News of latin america

Global pandemic

Latin America & Caribbean surpasses three million Covid-19 cases

07-07-2020 23:58 The region is the current epicentre of the global pandemic, with 3,023,813 cases and nearly 140,000 deaths – almost half of them in Brazil, the hardest hit country in the world after the United States.

TRAVEL & TOURISM

Pandemic to deliver 'unprecedented' blow to tourism in Latin America, Caribbean

02-07-2020 03:21 Coronavirus pandemic to deliver "unprecedented blow" to tourism in Latin America and the Caribbean, the Inter-American Development Bank warns.

BLOOMBERG – OPINION

Covid-19’s toll will rewrite Latin America's future

01-07-2020 23:22 The multiple crises assailing Latin America might not go entirely to waste, but to achieve lasting salutary change, the region must address the systemic vulnerabilities laid bare by the pandemic.

by Mac Margolis

Global pandemic

Latin America, Caribbean may see virus deaths quadruple: experts

01-07-2020 17:39 Pan American Health Organisation warns virus death toll in Latin America and the Caribbean could top 400,000 by October without stricter public health measures.

Videoconference

Latin American leaders ask IMF, IDB, World Bank officials for support

25-06-2020 01:34 Presidents of nine Latin American nations ask International Monetary Fund, World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank for support during virus crisis, including restructuring of debt.

Global pandemic

IMF predicts Argentina's economy will slump 9.9% in 2020

25-06-2020 01:16 Warning of the biggest slump since the Great Depression, International Monetary Fund warns coronavirus crisis will sink global economy in 2020, predicts global collapse in GDP of 4.9%.

Coronavirus economies

IMF forecasts deeper Latin America recession in 2020

24-06-2020 16:59 International Monetary Fund predicts 9.4% contraction in Latin America and the Caribbean, largely due to the economies of Mexico and Brazil, both of which are struggling to contain the Covid-19 pandemic.

Global pandemic

Judge orders Brazil's Bolsonaro to use face mask in public

23-06-2020 15:33 Judge Renato Coelho Borelli said in his ruling that Bolsonaro “has exposed other people to the contagion of a disease that has caused national commotion.”

Global pandemic

Coronavirus decimating indigenous Latin American communities

23-06-2020 09:39 Indigenous people in Latin America have been decimated by the coronavirus pandemic due to weak immune systems and centuries of state neglect.

INTERAMERICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK

Trump expolits Latin America split to push adviser for IDB post

20-06-2020 10:54 US president taps Mauricio Claver-Carone for Inter-American Development Bank presidency, severely damaging President Alberto Fernández hopes for his adviser Gustavo Beliz’s candidacy.

Life in quarantine

Hungry neighbours cook together as virus roils Latin America

19-06-2020 19:56 Economic shutdowns have forced poor Peruvians, Argentines and tens of millions of others to fall back on community-based food kitchens, unseen in large numbers since crises like Peru’s 1990s civil war or Argentina’s financial crash two decades ago.

Bloomberg

IMF builds a US$107 billion safety net under key Latin Economies

19-06-2020 19:34 After markets suffered a free-fall in the first quarter, Chile and Peru rushed to join Mexico and Colombia as the only nations in the world with access to the Fund’s Flexible Credit Line, or FCL.

Inter-American Development Bank

Testing tradition, Trump taps senior adviser to lead Latin bank

16-06-2020 23:00 Trump's hand-picked candidate, Mauricio Claver-Carone, looks likely to go head-to-head with Gustavo Beliz for the role, as US breaks with tradition of choosing a Latin American to lead the Inter-American Development Bank.

Bloomberg

Uber sees grocery delivery sparking its next wave of growth

15-06-2020 15:05 Delivering groceries is Uber Technologies Inc’s next frontier – at least in Latin America.

Bloomberg

For less than US$400,000 you can now get Uruguay tax residency

15-06-2020 08:29 Starting in July, foreigners who live at least 60 days a year in Uruguay and buy real estate valued above 3.5 million inflation-linked UI – currently equivalent to US$378,000 – will qualify for tax residency.

Global pandemic

Brazil virus deaths top 40,000, 1.5 million cases in Latin America

11-06-2020 22:02 The news came as the number of Latin American cases of the virus broke through the 1.5 million barrier, with more than 73,600 deaths now recorded in the region from Covid-19.

