Bloomberg Línea — Argentina’s inflation to end-April was 23.1%, surpassing that of Venezuela during the first four months of the year, and Claudia Diaz, nurse of the late Hugo Chávez, former president of Venezuela, has been extradited to the U.S. to face charges of money laundering and embezzlement.
The Argentine stock market’s Merval index (MERVAL) saw the strongest gains, followed by the S&P BVL/Peru (SPBLPGPT), which broke a streak of seven consecutive sessions of losses.
Following is a roundup of Friday’s news from Bloomberg Línea and Bloomberg reporters across Latin America.
Argentina:
- Argentina’s inflation to end-April was 23.1%, surpassing that of Venezuela during the first four months of the year, with retail prices for clothing showing the sharpest price increases. Inflation for April was 6%.
Chile:
- Chile’s Constitutional Convention is close to wrapping up its work, and later this month three commissions will begin to review the document to prepare a final draft to be submitted to public vote in September.
Panama:
- Facing protests by the transportation sector due to the high price of fuel, which is accumulating weekly increases, the Panamanian government has allocated $8 million to mitigating the effects of the high prices, but will not impose a price freeze, opting for measures including a waiving of tariffs on spare parts and tires.
Venezuela:
- Claudia Diaz, nurse of late President Hugo Chavez, has been extradited to the U.S. to face charges of money laundering and for embezzlement of $2.4 billion in Venezuela.
- The number of members of the country’s Association of Young Entrepreneurs (AJE) has tripled over the past year, many of which strive to have a positive social impact within an economy that has been in the doldrums for almost a decade, with an 80% decline in GDP since 2014. Among the startups that are members of the association are Ridery, which offers transfer services and which has become the number one app in Venezuela for mobility, Rapisalud, Mi Doctor 24h and Movilizarte, all of which are aimed at primary healthcare
