Regional Pulse: 20 July 2022
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Key developments
ARGENTINA
BRAZIL
CHILE
COLOMBIA
ECUADOR
MEXICO
PERU
ARGENTINA
Fernández de Kirchner the worst option for president, finds poll
On 14 July 2022, pollster Synopsis published poll results showing the “worst options for the country” for the 2023 presidential elections and found 42.9% of respondents thought Vice-President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner would be the worst choice. Conversely, President Alberto Fernández was thought to be the least worst option with 8.7%. Center-right former president Mauricio Macri and extremist opposition congressman Javier Milei got 16.1% and 14.8% respectively.
The agricultural sector protests shortages
On 13 July 2022, the Mesa de Enlace, an umbrella entity comprising the country’s four largest rural associations, carried out a 24-hour nationwide halt of agricultural exports to protest diesel and fertilizer shortages. In addition to shortages, the strike is also over the higher export taxes and export caps imposed on the sector by the government. This is the fourth export halt carried out by the Mesa de Enlace since Alberto Fernández began his presidency in December 2019.
Chinese mining company takes over lithium project
On 12 July 2022, Argentine Lítica Resources announced Chinese mining company Ganfeng Lithium would take over its 24,000 hectare Pozuelos-Pastos lithium project in the province of Salta. Ganfeng Lithium plans to finalize the pilot plant started by Lítica Resources.
BRAZIL
Federal Police to increase presidential candidate security details
On 14 July 2022, the Federal Police announced it would increase the security detail of all presidential candidates. PT party leader and frontrunner Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva had the greatest increase in his campaign security team of all candidates. This follows the murder of a PT activist in the city of Foz do Igua?u by a supporter of President Jair Bolsonaro.
领英推荐
Government watchdog confirms October election integrity
On 13 July 2022, the Federal Audit Court (TCU) said the electoral security plan presented by the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) guaranteed the safety and integrity of the upcoming October 2022 general elections. This audit comes at a time when the integrity of Brazil’s fully computerized voting system has been the target of some political groups, which question the system’s vulnerability to electoral fraud. According to the TCU, the system employed by TSE is safer than the manual paper voting procedure which existed prior to 1996.
Deal agreed with Russia for diesel
On 11 July 2022, President Jair Bolsonaro announced the country will start receiving diesel from Russia within 60 days, in an effort to lower fuel costs. Brazil imports 30% of its diesel and about 75% of all goods are transported over land, often on diesel powered transport. Some analysts believe the move may help reduce inflation.
CHILE
Homicide rate increases in 11 of 14 regions
On 12 July 2022, the Police Investigative Unit (PDI) reported an 18% rise in murders this year compared to the first half of 2021. Seventy-nine more people were murdered, with the total number of cases rising from 355 to 434. Officials attributed the rise to the increased use of firearms and the proliferation of criminal structures and gangs involved in drug trade. Eleven out of 16 regions saw a rise in murders.
COLOMBIA
Third FARC dissident leader killed in three months
On 15 July 2022, FARC dissident commander Néstor Gregorio Vera Fernández, alias Iván Mordisco, was killed during a bombing in Caquetá, alongside two minors. The commander of the Armando Ríos FARC structure and the Western Coordinating Command rejected the FARC peace process, later joining the Gentil Duarte FARC dissident group, which he commanded until his death. An explosive expert and sniper, Mordisco had been expanding operations in the Colombian jungles of Caquetá. This is the third FARC dissident leader killed in the past three months.
Petro picks centrist Fajardo’s VP candidate as US ambassador
On 12 July 2022, President-elect Gustavo Petro announced that former governor of Chocó and Environment Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo would be his ambassador to the US. Murillo is a mining engineer and was the vice-presidential candidate for Sergio Fajardo, Petro’s centrist contender during the June elections. Diplomatic relations under the administration will focus on combating drug trade through the regulation of narcotics use, an economic and environmental transition away from fossil fuels, and a revision of extradition policies.
ECUADOR
Formal employment still below pre-pandemic levels
On 15 July 2022, Gabriel Recalde, Director of the Center of Labor Policy Studies, said formal employment levels have not yet reached pre-pandemic levels. The level of formal employment, whereby a worker receives at least minimum wage and has an eight hour working day, stood at 32.5% versus 38.3% in 2019. A labor market rebound has been further stifled by the civil unrest this past June.
National Assembly approves US tax info exchange deal
On 14 July, 2022, the National Assembly unanimously ratified an agreement with the US regarding tax information exchange. The agreement aims to increase fiscal transparency of individuals and companies, facilitate tax evasion investigations and other anti-corruption initiatives.
President Lasso to be investigated for protest leader arrest
On 14 July 2022, The Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE) announced that the country’s General Prosecutor’s Office had opened an investigation into President Lasso for detaining its president, Leonidas Iza. Iza was detained on 14 June 2022 by the National Police and the Armed Forces during the first day of protests and accused of inciting a rebellion and preventing public services from functioning. CONAIE maintains his arrest was illegal.
MEXICO
Mexican Navy captures Rafael Caro Quintero
On 15 July 2022, Mexican Navy operatives captured Rafael Caro Quintero, founder of the defunct Guadalajara Cartel and one of the world’s most wanted drug traffickers. Quintero had been charged with torturing and murdering a DEA agent in 1985, but was let go after 28 years in prison in 2013 on a technicality. A recapture order was issued two years later. The US government was offering a USD20 million reward for his capture — the highest for any Mexican citizen.
AMLO promises to double fuel supply for lower US tariffs
On 12 July 2022, a meeting between President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and US President Joe Biden saw the Mexican leader promise to double fuel supply to the US border and build a 1,000 kilometer gas pipeline to transport gas to California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. In exchange, López Obrador asked for a reduction in tariffs on foods and basic goods to offset inflation, improve trade, and the regulation of migrant workers from Central America to counteract labor shortages in the US.
PERU
Debt-to-GDP ratio drops to under 2%
On 14 July 2022, the president of the Central Bank, Julio Velarde, said the public deficit for 2022 would hover around 1.9% of GDP — down from 8.9% in 2020. This makes it one of the lowest in the region.