Economy & Business - May 2023

Nicaragua has been bolstering relations with Russia and China as the US has imposed multiple rounds of sanctions, citing ongoing human rights abuses taking place under the government led by President Daniel Ortega.... Read More

Venezuela’s government is looking to neighbours and left-wing allies for trade and investment, amid faltering hopes for a further easing of US sanctions that could fuel a broader reintegration into the global economy.... Read More

The board of directors of Petroecuador, Ecuador’s state-owned oil company, named Ramón Correa as the company’s new CEO on 12 April.... Read More

COLOMBIA | Interest rate hike.... Read More

A clear election victory by a former finance minister from a traditional party in one of the fastest-growing economies in Latin America should be good news and cause to expect continuity, if not some optimism.... Read More

Even before Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took office as Brazil’s president in January, he got congress to waive a spending cap and allow him to borrow an additional R$168bn (US$32bn).... Read More

Chilean President Gabriel Boric’s national address on 20 April was reminiscent of one of those historic moments of Latin American economic nationalism.... Read More

URUGUAY | Leading the way on lower interest rates.... Read More

Two recent studies call for more investment in the health sector in Central American countries in order to boost social and economic development.... Read More

After a violent invasion of Suriname’s legislature last February by anti-government protesters, and a coronavirus (Covid-29) related squeeze on living standards, Suriname’s government led by President Chandrikapersad Santokhi is hoping that a debt restructuring deal with bondholders will earn the country some breathing space.... Read More

At a meeting with Caribbean Community (Caricom) foreign ministers in Guyana’s capital, Georgetown, last month, India’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said that his government was prepared to offer project grants of up to US$1m a time for Caribbean small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).... Read More

The United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (Eclac) said on 20 April that the Dominican Republic will be the fourth-fastest growing economy in the region this year.... Read More

CUBA | Cuba claims tourism recovery.... Read More

On 28 April, Mexico’s federal senate approved a mining reform that amends several laws, including the mining law, the national waters law, the general law for environmental protection and ecological balance and the general law for the prevention and management of waste.... Read More

On 26 April, the lower chamber of deputies approved a new general law on science, technology, and innovation, which was swiftly ratified by the senate on 29 April.... Read More

On 29 April, Mexico’s federal senate voted in favour of scrapping the rural development agency, Financiera Nacional de Desarrollo Agropecuario, Rural, Forestal y Pesquero (FND), a decentralised entity that provides funding for small- and medium-sized producers.... Read More

Mexico’s national statistics institute (Inegi) on 27 April published its most recent trade figures, which show that the country recorded a trade surplus of US$1.17bn in March 2023, compared to a surplus of US$104m in March 2022.... Read More

MEXICO | Inflation drops.... Read More