: Duque steals a march on rivals
- ECUADOR: Moreno eyeing big shake-up
- VENEZUELA: Maduro launches petro, relaunches bolívar
From Latin American Regional Report: Andean Group
- Introduction
- Growing concerns over the murder of social leaders in Colombia
- Agricultural strikes highlight the plight of Peru’s subsistence farmers
- Ecuador’s education reform: challenges and achievements
- Pdvsa’s woes extend
- Skipping town
- Economic Highlights
Development: On 28 March, Venezuela’s attorney general’s office confirmed that 68 people had died and dozens more were injured after a riot broke out in the holding cells of the Carabobo state police headquarters, in the city of Valencia; local media reports suggest that a fire was started after clashes with guards.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 28 March 2018
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- Ecuadorean journalists kidnapped near Colombian border
- In brief: Peru
Development: On 27 March, the Ecuadorean government confirmed that two journalists from national daily El Comercio, and their driver, had been kidnapped the previous day in Esmeraldas province, on the borders with Colombia.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 27 March 2018
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- Last minute electoral alliance efforts in Colombia
- In brief: Colombia
From Latin American Security & Strategic Review
- The bad city ranking
- Region: Food security not a simple issue
- Region: Tougher security line from Pompeo?
- Region: Latin American Women stand up for their rights – and security
- Venezuela: Military ructions
Development: On 26 March, the presidential candidate of Colombia’s centrist Partido Liberal (PL), Humberto de la Calle, said he will ask the national electoral council (CNE) if there is any way for him to register an electoral alliance with Sergio Fajardo, the presidential candidate of the Coalición Colombia centre-left coalition.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 26 March 2018
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- Vizcarra assumes presidency in Peru
- In brief: Colombia
Development: On 23 March, Martín Vizcarra was sworn in as the 67th president of Peru shortly after the national congress accepted the resignation of President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 23 March 2018
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- Peruvians protest against political class
- In brief: Venezuela
From Latin American Weekly Report
- Scandal-hit Kuczynski resigns to avoid impeachment
- VENEZUELA: Maduro performs purge as petro pummelled
- COLOMBIA: Farc dissidents provide major headache
Development: On 22 March some 5,000 protesters took to the streets of central Lima waving placards calling upon all Peruvian politicians to go and for new general elections to be staged.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 22 March 2018
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- Kuczynski resigns, but political crisis drags on in Peru
- In brief: Venezuela
Development: On 21 March Peru’s President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski gave a nationally televised address in which he announced that he had decided to tender his formal resignation to the national congress.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 21 March 2018
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- Clandestine videos put Peru’s Kuczynski against the ropes
- In brief: Ecuador
Development: On 20 March, Peru’s main right-wing opposition party, Fuerza Popular (FP, Fujimoristas), released a series of videos in which Kenji Fujimori, its former deputy, appears to offer bribes to FP legislators so that they will vote against the impeachment of President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 20 March 2018
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- Venezuelan military chief condemns coup-mongering
- In brief: Ecuador
Development: On 19 March, Venezuela’s defence minister, General-in-chief Vladimir Padrino López, called on dissident figures within the Bolivarian armed forces (FANB) to stop agitating for a military coup.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 19 March 2018
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- Armed attacks on Colombia-Ecuador border
- In brief: Bolivia
Development: On 18 March, the Ecuadorean government led by President Lenín Moreno confirmed that two armed incidents took place in Ecuador’s coastal province of Esmeraldas, on the border with Colombia.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 16 March 2018
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- Peru’s Kuczynski once again faces impeachment gauntlet
- In brief: Colombia
From Latin American Weekly Report
- Colombian congressional result should propel Vargas Lleras into contention
- VENEZUELA: Edgy Maduro cracks down on dissent
- ECUADOR: Moreno rises above institutional power clash
Development: On 15 March, Peru’s unicameral national congress approved a motion to subject President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski to a new impeachment trial by the legislature over his moral incapacity to govern as a result of his links to Brazilian engineering firm, Odebrecht.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 15 March 2018
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- New assembly head elected in Ecuador
- In brief: Bolivia
