News of latin america

Same-sex newlyweds Alexandra Quiros (L) and Dunia Araya (R) pose during their wedding in Heredia, Costa Rica, on May 26, 2020. Costa Rica legalised same-sex marriage on May 26, becoming the first Central American country to do so and sparking an emotional response from rights campaigners as the first weddings were held overnight.

SAME-SEX MARRIAGE

Costa Rica legalises same-sex marriage in first for Central America

Today 15:53 Celebrations were cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic, but a special programme about LGBT rights was broadcast on public television and online after a court ruling came into force at midnight.

Children peer from their home as police guard the Villa Azul neighbourhood while it is isolated by authorities for quarantine after at least 50 people tested positive for the new coronavirus, according to government health officials, on the outskirts of Buenos Aires.

Global pandemic

WHO warns that first wave of Covid-19 pandemic is not over

Today 11:15 Top World Health Organisation official cautions that world is "right in the middle of the first wave globally," as cases in Brazil and India surge.

LatAm airlines has filed for bankruptcy.

Bloomberg

Latam Air files Chapter 11 bankruptcy, stymied by lockdowns

Today 09:15 Latam has already eliminated more than 1,850 jobs in Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru in recent weeks from its global workforce of about 40,000 people, after cutting 95% of its passenger operations.

A woman takes photos of her daughters by a mural referencing the Covid-19 pandemic, painted in honour of health workers in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, May 21, 2020. The mural is by graffiti artist Angelo Campos, 39, who has lost two relatives to the new coronavirus.

Global pandemic

White House imposes coronavirus travel ban on Brazil

Yesterdat 08:39 Brazil, now Latin America's hardest-hit country, has recorded more than 347,000 cases and more than 22,000 deaths from Covid-19.

A salt mine in northern Argentina.

LITHIUM

Coronavirus halts lithium expansion in Argentina and Chile

23-05-2020 10:10 Projects under development halted and significant investments cancelled, as impact of Covid-19 pandemic begins to hit home.

by Fermin Koop

Pandemic South America.

LATIN AMERICA

South America is the ‘new epicentre’ of Covid-19 pandemic, says WHO

23-05-2020 09:08 Mexico and Brazil reported record counts of new cases and deaths almost daily this week, reigniting criticism of their presidents, who have slow-walked shutdowns in attempts to limit economic damage.

Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro, wearing a protective face mask as a precaution against the spread of the new coronavirus, joins in a protest against the Supreme Court and Brazil's National Congress, in Brasilia, Brazil.

BRAZIL UNDER BOLSONARO

Video of Cabinet meeting puts Brazil's Bolsonaro under fire

22-05-2020 23:34 A profanity-laced video showing Bolsonaro expressing frustration at his inability to get information from police and vowing to change Cabinet ministers if needed to protect his family was released Friday, May 22, 2020, at the order of a Supreme Court justice.

Aerial view of an area at the Nossa Senhora Aparecida cemetery where new graves have been dug in Manaus, Brazil, on May 22, 2020 amid the novel Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic. Brazil, the hardest-hit Latin American country in the coronavirus pandemic, has surpassed 20,000 deaths, according to Brazil's Ministry of Health

Global pandemic

Brazil surges to second in coronavirus cases worldwide

22-05-2020 23:30 The surge came as the World Health Organisation declared South America "a new epicentre" of the pandemic.

Venezuelans Luis Zerpa, from left, Luis Brito and Jhoan Faneite, carry a body bag that contains the remains of 51-year-old Marcos Espinoza who is suspected to have died of the new coronavirus, down a steep hill to a waiting hearse in a working-class neighbourhood near Pachacamac, the site of an Inca temple, on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, Friday, May 8, 2020.

Global pandemic

As virus swamps Peru, Venezuelan migrants collect the dead

22-05-2020 13:30 Despite strict measures to control the coronavirus, Peru has become one of the countries worst hit by the Covid-19 disease. With more than 104,000 cases and 3,000 deaths, Peru was 12th in the world in numbers of confirmed diagnoses Wednesday, more than reported by China and just behind India.

