LatinNews Daily - 08 April 2024

Ecuadorean troops broke into the Mexican embassy in Quito on 5 April, seizing former vice-president Jorge Glas, wanted on corruption charges; Mexico responded by breaking diplomatic relations as most Latin American countries, together with the US and the European Union (EU), criticised Ecuador for what was described as a flagrant violation of Mexico’s diplomatic immunity.     ... Read More

*Colombia’s national statistics department (Dane) has released the latest consumer price index (IPC), which put monthly inflation in March at 0.70%, down from 1.09% in February.... Read More

On 7 April Brazilian supreme court (STF) justice Alexandre de Moraes included the owner of social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Elon Musk, in the ‘milícias digitais’ (digital militias) investigation, a police probe into networks that spread online disinformation.... Read More

*Brazil’s central bank (BCB) has released its latest fiscal statistics for the public sector, showing a primary deficit of R$48.7bn (US$9.6bn) in February, a greater deficit that the R$26.5bn registered for the same month last year.... Read More

On 7 April Guatemala’s President Bernardo Arévalo dismissed his environment minister, María José Iturbide.... Read More

*Nicaragua’s central bank (BCN) has released new figures for its monthly index of economic activity (IMAE), registering 3.4% year-on-year growth in January 2024.... Read More

On 7 April Mexico staged its first presidential debate, featuring Claudia Sheinbaum, the current frontrunner and candidate representing the ruling left-wing Movimiento Regeneración Nacional (Morena), Xóchitl Gálvez, her principal rival from the main opposition coalition Fuerza y Corazón por México, and Jorge Álvarez Máynez, an also-ran for the leftist Movimiento Ciudadano (MC).... Read More

*Mexico’s national statistics institute (Inegi) has revealed new figures which show that 124,395 light vehicles were sold in the domestic market in March, up 4.7% in yearly terms.... Read More

On 6 April China’s embassy in Argentina said that the space station it manages in Argentina’s Neuquén province is entirely civilian, after the government of President Javier Milei indicated it would inspect the station’s activities.  ... Read More

*Argentina’s embattled automobile manufacturing sector has produced 103,293 vehicles in the first quarter of 2024, a 23.2% reduction compared with the same period in 2023, according to the Asociación de Fábricas de Automotores (Adefa) automakers association.... Read More

Venezuela: On 27 March US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said that the US State Department remains “deeply concerned along with regional partners by the Venezuelan National Electoral Council’s (CNE) decision to prevent democratic opposition parties from registering successive candidates for Venezuela’s upcoming presidential election.” The statement adds that the CNE’s acceptance of “only those opposition candidates with whom [President Nicolás] Maduro and his representatives feel comfortable runs counter to competitive and inclusive elections that the Venezuelan people and international community will view as legitimate”.... Read More