Development: On 14 March Ecuador’s unicameral national assembly elected Deputy Elizabeth Cabezas of the ruling Alianza País (AP) party as its new president.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 14 march 2018
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- Prominent dissident Chavista arrested in Venezuela
- In brief: Peru
Development: On 13 March officers from Venezuela’s intelligence service (Sebin) arrested former interior minister (Ret) Major General Miguel Rodríguez Torres (2013-2014), while he held a political rally in Caracas.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 13 March 2018
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- Santos resumes ELN talks in Colombia
- In brief: Bolivia
Development: On 12 March Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos ordered the resumption of peace negotiations with the Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN) guerrilla group.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 12 March 2018
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- Right has advantage in Colombia elections
- In brief: Ecuador
From Latin American Economy & Business
- Trade Agreements II: Chile keeps the TPP in play
- Region: After China, here comes ‘Latindia’
- Economic Highlights
- Region: Little progress on corruption
- Colombia: Focus on future policies
- Venezuela: Introducing the crypto-petro fantasy
- Region: Global Business Forum: good news for Latam
Development: The preliminary results from Colombia’s national legislative elections held on 11 March show that the right-wing opposition Centro Democrático (CD) party looks set to become the largest single party in the new national congress.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 09 March 2018
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- Colombia prepares for legislative elections
- In brief: Peru
From Latin American Weekly Report
- Electoral violence takes new form
- PERU: Kuczynski dependent on Kenji for survival
- TRACKING TRENDS
Development: On 8 March, the Fuerza Alternativa Revolucionaria del Común (Farc) political party announced that its presidential candidate, the former guerrilla group’s main leader ‘Timochenko’ (Rodrigo Londoño Echeverri), would be withdrawing from the election due to health concerns, and would not be replaced.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 08 March 2018
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- Ecuador’s national assembly to debate conspiracy allegations
- In brief: Ecuador
Development: On 7 March, Ecuador’s national assembly unanimously voted in favour of summoning Attorney General Carlos Baca and assembly president José Serrano, to appear before the assembly’s ethics committee on 8 March to explain the mutual accusations made by the two men in a series of press conferences that have taken place over the past fortnight.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 7 March 2018
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- Venezuelan opposition groups form new broad coalition
- In brief: Ecuador
Development: On 6 March, at a gathering in the Universidad Central de Venezuela (UCV) of political opponents to the government led by President Nicolás Maduro, it was announced that representatives of healthcare, oil, academic, student, and business sectors have all agreed to put aside their differences and work together as a national unit to “rescue democracy”.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 6 March 2018
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- Peru’s Kuczynski fighting impeachment again
- In brief: Venezuela
Development: On 5 March, Peru’s President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski insisted that there was no justification for a second impeachment motion to be tabled against him in the national congress.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 05 March 2018
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- Colombia’s congressional campaigns conclude violently
- In brief: Ecuador
Development: Campaigning for Colombia’s congressional elections concluded on 4 March, one week before the contest takes place.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 02 March 2018
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- In brief: Colombia
From Latin American Weekly Report
- COLOMBIA: ELN attack has electoral impact
- VENEZUELA: Falcón breaks ranks to oppose Maduro
- ARGENTINA-BOLIVIA: Health costs cool relations with Bolivia
Colombia: The constitutional court (CC) gave the green light on 1 March to the amnesty law, a key component of the peace accord signed between the Colombian government and the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Farc) guerrillas.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 01 March 2018
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- Spectre of Odebrecht corruption once again threatens Peru’s political leaders
- In brief: Colombia
From Latin American Regional Report: Andean Group
- Introduction
- BOLIVIA: Spoiled ballots win in elections for the Bolivian judiciary
- COLOMBIA: Colombia’s illicit crop substitution programme faces criticisms
- PERU: The continuity of Peru’s extractive development model
- VENEZUELA: The migrant crisis accelerates
- Economic Highlights
Development: On 28 February Peruvian political leaders including President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski and Prime Minister Mercedes Aráoz were compelled to publicly deny allegations that they received illegal electoral campaign financing from Brazilian engineering firm Odebrecht.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 28 February 2018
