Bloomberg Línea — Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Tuesday that his government will not apply any economic retaliation against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. “We want to maintain good relations with all governments in the world and we want to be in a position to be able to talk to the parties in conflict,” López Obrador said in his daily press conference.
Peru’s Congress gave the green light Tuesday to pursue an indictment against President Pedro Castillo for alleged treason, after having said he would be in favor of granting Bolivia access to the Pacific Ocean. The beleaguered president he has also been implicated in an alleged ‘mafia’ within Peru’s Transport Ministry involved in the handling of lucrative contracts. The crisis is the latest in a series of pitfalls for Castillo since taking office in July 2021.
On the stock markets, Peru’s stock exchange rebounded after closing Monday with the worst performance in Latin America, affected by the tensions caused by the war in Ukraine and the political uncertainty generated by a move in Congress to remove President Pedro Castillo.
Despite the negative environment, the S&P BVL/Peru (SPBLPGPT) closed Tuesday up 1.68%, pushed up by sectors such as materials, consumer staples and industrials.
Shares of mining companies such as Minsur (MINSURI1), Buenaventura Mines (BVN) and Southern Copper (SCCO) performed well in the session. The price of copper, one of the main sources of income for the Peruvian economy, has benefited from the performance of raw materials and closed Tuesday at $9,883.50.
Following is a roundup of Tuesday’s news from Bloomberg Línea and Bloomberg reporters across Latin America.
Argentina:
- President Alberto Fernández said Tuesday that technical issues are still being negotiated with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) regarding the renegotiation of the country’s debt, and that he “expects” that this week the bill ratifying the agreement will be submitted to Congress. He also ratified the extension of the currency swap with China.
Chile:
- The Chilean economy less than expected in January after months of record momentum. The Monthly Index of Economic Activity (Imacec) for the month, released by the Central Bank on Tuesday, was up 9%, below analysts’ estimates of 9.3%.
Colombia:
- Gustavo Petro, the favorite candidate in the polls to win Colombia’s presidential elections this year, said that if he wins he will declare a “state of economic emergency” that would allow him to bypass Congress.
Dominican Republic:
- The Dominican Republic has removed all restrictions imposed to curb the Covid-19 contagion and, with it, the mandatory presentation of the card that certifies the application of at least two doses of the vaccine against the virus. Now, after the announcement of the suspension of the presentation of the card for access to all sites, some vaccination centers are deserted and others have already closed.
Ecuador:
- Justo, the Chilean startup founded in 2018 that acts as a tech partner for restaurants and businesses, has begun operations in Ecuador. With an initial investment of approximately $1 million, the company’s expansion into Ecuador brings the number of countries where it has a presence to six.
El Salvador:
- El Salvador’s lack of official pronouncement regarding its position on the war between Russia and Ukraine has attracted the attention of the European Union. Josep Borrell, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, called on the Central American country to state its position in favor of Ukraine and against Russia, in an opinion column published in Salvadoran newspaper El Diario de Hoy.
Guatemala:
- Guatemala has accumulated eight consecutive weeks of increases in the prices of gasoline and diesel, and the trend is expected to continue.
Mexico:
- Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said that his government will not apply any economic retaliation against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. “We want to maintain good relations with all governments in the world and we want to be in a position to be able to talk to the parties in conflict,” López Obrador said in his daily press conference on Tuesday.
- The central bank reported that remittances totaled $3.93 billion in January, a drop of 17.3% compared to December 2021.
- State-owned oil company Pemex has cut its oil production target for 2022 and now estimates to produce 1.903 million barrels per day this year.
Peru:
- The country’s Congress gave the green light Tuesday to an indictment against President Pedro Castillo for alleged treason, after having said he would be in favor of granting Bolivia access to the Pacific Ocean, and he has also been implicated in an alleged ‘mafia’ in Peru’s Transport Ministry for the handling of lucrative contracts.
Uruguay:
Venezuela:
- Russian President Vladimir Putin held a first conversation with his Venezuelan ally, President Nicolás Maduro, after the launch of the Russian offensive against Ukraine last week. According to a government statement, the priority during the telephone call was the development of the Russian-Venezuelan strategic partnership