Coffins of coronavirus victims wait to be buried at a cemetery in Guayaquil on April 3.

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.

A public transport driver wears a face mask as a preventive measure against the spread of the novel coronavirus, Covid-19, at El Dorado international airport in Bogotá on May 18, 2020.

Global pandemic

Colombia grounds flights through end of August

21-05-2020 00:41 Colombia plans to ground international travel until at least the end of August, joining Argentina in enacting one of the world’s strictest travel bans in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

People wear face masks as they walk along Ipanema Beach in Rio de Janeiro on May 19, 2020.

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.

Freshly dug graves are readied at the Santiago General Cemetery amid the new coronavirus pandemic, May 15, 2020. According to Raschid Saud, director of the General Cemetery, there has been an increase in demand.

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.

Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro wears a face mask during a press conference on the coronavirus pandemic COVID-19 at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil on March 20, 2020.

Global pandemic

Brazil jumps to third highest tally of Covid-19 cases worldwide

19-05-2020 14:24 Brazil has also registered 16,792 Covid-19 deaths, the sixth-highest toll in the world. Experts say under-testing means the real figure could be 15 times higher or more.

Flybondi.

Bloomberg

Flybondi bets on flights in Argentina to survive virus crisis

18-05-2020 17:23 Low-cost carrier will focus on domestic flights as long as demand for international travel remains subdued due to the coronavirus pandemic, says executive.

Children attend a class held in the high class tribune at the Telia Parken stadium in order to keep the social distances amid the new coronavirus pandemic on May 15, 2020 in Copenhagen. Denmark was the first country in Europe to reopen its schools for the youngest pupils on April 15. In addition to practising social distancing and regular handwashing, classes must be held outdoors as much as possible to limit the spread of the virus.

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.

A gravedigger, wearing personal protective equipment to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus, Covid-19, disinfects after a burrial at the "Jardínes del Recuerdo" Cemetery, in Managua on May 15, 2020. Nicaraguan residents and doctors fear that the country reaching a "chaotic situation" due to the fast spread of COVID-19, without measures to contain the pandemic and aggravated by official secrecy over those affected.

Coronavirus pandemic

'Express burials' hide true Covid-19 picture in Nicaragua

18-05-2020 09:14 To date, President Daniel Ortega's government has confirmed just 25 cases of the coronavirus and eight deaths – but rights groups and experts believe the numbers are far higher.

People cross a street in Buenos Aires, after authorities allowed children to go out for an hour for recreational purposes according to the ID number of their parents.

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.

Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou (centre), wears a face mask in Montevideo, during the coronavirus pandemic.

environment

Uruguay renegotiates US$3-billion pulp plant deal with Finland's UPM

17-05-2020 08:27 Environmentalists have raised concerns over the plant's impact on Uruguay River, while Argentina lost a challenge in the International Court of Justice.

Brazil's outgoing Health Minister Nelson Teich together with Bolsonaro.

CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

Health minister quits as Brazil’s coronavirus crisis deepens

16-05-2020 09:35 Nelson Teich’s resignation comes one day President Bolsonaro said he would ease rules for use of an anti-malaria drug to treat people infected with the coronavirus. Outgoing minister has frequently called the use of chloroquine “an uncertainty.”

A person walks through a nearly empty Plaza de Armas square in Santiago, Chile, on Friday, April 17, 2020. Chile has confirmed more than 9,700 infections nationwide, as lockdown measures continue.

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.

CONMEBOL has released a series of specific regulations amid the coronavirus pandemic to protect everyone’s health when the Copa Libertadores eventually resumes. There is no date set for when the tournament will restart.

FOOTBALL & CORONAVIRUS

CONMEBOL: No more 'kissing the ball' when Libertadores returns

14-05-2020 16:12 There will be no more kissing the ball for good luck in South American football. Also, forget about exchanging jerseys — and even spitting or blowing noses on the field.