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- Dubious electoral process advances in Venezuela
- In brief: Colombia
From Latin American Security & Strategic Review
- How to cope with the growing wave of Venezuelan migrants
- Region: Mixed picture on homicide rates
- Peru: Security alert over mining-related conflict
- Peru: International court assesses Fujimori’s pardon
- Peru: Of art and terrorism
- Guyana-Venezuela: Tension on the border
Development: On 27 February, Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro and five other candidates formally registered their candidacies before the national electoral council (CNE) for the 22 April presidential election.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 27 February 2018
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- Conspiracy accusations rock Ecuadorean gov’t
- In brief: Venezuela
- Argentina-Bolivia tensions rise over health care spat
Development: On 26 February, Ecuador’s President Lenín Moreno ordered a full investigation into a leaked audio recording in which Deputy José Serrano, the president of the national assembly, allegedly conspired to dismiss the attorney general, Carlos Baca Manchena.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 26 February 2018
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- Maduro acclaims military fealty ahead of Venezuelan elections
- In brief: Peru
Development: On 24 February, Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro launched two days of military exercises in the face of alleged US incitement of the Bolivarian armed forces (FANB) to carry out “a coup d’état”.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 23 February 2018
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- Peru’s President Kuczynski forging closer ties with Kenji
- In brief: Venezuela
From Latin American Weekly Report
- VENEZUELA: Maduro tables economic and political solutions
- PERU: Kuczynski bogged down
- COLOMBIA-VENEZUELA: Dangerous frontiers
- COLOMBIA: Uribe faces new witness-tampering claim
Development: On 22 February, Peru’s President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski invited Kenji Fujimori, the son of former president Alberto Fujimori (1990-2000), to accompany him on the presidential plane to oversee a project to clean up Lake Titicaca in the south-eastern region of Puno.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 22 February 2018
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- Venezuela’s MUD announces boycott of elections
- In brief: Colombia
Development: On 21 February, Venezuela’s opposition coalition Mesa de la Unidad Democrática (MUD) announced it was boycotting the presidential election called for 22 April.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 21 February 2018
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- Venezuela launches digital currency amid electoral controversy
- In brief: Peru
Development: On 20 February, the Venezuelan government completed the long-awaited launch of its cryptocurrency, the petro, backed by the country’s oil reserves.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 20 February 2018
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- Fujimori could stand trial for Pativilca massacre
- In brief: Venezuela
Development: On 19 February, Court B of the National Criminal Court in Peru said former president Alberto Fujimori (1990-2000) could be tried for his alleged involvement in the 1992 torture and assassination of six men in Pativilca, a town to the north of Lima.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 19 February 2018
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- Colombia-Venezuela tensions mount ahead of elections
- In brief: Ecuador
Development: Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos claimed on 18 February that a member of the Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN) who died placing an explosive on a road during the guerrilla group’s recent four-day ‘armed strike’ belonged to Venezuela’s Bolivarian national guard (GNB).
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 16 February 2018
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- Venezuela’s former AG says López conviction unsound
- In brief: Colombia
From Latin American Weekly Report
- COLOMBIA: Are electoral threats diminishing?
- VENEZUELA: Maduro undeterred as pressure builds
- PERU: Clashing with Corte-IDH
- TRACKING TRENDS
- Referendum triumph could come at a cost for Ecuador’s Moreno
Development: On 15 February, Venezuela’s former attorney general, Luisa Ortega, admitted that she was coerced into charging the political opposition figurehead Leopoldo López in relation to fatal anti-government protests in 2014.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 15 February 2018
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- Maduro offers minor concessions to Venezuela’s opposition
- In brief: Peru
Development: On 14 February Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro announced that his government will re-open it consulate in Miami, Florida; and that he has asked the national electoral council (CNE) to extend the deadline for Venezuelans abroad to register to vote in the upcoming presidential election.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 14 February 2018
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- Lima Group further isolates Venezuela
- In brief: Colombia
From Latin American Economy & Business
- Time to take the China road?
