Brazil & Southern Cone - May 2026

ARGENTINA | Chevron to launch new oil project. Economy Minister Luis Caputo announced on 6 May that US oil company Chevron plans to invest US$10bn in a new project under the government’s incentive for large investments scheme (Rigi). Caputo made the announcement after meeting with Chevron’s chief financial officer, Eimear Bonner, and chief corporate affairs officer, Laura Lane, in Los Angeles, California. Media reports have highlighted the significance of the planned Chevron project for the development of Argentina’s Vaca Muerta shale oil and gas fields in Neuquén province. The US oil giant has already invested in Vaca Muerta oil infrastructure development, through a partnership with other firms such as Argentina’s state oil company Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales (YPF). News website Bloomberg Línea has highlighted that, when the new Chevron investment is finalised, it would be the first US oil project in Vaca Muerta which is not tied to YPF’s Vaca Muerta Oleoducto Sur (VMOS) consortium.

PARAGUAY | Income inequality edges down. The national statistics institute (INE) released new figures on 11 May showing that the Gini inequality index, which measures inequality on a scale from 0 to 1, decreased at the national level, falling from 0.439 in 2024 to 0.431 in 2025 – a decrease of approximately 1.7%. The INE report highlighted that urban areas maintained a lower Gini coefficient compared to rural areas, indicating that “income distribution is relatively more equitable in cities”. At the departmental level, there are significant differences, with the eastern departments of Caaguazú (0.605) and neighbouring Canindeyú (0.545) recording the highest levels of income inequality in 2025. In contrast, the departments of Central (0.359), Cordillera (0.362), and Ñeembucú (0.366), all in the west of the country, recorded the lowest levels of income inequality last year.

Brazil & Southern Cone: inflation rate
Percentage variation (year-on-year)

Brazil & Southern Cone: GDP growth (%)
Quarterly figures are year-on-year growth