Argentine Truckers Strike; Rappi to Accept Crypto in Mexico

Bloomberg Línea — Argentine road transport union Federación de Transportistas Argentinos has convoked a strike to demand an update to grain freight rates, amid the increases in diesel prices and shortages of the fuel. According to the Argentine Chamber of the Oil Industry (CIARA), the strike will severely affect the country’s agribusiness supply chain, and which is one of Argentina’s main export industries.

Rappi, the Colombian delivery app, has announced it will accept cryptocurrencies as a payment method in Mexico.

On the region’s stock markets, Colombia’s COLCAP index broke away from its Latin American peers and closed with gains, up 0.33%, while Argentina’s MERVAL dropped 1.59%, Brazil’s Ibovespa (IBOV) 1.16% and Mexico’s S&P BMV/IPC (MEXBOL) dropped 0.41%.

Following is a roundup of Monday’s news from Bloomberg Línea and Bloomberg reporters across Latin America.

Argentina:

• Argentine road transport union Federación de Transportistas Argentinos has convoked a strike to demand an update to grain freight rates, amid the increases in diesel prices and shortages of the fuel. According to the Argentine Chamber of the Oil Industry (CIARA), the strike will severely affect the country’s agribusiness supply chain, and which is one of Argentina’s main export industries.
• Agricultural exports this year are expected to total a record $41.05 billion, according to forecasts by the Rosario Stock Exchange.

Brazil:

• Stark Bank, a fintech that aims to be the go-to bank for medium and large companies, received a $45 million injection in a Series B round led by Ribbit Capital, with the participation of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
• Brazil’s Securities and Exchange Commission closed an investigation into investment platform TC (TRAD3) for allegedly using social media influencers as “insiders” to create trends in assets.

Chile:

• The first month of President Gabriel Boric’s government was one of “turbulence”, the president himself has acknowledged, following tensions and controversies, with his approval rating at 41%, according to a survey by polling firm Cadem.

Colombia:

• In March 2022, Colombians were less optimistic about economic expectations one year from now than they were during the previous month, according to a survey.
• President Iván Duque is on an official visit to New York, during which he will seek to promote investment in his country to spur economic reactivation.

Costa Rica:

• Traditionally known as a country of paradisiacal destinations, Costa Rica is also one of the most expensive in the region. Bloomberg Línea conducted an analysis of what it could cost a tourist to visit Costa Rica under three different scenarios, as a backpacker, family and on a luxury budget.

Dominican Republic:

• Existing gender inequalities in the Dominican Republic were exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, with the rate of poverty among women increasing in 2020 and 2021, to more than 25%.

Ecuador:

• Former President Jorge Glas has been released from prison, where he was serving a sentence for his involvement in the Odebrecht scandal, after the Brazilian conglomerate pleaded guilty in a U.S. court in 2016 to paying bribes to governments and companies across Latin America to secure lucrative infrastructure contracts. But his release has not been without controversy, with some sectors accusing President Guillermo Lasso of having forged a pact to release Glas.

Guatemala:

• During the first quarter of 2022, the inflow of remittances to Guatemala totaled $3.93 billion, 25.6% higher than in the same period of last year. The increase in March alone was 16%, and which was the month with the second highest figure on record, after December 2021.

Honduras:

• Year-on-year inflation in March reached 6.96%, the highest since August 2011, when it was 7.68%, the central bank (BCH) reported.

Mexico:

• The boom of cryptocurrency adoption in Latin America has reached the home delivery sector. Rappi, the Colombian delivery app, has announced it will accept cryptocurrencies as a payment method in Mexico.

Panama:

• Panama is to receive a $15 million boost from the Inter-American Development Bank to improve efficiency, quality, and inclusion in the Central American country’s education system.

Peru:

• Peru’s Congress has approved the exemption of various food items from general sales tax until December 2022 as a means of alleviating the cost of living to consumers.

Venezuela:

• Citgo Petroleum Corp, the U.S. oil refiner controlled by the Venezuelan opposition, ousted its president, Luis Giusti Lugo, less than a year after his appointment. Giusti, an expert with more than 20 years’ experience in the oil industry, was removed by the board of parent company CitgoHolding Inc.
• The percentage of Venezuelan households that received remittances from abroad in 2021 was 24.3%, according to a report by Anova Policy Research.