- Colombia: Modestly positive outlook for 2018
- Ecuador: Ecuador returns to international capital markets
- Venezuela: Venezuela announces maxi-devaluation
- Peru: Potato troubles
Development: On 13 February, the ‘Lima Group’ of countries that are monitoring the political crisis in Venezuela called on the government led by President Nicolás Maduro to come up with a new electoral calendar and backed Peru’s decision to declare Maduro ‘not welcome’ to the VIII Summit of the Americas meeting due to be hosted by Peru from 13-14 April.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 13 February 2018
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- Colombia's judiciary moves against ELN top brass
- In brief: Colombia
Development: On 12 February, Colombia's judiciary issued 21 arrest warrants for guerrillas in the Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN), including five members of its central command (Coce).
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 12 February 2018
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- Chances of peace with ELN diminished in Colombia
- In brief: Peru
Development: On 10 February, Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos said that it would be “very difficult” for his government to resume the formal peace dialogue with the Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN) guerrillas.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 09 February 2018
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- Region reacts to Venezuela’s deepening humanitarian crisis
- In brief: Ecuador
From Latin American Weekly Report
- Spectre of Monroe haunts Tillerson on regional swing
- ECUADOR: Moreno beats Correa but now needs to deliver
- COLOMBIA: Prioritising protection of community leaders
- VENEZUELA: Forced into devaluation
- TRACKING TRENDS
- April election date for Venezuela as talks fail
Development: On 8 February, Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos announced that his government will implement new tougher immigration controls to try to stem the flow of migrants from Venezuela seeking humanitarian relief in Colombia.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 08 February 2018
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- Venezuela dialogue breaks down as CNE sets election date
- In brief: Bolivia
Development: On 7 February the Dominican Republic’s President Danilo Medina announced the “indefinite recess” of the internationally-sponsored dialogue between Venezuela’s political opposition and the government led by President Nicolás Maduro to try to find a solution to the Andean country’s political crisis.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 7 February 2018
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- Colombia and US call for a regional solution to Venezuela’s political crisis
- In brief: Ecuador
Development: On 6 February, in a joint press conference alongside Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson praised the Santos government’s efforts to help restore democracy in Venezuela and bring about free elections and added that he had spoken at length with Santos about how the US could work with the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Lima Group to intervene in favour of restoring democracy in Venezuela.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 6 February 2018
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- Ecopetrol denounces bomb attack in Colombia
- In brief: Colombia
Development: On 5 February, Colombia’s state-owned oil company, Ecopetrol, reported that another bomb attack had hit the Limón-Coveñas oil pipeline in Saravena, in the country’s north-eastern Arauca department.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 5 February 2018
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- Ecuador’s Moreno scores a major political victory
- In brief: Colombia
Development: On 4 February, Ecuador’s national electoral council (CNE) released the preliminary results of the national plebiscite held that same day which show that the ‘yes’ vote was well ahead in all seven of the questions included in the plebiscite.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 02 February 2018
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- Peru’s Kuczynski faces renewed impeachment threat
- In brief: Ecuador
From Latin American Weekly Report
- Past and future of Colombian armed conflict overlap
- VENEZUELA: Opposition clutches at straws
- PERU: Family rift splits Fujimorismo
Development: On 1 February, the leftist opposition Frente Amplio (FA) and Nuevo Perú (NP) benches in Peru’s national congress presented two separate motions calling for President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski to be subjected to impeachment proceedings.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 01 February 2018
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- Violence marks the end of plebiscite campaign in Ecuador
- In brief: Bolivia
From Latin American Regional Report: Andean Group
- COLOMBIA: Calls for greater transparency over presidential registration campaigns
- COLOMBIA: Poverty reduction in Colombia – miles behind
- ECUADOR: New site of armed conflict in the region?