Handout picture released by the Brazilian Elephant Sanctuary showing Mara the elephant, after arriving from Ecoparque to the Elephant Sanctuary Brazil at the Chapada dos Guimaraes, Mato Grosso state, Brazil, on May 13, 2020.

ANIMAL RIGHTS

Mara the ex-circus elephant arrives in Brazil to enjoy retirement

14-05-2020 09:06 Mara spent much of her life as a circus attraction, then was brought to the Buenos Aires City Zoo in 1995. Now, she's set for a new life at a sanctuary in Mato Grosso.

Gonzalo Sánchez, 69, also known as "Chispa," is taken into custody.

HUMAN RIGHTS

Government asks Brazil to extradite suspect accused of ESMA crimes

13-05-2020 15:17 Gonzalo Sánchez, who was arrested in Rio de Janeiro last week, is wanted for a raft of crimes committed during the 1976-1983 military dictatorship, including the murders of Rodolfo Walsh and Dagmar Hagelin.

Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro wears a face mask as he speaks to the press upon departure from the official residence of Alvorada palace in Brasilia, Brazil, Monday, May 11, 2020.

Investigation on Bolsonaro's circle

Brazil's Bolsonaro denies shielding family from inquiries

13-05-2020 11:58 Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Tuesday denied that he attempted during a videotaped Cabinet meeting last month to shield his relatives and friends from federal police investigations.

Homeless people sleep outside the Cathedral amid the spread of the new coronavirus in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Thursday, May 7, 2020.

Coronavirus pandemic

São Paulo homeless face choice between cold and virus risk

13-05-2020 11:52 Brazil's biggest homeless population has begun succumbing to COVID-19, and activists warn the worst is yet to come as colder weather bears down and shelters risk becoming hotbeds for infection.

A municipal police officer takes the temperature of a pedestrian who got off a bus, at a checkpoint amid increased restrictions on movements in an effort to curb the spread of the new coronavirus in Niteroi, Brazil, Monday, May 11, 2020.

Fight against pandemic

Brazilian cities lurch to lockdowns amid virus crisis red flags

13-05-2020 11:49 Faced with overwhelmed hospitals and surging coronavirus deaths, Brazilian state and city governments are lurching forward with mandatory lockdowns against the will of President Jair Bolsonaro, who says job losses are more damaging than COVID-19.

Gonzalo Sánchez, 69, also known as "Chispa," taken into custody.

HUMAN RIGHTS

Ex-Navy officer wanted for dictatorship crimes arrested in Brazil

12-05-2020 17:51 Gonzalo Sánchez, 69, also known as "Chispa," taken into custody. He is suspected of participating in dozens of disappearances and killings, including that of journalist and writer Rodolfo Walsh in 1977.

Paul Krugman.

Bloomberg

Paul Krugman: Liquidity trap has spread to emerging markets

12-05-2020 16:35 The so-called liquidity trap, when monetary policy loses its traction as interest rates get close to zero, has plagued rich countries for years – now, Nobel-Prize winning economist Paul Krugman says it has now spread to some emerging markets as well.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro (C) and his Ministers attend the flag-raising ceremony before a ministerial meeting at the Alvorada Palace in Brasilia, on May 12, 2020, amid the new coronavirus pandemic.

Coronavirus pandemic

Pandemic politics costing lives in Brazil

12-05-2020 13:09 Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro keeps saying coronavirus fears are overblown. Other officials at the federal, state and local levels insist the danger is all too real. Meanwhile, the politicisation of the crisis is taking a heavy human toll.

A worker sprays disinfectant at a food market in El Alto, Bolivia, on Tuesday, April 28, 2020. Bolivia's lockdown extension is set to expire on April 30, this as it strikes a deal with Chile to return hundreds of migrants back home.

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.

Avianca, which counts United Airlines Holdings Inc. and Kingsland Holdings as stakeholders, listed as much as US$10 billion in liabilities and the same amount in assets.

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.

