LatinNews Daily - 24 August 2023

* Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro has announced the creation of a special economic zone (SEZ) for agriculture, which will cover 5.45m hectares of land in the states of Guárico, Anzoátegui, Monagas, Sucre, and Bolívar. Calling on Venezuelan and international investors to “advance the country’s new economy”, Maduro made a specific call to the BRICS groups of countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) to invest in the SEZ, after Venezuelan officials attended the recent BRICS summit in South Africa where the bloc agreed to invite new members (but not Venezuela). Maduro’s announcement follows the creation of five other SEZs in July 2022, which coincided with a new ‘law on special economic zones’ which provides tax and customs incentives to businesses in these areas.