Latin America

Argentina records 98.8% year-on-year inflation in January, shows data

Transportation (5.9 per cent), home equipment and maintenance (5.4 per cent), and health (4.9 per cent) also reported strong monthly hikes

ONGC Videsh eyes oil, gas 'hot spots' in Africa, Latin America, says MD

It's better to invest in bigger hot spots where you can get larger discoveries... Africa and Latin America still hold a lot of potential. Ghana is there, Suriname is there

Brazilian President Silva fires army chief in aftermath of capital uprising

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva fired Brazil's army chief on Saturday amid concerns over threats to the country's democracy following the January 8 uprising in the capital by far-right protesters. The official website of the Brazilian armed forces said Gen. Julio Cesar de Arruda had been removed as head of the army. He was replaced by Gen. Toms Miguel Ribeiro Paiva, who was head of the Southeast Military Command. In recent weeks, the military has been targeted by Lula after supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro stormed through government buildings and destroyed public property. Lula said several times in public that there were definitely people in the army who allowed the rioting to occur.

Exports of Grand Vitara commence; first shipment goes to Latin America

Maruti Suzuki India aims to export the model to more than 60 countries across Latin America, Africa, Middle East, ASEAN and neighboring regions

Insiders enabled capital riots: Brazilian President Lula da Silva

'I am convinced that the door to the Planalto palace was opened so these people could get in because I didn't see the front door had been broken down'

Protests against Boluarte's govt spread in Peru, clashes in Cusco

Protests against Peruvian President Dina Boluarte's government that have left 47 people dead since they began a month ago spread through the south of the Andean country on Wednesday with new clashes reported in the tourist city of Cusco. Health officials in Cusco said 16 civilians and six police officers were injured after protesters tried to take over the city's airport, where many foreign tourists arrive to see sites including the nearby Incan citadel of Machu Picchu. Protests and road blockades against Boluarte and in support of ousted President Pedro Castillo were also seen in 41 provinces, mainly in Peru's south. The unrest began in early December following the destitution and arrest of Castillo, Peru's first president of humble, rural roots, following his widely condemned attempt to dissolve Congress and head off his own impeachment. The protest, mainly in neglected rural areas of the country still loyal to Castillo, are seeking immediate elections, Boluarte's resignation, ..

Success in Colombian peace process depends on efforts to curb violence: UN

Lasting success of the Colombian peace agreement, which we all wish to see, is contingent on the ability of the Colombian authorities to address the persistent violence that poses its greatest threat

13 dead in Peru as anti-government protests seeking elections resume

At least 13 people died Monday in southeast Peru as protests seeking immediate elections resumed in neglected rural areas of the country still loyal to ousted President Pedro Castillo. Peru's top human rights agency called for an investigation into the deaths, 12 of which took place amid clashes between security forces and protesters attempting to seize control of an airport in the city of Juliaca, near the border with Bolivia. It was the highest death toll since the unrest began in early December following Castillo's removal and arrest following a widely condemned attempt to dissolve Congress and head off his own impeachment. Among the 12 killed in Juliaca was a 17-year old, according to news reports. A 13th person died in the nearby city of Chucuito, where protesters blocked a highway. Castillo's successor, his former running mate Dina Boluarte, has supported a plan to push up to 2024 elections for president and congress originally scheduled for 2026. She's also expressed support

Vizhinjam protests: FIR filed against 3,000 people; 36 cops injured

The protests are expected to cast shadow on the completion of the first phase of the project in December 2023

Cuba's agriculture under threat due to droughts, rising sea levels

Yordan Diaz Gonzales pulled weeds from his fields with a tractor until Cuba's summer rainy season turned them into foot-deep red mud. Now it takes five farmhands to tend to Daz's crop. That shrinks Diaz's profit margin and lowers Cubas agricultural productivity, already burdened by a US embargo and an unproductive state-controlled economy. Like the rest of the Caribbean, Cuba is suffering from longer droughts, warmer waters, more intense storms, and higher sea levels because of climate change. The rainy season, already an obstacle, has gotten longer and wetter. We're producing a lot less because of the weather, said Diaz, a 38-year-old father of two. "We're going to have to adapt to eating less because with every crop, we harvest less. Diaz used to produce black beans, a staple of the Cuban diet and his most profitable crop. His black-bean production has dropped 70 per cent, which he attributes to climate change. A month after Hurricane Ian hit Cuba, Diaz was farming malanga root,