The Elephant Mara, who lived in the Buenos Aires zoo for more than two decades, began her journey today to a sanctuary in the Mato Grosso area of Brazil on May 9, 2020.

Animal rights

Mara the elephant leaves Ecoparque for new home in Brazil

11-05-2020 12:53 Mara the elephant, a native of India, began her journey from Buenos Aires to a sanctuary in Brazil on Saturday in a move experts hope will improve her quality of life.

Argentina rocker Fito Páez gives a concert in Trujillo in 2019.

Music in quarantine

Fito Páez rocks isolation with concerts from his living room

10-05-2020 22:15 Legendary Argentine rocker is now livestreaming performances from his flat in Buenos Aires to the screens of fans, after his upcoming tour was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Felipe Solá met with 30 entities from the country to discuss foreign trade and Mercosur.

Mercosur negotiations

Argentina on board for Mercosur trade talks after 'gradual change in discourse'

10-05-2020 10:00 A teleconference this Thursday assessed the courses of action on the Mercosur negotiations already concluded with the European Union, the ongoing negotiations with Canada, Korea, Singapore and Lebanon, and the deepening of agreements already signed with Israel and India.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

Coronavirus pandemic

Covid-19: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

08-05-2020 16:06 In the depths of quarantine tedium, this writer unearthed two movies whose titles have an uncanny pertinence in these surreal times.

by Thomas Manning

In this file photo taken on April 15, 2020 a woman wearing a face mask stands above a graffiti by Brazilian artist Marcos Costa, or Spray Cabuloso, at the entrance of the Solar de Unhao favela in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.

Coronavirus pandemic

In Brazil, coronavirus hits blacks harder than whites

08-05-2020 09:33 Poor access to care, very exposed jobs, precarious housing: black Brazilians are being hit hard by the new coronavirus, which throws light on racial inequalities in the country, since they represent the majority of the population.

In this Thursday, April 16, 2020 photo, funeral workers in protective gear prepare a grave at the Nossa Senhora Aparecida cemetery, for a woman who is suspected to have died of COVID-19, in Manaus, Amazonas state, Brazil.

Fight against virus

Brazil coronavirus despair stretches from Rio to Amazon

08-05-2020 09:30 From the Amazon city of Manaus to the seemingly endless urban sprawl of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, freshly dug graves have been filling up quickly for weeks with the bodies of Brazilians killed by Covid-19.

A woman from the Barrio Norte in Buenos Aires takes a stand at the pot calling for social networks against the government on May 7, 2020.

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

A man wears a piece of cloth as a face mask amid the spread of the new coronavirus at a street market in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, April 10, 2020.

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."

Brazil's Economy Minister, Paulo Guedes, speaks during a press conference at the Embassy of Brazil in Washington, D.C.

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.

Low-cost airline JetSmart announced today that it will cancel flights at El Palomar airport due to a court decision to restrict operations at that air terminal overnight on September 24, 2019.

Bloomberg

Airline JetSmart negotiating help with Argentine, Chilean governments

07-05-2020 13:05 Low-cost airline JetSmart Airlines SpA is in talks with the governments of Chile and Argentina about helping the sector in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, said its CEO, Estuardo Ortiz, in an interview with radio Pauta Bloomberg.

A woman wearing a face mask decorated with an animal face waits in line for a rapid coronavirus test at a train station in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, April 24, 2020.

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.

President Alberto Fernández.

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.

The MercadoLibre MercadoPago application is displayed on an Apple iPhone while the MercadoLibre homepage is shown on a Macbook in an arranged photograph taken in Buenos Aires.

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.

Security forces guard the shore area and a boat in which authorities claim a group of armed men landed in the port city of La Guaira, Venezuela, Sunday, May 3, 2020.

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.

In the Padre Mujica neighbourhood of Retiro (formerly Villa 31), in Buenos Aires, operations are carried out to detect people with symptoms of coronavirus for their diagnosis, and subsequent isolation and care on May 5, 2020.

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.

Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, pictured during the CLASCO summit in Buenos Aires this week.