- VENEZUELA: Venezuela takes over OPEC presidency
- VENEZUELA: EU sanctions seven senior officials
- Economic Highlights
Development: On 31 January Ecuador’s President Lenín Moreno condemned the aggression to which his predecessor, Rafael Correa (2007-2017), had been subjected while campaigning in favour of the ‘no’ vote in the national plebiscite on seven major political and economic reforms proposed by Moreno, scheduled to take place on 4 February.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 31 January 2018
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- Fujimorismo fragments as political polarisation increases in Peru
- In brief: Ecuador
From Latin American Security & Strategic Review
- Questions over Trump’s national security strategy
- Peru: Peruvians protest against Fujimori’s release
- Colombia: ELN peace talks interrupted
Development: On 30 January, the disciplinary committee of Peru’s main right-wing opposition Fuerza Popular (FP, Fujimoristas) party recommended the expulsion from the party of Kenji Fujimori and two other FP national deputies.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 30 January 2018
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- Peace dialogue with Colombia’s ELN hangs by a thread
- In brief: Colombia
Development: On 29 January, Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos announced the definite suspension of the peace dialogue that his government has been holding with the Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN) guerrillas.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 29 January 2018
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- ELN assumes responsibility for deadly terror attack in Colombia
- In brief: Ecuador
Development: On 28 January, a column from Colombia’s Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN) guerrillas claimed responsibility for a bomb attack targeting a police barracks in the city of Barranquilla, in the northern Atlántico department, in which five police officers were killed.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 26 January 2018
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- Venezuelan opposition faces huge new electoral hurdle
- In brief: Ecuador
From Latin American Weekly Report
- Maduro bets on early elections to exploit opposition divisions
- COLOMBIA: Political realignments cause pre-electoral tension
- PERU: Kuczynski’s woes continue
- TRACKING TRENDS
- Ecuador’s Moreno on course for big victory
Development: On 25 January, Venezuela’s supreme court (TSJ) ordered the national electoral council (CNE) to bar the opposition coalition Mesa de la Unidad Democrática (MUD) from competing in the presidential elections which it has been instructed to organise before the end of April.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 25 January 2018
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- Venezuela political dialogue crumbles
- In brief: Ecuador
Development: On 24 January Luis Florido, a representative of the Mesa de la Unidad Democrática (MUD) opposition coalition in the internationally-sponsored political dialogue that has been established between the MUD and the government led by President Nicolás Maduro to try to find a solution to Venezuela’s political crisis, said that the dialogue is “dying”.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 24 January 2018
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- Venezuela brings forward election, undermining dialogue with opposition
- In brief: Bolivia
Development: On 23 January the national constituent assembly (ANC) convened by the Venezuelan government led by President Nicolás Maduro approved a decree ordering for the presidential election due this year to be held in the first quarter of the year.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 23 January 2018
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- Venezuelan gov’t remains defiant in the face of EU sanctions
- In brief: Colombia
Development: On 22 January, Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro said that his government will not “kneel before the immoral sanctions” imposed on its officials by the European Union (EU).
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 22 January 2018
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- Colombia’s Santos orders resumption of ELN peace dialogue
- In brief: Bolivia
Development: On 21 January Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos announced that he had decided to resume the formal peace dialogue with the Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN) guerrillas and that he had ordered the government’s negotiating team to immediately travel to Quito, Ecuador, to re-establish the dialogue table.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 19 January 2018
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- Venezuela political dialogue stalls once more
- In brief: Ecuador
From Latin American Weekly Report
- VENEZUELA: Maduro bolstered by opposition rift
- ECUADOR: Ruling party succumbs to schism
- COLOMBIA: UN expresses concern over peace process progress
- TRACKING TRENDS
Development: On 18 January Venezuela’s main opposition coalition, Mesa de le Unidad Democrática (MUD), announced it was suspending its participation in the internationally-sponsored dialogue that is has been holding with the Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela (PSUV) government led by President Nicolás Maduro to try to find a solution to the country’s political crisis.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 18 January 2018
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- Farc denounces electoral violence in Colombia
- In brief: Venezuela
Development: On 17 January, Fuerza Alternativa del Común, the new political party formed by former guerrillas from the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Farc), denounced that two former Farc fighters were killed while campaigning ahead of Colombia’s 11 March national legislative elections.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 17 January 2018
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- AP split becomes a reality in Ecuador
- In brief: Bolivia
Development: On 16 January Ecuador’s former president Rafael Correa (2007-2017) and various politicians from the ruling Alianza País (AP) party formally quit the AP and announced the creation of new political party dubbed Revolución Ciudadana (RC).