VC firm Quona Capital announces close of its third fund at $332 mn

Company has invested in more than 17 start-ups in India, has almost 30% of its global team in country

Venezuela, Colombia resume flights after 2-year hiatus due to Covid

The flight on Monday by Turpial Airlines from Caracas to Bogota is the first one since the Covid-19 pandemic broke out in early 2020

President-elect Lula's team meets Bolsonaro as Brazil's transition begins

President Jair Bolsonaro met briefly on Thursday with the envoy coordinating the transfer of power to Luiz Incio Lula da Silva, four days after Bolsonaro's tight election loss that sparked protests by his supporters amid his refusal to publicly concede. The meeting between Brazil's far-right outgoing president and Vice President-Elect Geraldo Alckmin took place at the presidential palace, according to Alckmin, who heads da Silva's transition team. The team had earlier arrived in the capital of Brasilia, launching the process that will culminate with da Silva's Jan. 1 inauguration. While Bolsonaro declined to publicly concede defeat in his first public comments Tuesday, his chief of staff Ciro Nogueira told reporters he had received authorization from the incumbent for the transition process to proceed. It was positive, Alckmin told journalists after Thursday's meeting with Bolsonaro. He refused to answer whether the incumbent had congratulated him for Sunday's victory. Bolsonaro sp

Former Latin American leaders urge US to lift six-decade embargo on Cuba

Eighteen former Latin American and Caribbean leaders have signed a letter to US President Joe Biden asking the United States to remove its six-decade embargo on Cuba in the wake of devastation inflicted by Hurricane Ian. The letter, shared with The Associated Press ahead of its Wednesday release, also requests that Biden remove Cuba from its list of state sponsors of terrorism for providing refuge to leaders of a guerrilla group that is now set to reenter peace talks with Colombia, an American ally. The letter comes as Cuba is suffering its worst economic, political and energy crises of the century so far, spurring a migratory exodus from the island. It was exacerbated by Hurricane Ian, which walloped western Cuba before hitting southern Florida late last month. We ask you, Mr President, to take into account this dramatic situation that thousands of Cubans are experiencing and do whatever is necessary to lift those restrictions that affect the most vulnerable, the letter reads. Amo

Colombia's President Gustavo Petro promises to deepen ties with Venezuela

The presidents of Colombia and Venezuela met on Tuesday and said they would improve trade and security cooperation, as both countries seek to normalise relations following the election of Colombia's first leftist leader. After the meeting in Venezuela's presidential palace, Colombian President Gustavo Petro said it was suicidal for the governments of Venezuela and Colombia to have become estranged from each other recently, adding that the border between the countries had been forgotten and turned over to criminal mafias. Colombia's president said both countries would now look for ways to share intelligence on drug trafficking groups, and added that he would lobby for Venezuela's re-entry into the Andean Community of Nations, a regional trade and investment group that Venezuela withdrew from in 2006. Petro has asked for Venezuela's support in peace talks with the National Liberation Army, or ELN, a Colombian rebel group that operates on both sides of the border. Petro's efforts to ..

Indian pharma industry eyes South American market, seeks greater access

As Global pharma majors are exiting South America post Covid, the Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India (Pharmexcil) is looking to promote Indian pharmaceutical exports in the LAC

Argentine economy minister resigns amid peso's fall, diesel shortage

Martin Guzman announced on Twitter that he had sent a multi-page resignation letter to President Alberto Fernandez

Colombia's first leftist leader targets inequality; investors on edge

The election of a former guerrilla marks a radical change for a country still scarred by decades of conflict and highlights the depth of frustration with the right-leaning political establishment

Tackling migration, US VP Harris backs investment in Latin America

Vice President Kamala Harris said that the Biden administration's work to attract investment to Central America, part of the US effort to reduce migration, has generated $3.2 billion in private-sector

US Vice-Prez Harris looks to connect with LatAm leaders at Americas summit

Among those staying home are the presidents of Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras the only three leaders Harris has met in her two quick trips to the region.