VICE-PRESIDENT

Cristina Fernández de Kirchner files ‘lawfare’ writ with IACHR

05-05-2020 23:22 Télam confirms former president has filed writ before Inter-American Commission on Human Rights accusing previous Macri government of "political discrimination and persecution."

A woman wearing a mask and gloves against the spread of the new coronavirus, waits outside a soup kitchen run by nuns, waiting for it to open and get some food, in Caracas’ Petare slum in Venezuela, Thursday, April 30, 2020.

CRISIS IN VENEZUELA

Democrats in US warn Trump's WHO freeze will hurt Venezuelans

05-05-2020 13:35 President Trump's decision to halt funding to the World Health Organisation will hit Venezuelans substantially, according to Democrats.

Chilean Jennifer Lira (R) and Natalia Ostornol, creators of the iniciative "Mascarillas Gratis" (Free Masks), transport face masks to be distributed among volunteers who will delivered them to health workers in Santiago on April 21, 2020. Almost 300 seamstresses throughout Chile are voluntarily sewing face masks that are delivered to different public health centers in the country, where the stock of protective gear quickly runs out due to the fear of contagion from the novel COVID-19 coronavirus.

Coronavirus pandemic

Chile orders new restrictions after spike in infections

05-05-2020 00:32 Chilean Health Ministry reports surge of 1,228 new infections, bringing the total to nearly 20,000 nationwide and dealing a blow to hopes it was over the worst of the crisis.

Viviane Rodrigues Vieira de Lima (L) and her daughters watch TV at home, in the Paraisopolis favela in Sao Paulo, Brazil, during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic on April 23, 2020.

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.

Peru Finance Minister Maria Antonieta Alva.

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?”

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, next to his daughter Laura (left), gives a thumb up at supporters gathering outside Planalto Palace in Brasilia, on May 3, 2020.

BRAZIL UNDER BOLSONARO

Brazil's Bolsonaro embattled – but his supporters are loving it

03-05-2020 16:53 When the latest opinion poll from the respected Datafolha institute came out this week, there was no dent in Bolsonaro's support.

Brazil in crisis during coronavirus expansion

CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

As virus cases surge, Brazil starts to worry its neighbours

02-05-2020 10:21 Local Argentine officials say they are particularly worried about truck traffic from Brazil, their top trading partner.

Foreign Minister Felipe Solá, pictured onscreen during a videoconference session this week.

LATIN AMERICA MERCOSUR BLOC

Government says it’s not abandoning Mercosur, despite position on talks

02-05-2020 10:09 Foreign Minister Felipe Solá says Argentina is not “giving up its seat at the table.”

The unknown future of global economy.

Crisis and opportunity

A quick global rebound after the global pandemic?

02-05-2020 09:29 Whether we figure it out or not, the global society has the tools to quickly reverse the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

Mercosur no more? Argentina leaving Uruguay, Paraguay and Brazil behind...

MERCOSUR

More flexible trade rules await Mercosur after Argentina pullout

02-05-2020 08:46 Customs union or free-trade zone? ‘Big changes; could be on way for the Mercosur after government decides to walk away from future trade talks.

by Fermin Koop

Online interview between Fontevecchia and Wolf

WORLD

Martin Wolf: ‘This is potentially a hinge moment in history’

02-05-2020 08:25 Martin Wolf, chief economics commentator for the Financial Times, discusses the economic fall-out from the coronavirus pandemic, in an exclusive interview with Perfil’s Jorge Fontevecchia.

by Jorge Fontevecchia

An activist holds up the sign "Stop the layoffs" during a protest marking May Day, or International Workers' Day, amid a government-ordered lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus in Buenos Aires, Friday, May 1, 2020.

Coronavirus Pandemic

Celebrating May Day in the midst of a pandemic

01-05-2020 19:13 Across the globe workers celebrate, strike and demonstrate for International Workers' Day. In Argentina, essential employees are praised by the government while demonstrations take place during a lockdown.

