Latinnews Daily - 13 February 2018 |
Main Briefing |
Car bomb triggers fears of electoral violence in El Salvador |
Development: On 12 February, El Salvador’s Justice & Public Security Minister Mauricio Ramírez Landaverde said that, so far, no particular criminal group had been identified as being responsible for a car bomb that went off the previous day in Santa Tecla municipality, La Libertad department. However, he added that, with less than a month until the 4 March elections for the 84-member national unicameral legislature and all 262 mayoral seats in 14 departments, electoral motives could not be ruled out. Significance: The incident is likely to reignite existing concerns about links between organised crime and politicians ahead of the elections, which pre-electoral polls suggest are likely to produce a defeat for the left-wing ruling Frente Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional (FMLN) government led by President Salvador Sánchez Cerén. The government has been damaged by its perceived failure to address long-running issues like security and the economy.
Looking Ahead: The pre-electoral surveys reveal a disillusioned electorate, prompting concerns about abstention. The UFG poll showed that 33.2% of respondents said that they would not vote in the legislative election. Meanwhile the IUDOP poll showed that 59.9% of respondents had little or no interest in voting in the next elections while the political parties were the least trusted of the country’s institutions, registering just 3% trust. |
Andean |
Colombia's judiciary moves against ELN top brass |
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). Significance: The arrest warrants underpin the assertion by President Juan Manuel Santos that resuming his government’s peace negotiations with the ELN will be “very difficult”. With only six months left in office, Santos no longer has the political capital he enjoyed at the outset of his government’s peace negotiations with the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Farc) guerrillas in Cuba, and the majority of presidential aspirants ahead of May’s presidential election are now opposed to pursuing talks with the ELN in view of the violence unleashed by the guerrilla group since the expiry of the bilateral ceasefire on 10 January.
Looking Ahead: Unless the ELN makes a significant gesture in the near future the prospects for a resumption of the peace process with the Colombian government in Ecuador look bleak. |
In brief: Colombia |
Colombia: Figures from the Colombian association of flower exporters (Asocolflores) show that Colombia’s floriculture sector exported a total of 246,000 tonnes of flowers in 2017, up 5% on 2016. Meanwhile Colombia's agriculture ministry released statistics which show that the US is Colombia’s main market for flowers, receiving 78% of exports, followed by United Kingdom (4%), Japan (4%), Canada (3%), and Russia (2%) with the remaining 9% distributed across 90 other countries worldwide, including new markets in Saint Lucia, Ethiopia, and the Maldives. Over US$297m has been invested in the sector since 2010, which has generated an estimated 130,000 jobs, with an average of 14 needed per hectare. |
Brazil |
Temer visits Brazil’s Roraima to tackle immigration |
Development: On 12 February, Brazil’s President Michel Temer travelled to Roraima with a team of ministers and agreed to send federal resources and a task force to the northern state which is grappling with an influx of immigrants from Venezuela. Significance: Until recently, the humanitarian crisis in Roraima had been seen as a local state problem. But as Venezuelan immigrants begin to spread to other parts of the country, it is fast becoming a national issue, forcing the Temer government to take action. The idea is not to set up a hard border with Venezuela but to streamline the flow of immigrants into Brazil, Temer explained.
Looking Ahead: Temer will publish an emergency decree outlining the government’s immigration strategy later this week. |
In brief: Brazil |
* Roraima state governor Suely Campos called on President Michel Temer to improve local electricity provisions during his recent visit to the state capital, Boa Vista. Currently, Roraima is the only state that is not connected with Brazil’s national electricity grid (SIN). Since 2001, most of Roraima’s electricity has come from a hydroelectric dam in Venezuela. But this power source is fast becoming unsustainable as demand for energy increases. This led to a series of power shortages last month. |
Central America & Caribbean |
In brief: El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras |
Central America El Salvador/Guatemala/Honduras: El Salvador has entered a third round of talks to negotiate its inclusion in the already-established customs union between Guatemala and Honduras which was launched last year. According to a press release by El Salvador’s economy ministry, deputy economy minister Luz Estrella Rodríguez will discuss plans for the easier movement of people and a new customs model at the border crossing points El Salvador shares with Guatemala and Honduras. Rodríguez stated that she “expects to make important advances in these talks, which will contribute to the objective of formally joining the union by June of this year”. The talks are due to last from 12-16 February. |
Mexico |
Mexico’s SNTE gives boost to education reform |
Development: On 12 February, the Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores de la Educación (SNTE), Mexico’s main teachers’ union, approved changes to its internal structure and re-elected Juan Díaz de la Torre as its main leader. Significance: The changes, and Díaz de la Torre’s re-election, are considered a positive outcome for the successful implementation of the 2012-2013 education reform approved by the incumbent government led by President Enrique Peña Nieto. Díaz de la Torre is a supporter of the reform, which is still strongly resisted by the Coordinadora Nacional de Trabajadores de la Educación (CNTE) rival teachers’ union. For the past five years the CNTE has been staging disruptive protests to try to stop the implementation of the reform and there was speculation that the sector’s discontent could lead to the election of an SNTE leader less supportive of the reform and with closer links to the CNTE.
Looking Ahead: While the outcome of the SNTE congress looks positive for the education reform, that this remains controversial was made clear by the CNTE yesterday. It staged protest marches in various southern states calling for the repeal of the reform and in repudiation of Díaz de la Torre, who it accuses of being subservient to the government. The new government that is to be elected in the 1 July general election will have to find a way to appease the CNTE. |
In brief: Mexico |
* Mexico’s finance minister, José Antonio González Anaya, has said that based on preliminary figures Mexico’s GDP increased by 1.8% in the fourth quarter of 2017, the 32nd consecutive quarter of positive economic growth. González hailed the result, noting that this is the longest positive quarterly growth streak in Mexico’s history, making it one of the “most prosperous emerging economies in the world”. González also highlighted that this growth has come despite the fact that Mexico’s economy has faced some significant external economic challenges in the past five years such as weak economic growth in the US, the fall in international oil prices, and the uncertainty surrounding the future of the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta). |
Southern Cone |
Argentina’s Macri winning trade union tussle with Moyanos |
Development: On 12 February, Luis Barrionuevo became the latest of Argentina’s most powerful trade union leaders to distance himself from the general strike being organised by Hugo and Pablo Moyano for 21 February. Significance: Barrionuevo’s decision to come out against the general strike is a coup for President Mauricio Macri. It was Barrionuevo, the leader of the union of tourism, hotel, and restaurant workers (UTHGRA), who had issued a stark warning to Macri last month not to “twist the lion’s tail”, pointing out that previous presidents who had attacked the country’s trade unions had failed to finish their terms. Barrionuevo was referring to the unprecedented surge in arrests of union leaders accused of corruption. That he has not seen fit to rally to the side of the Moyanos, who stand accused of money laundering, is telling.
Looking Ahead: The Macri administration looks like reaping the reward of its divide and rule tactics. In a clear indication that he is feeling cornered, Hugo Moyano lashed out yesterday at what he described as “a CGT subordinated” to the government. |
In brief: Paraguay |
Paraguay: Paraguay’s total exports in January were worth US$860.7m, up 1.5% on January 2017’s US$848.3m, according to figures released by the central bank (BCP). January’s imports were worth US$1.07bn, a 23.4% increase compared with the same month in 2017, representing an all-time high. The BCP has therefore reported that the trade balance is in deficit at US$215m. |