Periodismo puro / Interview

Rifat Atun: 'The coronavirus pandemic has increased inequality'

11-06-2020 17:48 Dr Rifat Atun, professor of Global Health Systems at Harvard, tells Jorge Fontevecchia in an interview that it will "probably take around 10 to 12 months before a vaccine is available globally."

Bloomberg

Inflation in full retreat means Latin America can boost stimulus

10-06-2020 16:32 Consumer prices fell last month in several major economies in Latin America due to the decrease in demand resulting from the coronavirus pandemic.

Global pandemic

Brazil expunges virus death toll as data befuddles experts

07-06-2020 22:01 Jair Bolsonaro's government stops publishing a running total of deaths and infections from Covid-19, claiming it is "not representative" of the country's current situation.

BLOOMBERG

It’s Covid code red in Latin America with no signs of peaking

07-06-2020 16:40 One of the most urbanised and unequal regions in the world with the slowest growth and a history of profound public mistrust of government, Latin America, with its 650 million inhabitants, is now a grim laboratory of viral pandemic.

'El Presidente'

FIFA 'mafia' depicted in new Amazon Prime satire from Argentine creator

04-06-2020 01:44 New series "El Presidente," brought to life by Argentine writer Armando Bo, is a witheringly satirical take on the 2015 "Fifagate" corruption scandal. Oh, and it's 'narrated' by Julio Grondona, from beyond the grave...

CRISIS IN VENEZUELA

Virus forges rare accord among Venezuela's bitter rivals, Maduro and Guaidó

03-06-2020 16:04 One-page agreement, signed June 1 by Maduro's health minister and National Assembly representative, says both sides will work in coordination to find funds for fighting the coronavirus.

Global pandemic

WHO warns of pressure on Latin American health systems

02-06-2020 15:21 Four of the 10 countries showing the greatest number of new Covid-19 cases over the last 24 hours were in Latin America, the World Health Organisation's emergencies director Michael Ryan said.

Global pandemic

Latin America ignores Europe and reopens, as virus peak nears

01-06-2020 22:44 Most South American countries have begun easing Covid-19 restrictions even as the region hurtles toward its viral peak, disregarding the example set by European nations that were battered earlier by the virus.

TRAVEL & TOURISM

Latin America's stricken airlines facing long haul to recovery

31-05-2020 08:11 IATA aviation body estimates it will take at least that time for the region's airlines to inch back to their pre-pandemic level for domestic and regional flights. Long-haul services to the United States and Europe will take until 2024 to come back, it predicts.

GLOBAL PANDEMIC

Trump says the United States will cut ties with WHO

30-05-2020 10:04 Move likely to spark dismay, especially in other parts of the world where the coronavirus outbreak has yet to reach its peak.

Global pandemic

Disease that began among rich shifts to Latin America's poor

29-05-2020 13:04 The virus, initially brought to the region largely by wealthy citizens or visitors coming from Europe and the United States, is now increasingly concentrated in poorer neighbourhoods, where residents have few means of protecting themselves.

Global pandemic

Latin America now accounts for roughly 40% of daily coronavirus deaths

28-05-2020 13:39 The statistics are chilling: Brazil has more cases than any country except the United States and some models forecast that deaths, currently at 25,000, could more than quadruple in coming months.

Corruption

Spread of coronavirus fuels corruption in Latin America

27-05-2020 13:20 Even amid a global pandemic, there’s no sign that corruption is slowing down in Latin America. Perhaps the biggest case is in Bolivia, where the health minister was arrested amid allegations that officials bought 170 ventilators at inflated prices.

BLOOMBERG

BlackRock, Ashmore form Ecuador creditor group as swaps pay out

21-05-2020 14:02 Ecuador is slashing spending and negotiating a new loan package with the IMF, while money managers line up together to present a united front for restructuring talks.

Coronavirus pandemic

Brazil sees record virus deaths as pandemic surges in Latin America

20-05-2020 17:10 Health officials in Brazil reported 1,179 new coronavirus deaths on Tuesday – the first time the daily toll exceeded 1,000.

Global pandemic

'This is war' – Virus charges beyond Latin American hot spots

19-05-2020 16:07 Coronavirus crisis threatens to overwhelm Latin American cities stretching from Chile to the Colombian Amazon, in an alarming sign that the pandemic may be only at the start of its destructive march through the region.

Global pandemic

Lockdown easing in Europe, but virus hits hard in South America, Africa

18-05-2020 12:29 Rising death tolls in Brazil, South Africa and other parts of the world show the worst is still to come for many countries.

