On the anniversary of El Salvador’s 201st year of independence, President Nayib Bukele announced in a televised address that he would seek reelection in 2024. This directly defies the country’s constitution, which prohibits presidents from serving consecutive terms, reports El Faro. The announcement, later shared on Twitter, was met with applause by those in the Presidential Palace present for the address. The move caused little surprise, as Bukele had previously replaced the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court with political supporters, appointed a loyalist as Attorney General, and ensured widespread political support from allies in the country’s Legislative Assembly, notes Emily Green on Twitter. Despite El Salvador’s constitution expressly prohibiting consecutive reelection in Articles 154, 248, and 88, the Bukele-allied Constitutional Chamber last September upheld a ruling in favor of the president’s potential reelection.

Reuters addresses the swift backlash Bukele’s announcement received, including the US quickly moving to condemn the “decline in democratic governance,” and constitutional experts expressing concern over the move’s unconstitutionality and related electoral fraud. As El Faro notes, Bukele claimed his reelection would move the country towards “true independence,” breaking El Salvador away from perceived US and other international efforts to impose their agendas on the Central American country. Bukele, who expected protests from foreign countries relating to his decision, said, “we are not going to abandon it regardless of how many protests come from abroad,” reports the Washington Post.

El Salvador is facing a deep economic crisis, and is currently ranked as the region’s second-most-likely country to default after Argentina. The country recently celebrated its one-year anniversary of adopting Bitcoin as a legal tender, a move which has allowed Bukele to institutionalize corruption “through his management of the country’s Bitcoin purchases and holdings, ‘gambling the country’s resources while facing no checks on his authority to do so,’” writes James Bosworth at the Latin America Risk Report. Bloomberg notes that the country’s credit rating was downgraded by Fitch Ratings hours before Bukele’s announcement, citing the probability of “default of some sort.”

Argentina

• A “history of deep distrust in Argentine authorities” has resulted in a recent assassination attempt against the country’s vice president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner to be seen by much of the population as a conspiracy theory or a hoax rather than a legitimate attack, reports the New York Times.
  
  
• Argentina’s central bank increased interest rates by 550 points, reaching 75%, as the country struggles to curb increasing inflation, says CNBC.

Brazil

• A new Datafolha poll shows a stable double digit lead for Lula (PT) over Bolsonaro (PL)—although other polls have shown a smaller difference, closer to 7 points. Polls consistently show Lula defeating Bolsonaro in a runoff election. In São Paulo, incumbent Rodrigo Garcia (PSDB) has caught up to Bolsonarista Tarcísio Gomes de Freitas (Republicanos) in a technical tie for second place in the state governor’s race. Fernando Haddad (PT) leads with 36% voter intention. (Reuters, Folha)
  
  
• At the Foreign Policy Latin America Brief, Catherine Osborn explores the potential future of climate policy in Brazil, noting, “This week, Lula embraced a host of new green pledges. On Monday, former Environment Minister Marina Silva—who resigned from the position in 2008 after clashes with Lula over a new hydroelectric dam permitting process—announced she would endorse Lula’s candidacy after he committed to over 20 policies she proposed.”

Caribbean

• “On Thursday, the leaders of five Caribbean countries got together with US Vice President Kamala Harris in Washington to explore ways to improve cooperation between the United States and the region,” says Atlantic Council, providing commentary and analysis from their experts. 
  
  
• “Popular discontent continued across Haiti Thursday as more foreign embassies closed their doors and protesters targeted businesses and charity warehouses, the government-owned television station and the home of a former senator in the hills above Port-au-Prince… Haitians (are) taking to the streets in widespread protests in cities around the country after the interim government announced a hike in fuel prices. But while the hike has ignited outrage, some have sought to capitalize politically on the discontent, calling on protesters to attack banking institutions while also demanding the immediate departure of interim Prime Minister Ariel Henry,” according to Miami Herald.

Chile

• “There remains a mass movement for change in Chile, and over coming weeks it will likely coalesce around a second, more orderly, attempt to save the heart of the recently rejected Constitution,” writes John Dinges at the Nation.

Colombia

• A lack of international funding support and domestic xenophobia, among other challenges, prove obstacles to integration of Venezuelan migrants and refugees in Colombia, says an NYU Center on International Cooperation report. 

Mexico 

• General José Rodríguez Pérez was arrested by Mexican authorities on Thursday for his alleged role in torturing, disappearing, and killing at least six students in 2014, reports the New York Times. So far, he is the highest ranking military officer to be arrested from the Ayotzinapa Case. 
  
  
• In the Latin America Risk Report, James Bosworth highlights two arguments against Mexico’s militarization: (1) the potential for increased corruption within the military due to its role in combating drug cartels, and (2) the politicization of the debate over the military and the military’s increased roles related to infrastructure and the economy.
  
  
• Truck robberies are becoming increasingly violent in Mexico, reports Forbes, with incidents up 4.9% in the first six months of 2022, as compared to the same period in 2021.  

Migration

• “Nearly half of US-asylum seekers returned to Mexico under the “remain-in-Mexico” [MPP] program to await a US immigration court hearing said they’d been abused by local officials, according to a Human Rights First report released Thursday,” reports Bloomberg. (see yesterday’s LADB related to Title 42)

Regional

• “By going digital and modernizing paper-based procurement systems, Argentina and Peru saw average cost reductions of 4% and 10%, respectively,” writes Benigno López at Americas Quarterly, outlining three key ways to fix public finances in the region: “governments (doing) more with what they already have,” reducing tax evasion, and combating informality. 
  
  
• The US Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control published a report that offers recommendations to close loopholes in the U.S. anti-money laundering (AML) framework to better attack the financial networks of cartels.

Venezuela

• Brazil, Canada, Chile, Guatemala, Paraguay, and Peru are leading the effort at the United Nations Human Rights Council to renew the mandate of the Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela, says Tal Cual.  
  
  
  Arianna Kohan y Jordi Amaral / Latin America Daily Briefing
  
  http://latinamericadailybriefing.blogspot