Regional Pulse: 16 January 2024
Southern Pulse’s weekly review of need-to-know events curated for people who work in Latin America.
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Editor's Picks:
Argentina
US court rules against Argentina in YPF expropriation case
On 11 January 2024, a US court ruled that vulture funds can now seize Argentine assets after the government lost an appeal to extend the deadline to repay USD16 billion to investors. These investors lost out during the renationalization of the state-owned oil company YPF in 2012. Burford Capital bought the right to litigate the case from Argentina’s Petersen Group, owned by the Eskenazi family. The family has strong links to former vice president Cristina Kirchner. Argentina had hoped to delay the compensation deadline while it appealed the September 2023 decision. However, the US court upheld the 10 January deadline, meaning plaintiffs like Burford Capital and Eton Park can now seek to seize assets. The judge has not yet specified which assets are up for seizure. The government claims the ruling puts it in an impossible position because it cannot pay the funds owed, and yet failure to comply will jeopardize any future attempts to secure loans from institutions like the IMF.
Brazil
Chinese companies invest billions in Brazilian infrastructure
On 10 January 2023, Chinese company CRCC expressed its intention to bid for up to USD2.5 billion in Brazilian public infrastructure contracts. CRCC said it will participate in upcoming bids to build roads in the states of S?o Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Rio de Janeiro as it expands international operations amid a contraction in China’s construction sector. CRCC, a Chinese state-owned Fortune 500 company that made USD160 billion in 2022, is already engaged in Brazilian infrastructure projects. Among them is a bridge between Salvador and Itaparica Island in Bahia, a state in northeastern Brazil. Another major Chinese state-owned construction firm, CREC, has shown interest in bidding for projects using funding from the USD350 billion growth and acceleration package the government introduced in August 2023.
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Ecuador
President Noboa declares internal armed conflict
On 9 January 2024, President Daniel Noboa declared an internal armed conflict via executive decree. This declaration grants the armed forces the power to carry out nationwide military operations against groups the government identified as terrorist organizations. Noboa declared a state of emergency and then an internal armed conflict after Ecuador’s most influential organized crime leader, José Adolfo Macías Villamar (aka Fito) escaped prison. This sparked prison riots, while criminals set fire to cars, bridges and gas stations countrywide. Armed men also threatened TC Television journalists and workers on air.
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