Brazil & Southern Cone - July 2021

The July edition of the Latin American Regional Report: Brazil & Southern Cone begins by analysing the likely privatisation of Eletrobras, Brazil’s state-controlled electricity firm and the largest utilities company in Latin America, after congress approved a bill laying out the terms for the firm’s sale in June.... Read More

After earlier senate approval, on 21 June Brazil’s federal chamber of deputies voted through a bill to privatise the state-owned electricity company, Eletrobras.... Read More

A raid on Jacarezinho – one of Rio de Janeiro’s largest, poorest, and most violent favelas – in May became the deadliest police operation ever carried out in the Brazilian city.... Read More

Argentina has slipped in the latest press freedom ranking by NGO Reporters Without Borders (RSF), while press organisations in the country have also raised concerns over the erosion of press freedom.... Read More

The threat of Argentina falling into another international payments default on 31 July has been avoided, thanks to a bridging finance deal with Argentina’s Paris Club creditors.... Read More

After a bruising three years of falling activity levels there are early signs that Argentina’s economy is bottoming out.... Read More

Paraguay’s economy showed resilience to the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic during 2020, with GDP dropping by only 0.6%.... Read More

Despite being on the international drug trafficking route and suffering from persistent and high corruption levels, Paraguay is a relatively safe country, particularly if measured by its homicide rate.... Read More

Until recently, Uruguay had no unicorns (tech-based start-ups which grow to be valued at US$1bn or more).... Read More

In 2009 and then again in 2012, Chile’s centre for investigative journalism (Ciper) mapped the areas of the Santiago Metropolitan Region (RM) which were under the control of drug traffickers – so-called ‘occupied zones’ which suffer from higher-than-average violence and poorer-than-average public services.... Read More

CHILE | Positive economic indicators despite pandemic.... Read More