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 16 January 2018
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- Venezuela’s Maduro hints at another presidential bid
- In brief: Colombia
Development: On 15 January, Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro said that he wants to compete with the political opposition in the presidential election due this year, and he predicted that the ruling Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela (PSUV) party will once again “be victorious in 2018”.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 15 January 2018
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- ELN maintains violence campaign in Colombia
- In brief: Venezuela
From Latin American Economy & Business
- Moderate improvement in the pace of regional growth
- Venezuela: Cash-strapped government pins hopes on crypto-currency
- Peru: Political storm clouds the economic outlook
- Region: New ways of cooperation against corruption
- Ecuador: Moreno looks to turn over a new page
- Region: US oil output to hit a record high in 2018 on shale boom
- Region: Corporate Radar
Development: On 14 January, the local authorities in Colombia’s eastern department of Arauca confirmed that a contractor of the state-owned oil firm, Ecopetrol, had been kidnapped by presumed members of the Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN) insurgent guerrillas.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 12 January 2018
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- Peruvians protest Fujimori’s pardon
- In brief: Peru
From Latin American Weekly Report
- Peru’s Kuczynski faces backlash over Fujimori pardon
- VENEZUELA: Maduro picks up unwanted records
- COLOMBIA: ELN peace talks suspended
- BOLIVIA: Morales pledges health sector overhaul
Development: On 11 January, an estimated 19,000 people participated in nationwide protests in Peru to condemn President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski’s pardon of former president Alberto Fujimori (1990-2000).
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 11 January 2018
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- Colombia’s Santos suspends ELN peace dialogue
- In brief: Venezuela
Development: On 10 January Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos ordered the suspension of the fifth round of the peace dialogue that his government has been holding with the Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN) insurgent guerrillas in Quito, Ecuador; recalling the government peace negotiating team to Colombia.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 10 January 2018
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- Colombia gov’t and ELN to start critical new round of peace talks
- In brief: Peru
Development: On 9 January, Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos announced that the fifth round of the peace dialogue that his government has been holding with the Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN) insurgent guerrillas in Quito, Ecuador, would begin today (10 January).
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 9 January 2018
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- Military deployed to fight drug trafficking in Colombia’s Nariño
- In brief: Bolivia
Development: On 8 January, the Colombian government announced the deployment of 2,000 armed forces personnel to help combat drug trafficking activity in the Pacific port city of Tumaco, Nariño department.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 08 January 2018
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- Moreno loyalist appointed to Ecuador’s vice-presidency
- In brief: Venezuela
- In brief: Brazil
Development: On 6 January Ecuador’s national assembly appointed the acting vice president, María Alejandra Vicuña, in a permanent capacity to replace Jorge Glas, who was sentenced to six years in prison for corruption last month.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 5 January 2018
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- Bolivia’s Morales calls for repeal of contentious criminal code changes
- In brief: Venezuela
- Itamaraty calls on Venezuela for updates on Brazilian prisoner
Development: On 4 January, Bolivia's President Evo Morales announced that he would call on the national legislature to repeal two articles (205 and 137) of the recently approved criminal code which is scheduled to take effect in June 2019.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 04 January 2018
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- Political crisis comes to a head in Ecuador
- In brief: Colombia, Peru
Development: On 3 January Ecuador’s President Lenín Moreno declared the post of vice president vacant and announced that he will now send a shortlist of nominees to the unicameral national assembly so that it can elect a new vice president.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 03 January 2018
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- Social emergency grows in Venezuela amid persistent political crisis
- In brief: Ecuador
Development: On 2 January Cardinal Jorge Liberato Urosa Sabino, the archbishop of Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, urged the Venezuelan government led by President Nicolás Maduro to solve the “social emergency” in the country and to ensure the staging of a “clean” general election due to be held this year.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 2 January 2018
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- Political uncertainty continues to reign in Peru
- In brief: Peru
Development: On 30 December 2017, Peru’s attorney general Pablo Sánchez denied any responsibility for the leaking of an audio recording of testimony given to Peruvian prosecutors by Marcelo Odebrecht implicating Peruvian political leaders in the corruption scheme centred around the Brazilian engineering firm, Odebrecht.
LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group
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- In brief: Ecuador
* Ecuador’s energy & non-renewable natural resources ministry has released a statement announcing that multinational mining firm Anglo American has expressed an interest in developing three mining projects in the country.