President Alberto Fernández (L), Echeverria Mayor Fernando Gray (2-L), Buenos Aires governor Axel Kicillof (2-R) and PAMI director Luana Volnovich posing at the Hospital de alta complejidad del Bicentenario on April 30, 2020 amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

Coronavirus pandemic

After lockdown, a world of masks

01-05-2020 13:03 Dismissed as useless, now apparently indispensable, wearing a face mask as protection from the new coronavirus is now commonplace around the world as countries begin to emerge from lockdowns.

MercadoLibre.

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.

Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil's president, speaks with attendees during an inauguration ceremony for Andre Mendonca, Brazil's new minister of justice, at Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil, on Wednesday, April 29, 2020.

Coronavirus pandemic

Brazilians begin to lift quarantine as death toll spikes

30-04-2020 17:46 Brazilians are resuming a measure of normal life just as Covid-19 deaths are spiking to hundreds per day, turning their country into a global hotspot.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro gestures during the inauguration ceremony of Andre Mendonca as new Justice Minister at Planalto Palace in Brasilia, on April 29, 2020.

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.

A woman wears a face mask as she waits for her turn at Del Carmen Hospital in Santiago, on April 27, 2020, amid the new Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic.

Coronavirus pandemic

Chile says Covid-19 patient card not an 'immunity pass'

29-04-2020 19:01 Debate has swirled about the use of "immunity passports" seen as a possible tool for countries preparing to get people back to work after weeks of economic shutdown.

A supporter of anti-quarantine Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro displays a Brazilian flag during a motorcade against the quarantine and social distance measures imposed to combat the novel coronavirus, in Brasilia on April 26, 2020.

Coronavirus pandemic

Brazil passes 5,000 deaths from Covid-19, says Health Ministry

29-04-2020 13:02 Brazil, the South American country worst-hit by the coronavirus pandemic, has registered more than 5,000 deaths from Covid-19. President Jair Bolsonaro said he cannot perform “miracles” to curb the virus spread.

In this photo released by the El Salvador Presidency Press Office, inmates are lined up during a security operation under the watch of police at the Izalco prison in San Salvador, El Salvador, Saturday, April 25, 2020.

Coronavirus pandemic

Virus spreads fear through Latin America's unruly prisons

29-04-2020 12:50 The spreading spectre of the new coronavirus is shaking Latin America's notoriously overcrowded, unruly prisons, threatening to turn them into infernos.

European High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, wearing a face mask, attends a video conference with Europeans Foreign Ministers in Brussels, Belgium, on April 22, 2020.

FUTURE OF MERCOSUR?

EU 'welcomes' Argentina's commitment to Mercosur free-trade deal

28-04-2020 23:58 European Union pleased that Argentina remains engaged in talks over long-awaited free-trade deal, despite decision to withdraw from all future Mercosur trade talks.

A woman wearing a face mask and gloves walks past Nossa Senhora das Gracas cemetery during the COVID-19 pandemic in Duque de Caxias, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Monday, April 27, 2020.

Coronavirus Pandemic

Pandemic upends lives of Latin America's domestic servants

28-04-2020 12:34 The coronavirus pandemic in Latin America has hit domestic workers particularly hard, often leaving maids without income or forcing them to be stranded at the homes of their employers.

A man wearing a mask sits next the coffin of his mother as he's transported by a cemetery worker in a full protection suit to her burial site at the Nossa Senhora das Gracas cemetery in Duque de Caxias, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Monday, April 27, 2020.

Investigation in Brazil

Bolsonaro names allies to head police, justice ministry in Brazil

28-04-2020 11:50 But in blow to far-right leader, Supreme Court of Brazil authorises investigation of allegations of illegal interference of the police agency by the outgoing justice minister.

Foreign Minister Felipe Solá.

Amid pandemic

Argentina quits all future Mercosur trade talks amid virus crisis

27-04-2020 16:23 Government says decision, announced Friday via a statement from the Foreign Ministry, applies only to future trade talks and not negotiations with the European Union.