Coronavirus pandemic

Latin America and Caribbean records 500,000th virus case

17-05-2020 08:42 Almost half of the region's cases have been recorded in Brazil, which has now recorded more than 15,000 deaths. Number of confirmed cases in Argentina rises to 7,805, with 363 fatalities to date.

BLOOMBERG

Bank of America says Latin America’s economy to crash 6.8% this year

15-05-2020 15:55 Bank of America Corp expects Latin America’s economy to slump by 6.8 percent this year and warned that plans to reopen businesses are unlikely to go smoothly as new cases continue to soar.

Coronavirus pandemic

Costlier food hits Latin America’s poor and adds to unrest risk

11-05-2020 13:03 A jump in food prices across Latin America is bringing added misery to the poorest families hit by the coronavirus pandemic and increasing the chance of social unrest.

Bloomberg

Avianca files for bankruptcy as Latin American skies stay closed

11-05-2020 12:57 Avianca Holdings SA, one of the biggest carriers in Latin America, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after travel bans across the region forced the Colombian airline to ground its fleet.

Bloomberg - Opinion

Helicopter money won’t ease Latin America’s pandemic pain

08-05-2020 09:25 Along with Covid-19, a fever of wonkery has broken out over how to reverse the collective economic contraction and to carry on once the health emergency has passed. As the worst of the pandemic is yet to come.

by Mac Margolis

Coronavirus pandemic

Latin America reaches 300,000 coronavirus cases

08-05-2020 00:16 Pan-American Health Organisation warns transmission rates in Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, Chile and Mexico are "still very high."

Coronavirus consequences

Brazil risks 'economic collapse' over virus lockdown, says economy minister

08-05-2020 00:05 Brazil is facing an economic contraction of 5.3% this year, the International Monetary Fund forecasts.

Life during quarantine

In Latin America, face masks become a form of expression

07-05-2020 12:51 Rarely used in Latin America outside hospitals before the coronavirus pandemic hit hard, face masks are now compulsory in many countries — and they're becoming a colourful part of daily life and cultural expression.

Coronavirus pandemic

Argentina secures US$4-billion loan from Development Bank of Latin America

06-05-2020 17:58 The government has confirmed that it has secured a US$4-million loan from the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF) to assist its efforts to tackle the coronavirus pandemic.

BLOOMBERG

MercadoLibre shares surge as locked-down consumers flock online

06-05-2020 14:39 Stock in Buenos Aires-based company soars as much as 25.3% in the United States, to an all-time high.

US-Venezuela tensions

Trump denies ties to Venezuelan attack with 2 US men jailed

06-05-2020 11:18 President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the United States had nothing to do with an alleged incursion into Venezuela that landed two US citizens behind bars in the crisis-stricken South American nation.

Coronavirus pandemic

Emerging-market survey sees Latin America as biggest virus loser

06-05-2020 11:13 Emerging markets are likely to see another sell-off later this year, puncturing their recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and adding to losses that have already totaled US$3 trillion, a survey has found.

Life during quarantine

Telenovelas in Latin America put on hold by coronavirus lockdowns

04-05-2020 13:56 Without kisses, hugs or closeness between actors due to coronavirus fears, telenovelas have been put on hold in Latin America.

Bloomberg

Peru’s 35-year-old finance minister is suddenly a rock star

04-05-2020 13:49 Everyone calls her Toni. Mothers take selfies of her with their children, and street hawkers push bracelets into her hand as presents. TV networks vie for interviews and run profiles asking, “Who is Maria Antonieta Alva?”

Research during pandemic

Ukraine scientists navigate lockdown to reach Antarctica

04-05-2020 13:45 Yuriy Otruba was preparing for his sixth scientific expedition to Antarctica when the coronavirus pandemic hit, shutting borders, grounding flights and locking down countries he needed to travel through, urging his team to do the ‘impossible’ while not getting infected.

BLOOMBERG

Pandemic awakes new customer base for Latin America's e-commerce giants

30-04-2020 17:55 The coronavirus pandemic is reshaping consumer habits in Latin America, sending droves of buyers online for the first time.

Bloomberg - Opinion

Brazil hits a wall and takes Latin America with it

30-04-2020 17:38 Brazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro has just led his country, and indeed all of Latin America, to the end of a long cycle, as the coronavirus outbreak sparks a shadow over the continent’s future.