Castillo appoints new cabinet ministers, reaching 67 appointments in 13 months in office

In his latest cabinet reshuffle, Peruvian President Pedro Castillo appointed new ministers of Defense, Women, and Environment, reports Infobae. Of the three departed cabinet members, José Luis Gavidia resigned last week following probes into “irregular use of public funds” by the Defense Ministry. This was Castillo’s second cabinet reshuffle in less than three weeks, an “unprecedented turnover in senior government roles” as the country averages five new ministers each month, according to Reuters. Castillo has appointed 67 ministers in his 13 months in office, says Infobae. 

The recent cabinet changes come amidst continuing investigations into Castillo’s close allies and family members. Castillo himself is facing six criminal investigations, including for “alleged obstruction of justice and for alleged irregularities in the naming of military officials,” explains Reuters. His sister-in-law, Yenifer Paredes, “is facing a potential three years in pre-trial detention for alleged influence peddling,” reports Reuters.

According to France 24, Castillo survived two impeachment attempts in his first year in office. As James Bosworth and Lucy Hale wrote in the Latin America Risk Report in April, the country’s economic unrest has prompted significant protests that pose an even greater risk to Castillo’s presidency and create the risk of further impeachment attempts in the future.

Argentina

• Argentine soybean farmers are storing a significant percentage of their harvest, rather than exporting it, in an effort to stave off the country’s looming economic crisis, reports Al Jazeera.
  
  
• Regional presidents, including Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Luis Arce, and Gustavo Petro, joined Argentine president Alberto Fernández in condemning the most recent prosecutorial announcements made against current vice president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner in a judicial case of alleged corruption. (Twitter; see Tuesday’s LADB)
  
  
• The past seven weeks, during which Argentina cycled through three economy ministers, saw Argentine citizens withdraw over $1 billion in USD saved in banks out of fear of an imminent economic crisis, according to Bloomberg.

Brazil

• Bruna Della Torre writes at the Washington Brazil Office that “women are one of the most attacked sectors in society in Bolsonaro’s violent government,” with the administration making abortion access more difficult and criminalized and reducing the budget to tackle violence against women. 
  
  
• Fake news claiming that Bolsonaro is to be barred from running for re-election and showing fabricated polling indicating that he is in the lead (all current polling shows former president Lula in the lead) has recently gone viral and increased attacks against Brazil’s Supreme Electoral Court (TSE), reports Folha.

Central America

• A new WOLA analysis explores growing threats to press freedoms in Central America and outlines recommendations to the US and the international community. 

Colombia

• In the Miami Herald, Bram Ebus, a consultant for International Crisis Group, argues that Gustavo Petro’s proposed reforms must be inclusive for the 2.5 million Venezuelans who have fled to Colombia.

Honduras

• “According to an investigation last month by Honduran journalists, the National Anti-Gang Police Force and military police conducted extrajudicial executions and torture, while planting evidence and working in collusion with MS-13, the most prominent street gang in Honduras,” reports Al Jazeera.

Mexico

• Mexican journalist Fredid Roman was murdered on Monday, becoming the 15th media worker to be killed this year, reports NBC News. The murder prompted President López Obrador to order an investigation, promising a report on the assassination by Friday, according to Euro News. 
  
  
• “Mexico has always shown strategic ambiguity with respect to the PRC,” writes Evan Ellis in Global Americans. AMLO’s pursuit of policies that include China are “causing serious strategic implications for the United States and the region.” 

Migration

• “Cuban migrants are arriving in the U.S. at the highest rate since Fidel Castro came to power in 1959, fleeing political repression and the island’s worst economic crisis in more than three decades,” writes the Wall Street Journal.
  
  
• Many Venezuelan migrants suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, according to Proyecto Migración Venezuela.
  
  
• 3,581 migrants have regularized their status in Bolivia—mainly Peruvians, Colombians, Cubans, Brazilians, and Venezuelans—in the last year, with the country’s regularization program coming to a close on Friday. 

Paraguay

• Following a US accusation of “significant” corruption by Hugo Velázquez, Paraguay’s Attorney General has opened a formal criminal investigation into the current vice president, reports Reuters. He had previously announced he would resign from his post, but then walked back those statements due to a lack of investigation in the country. 

Peru

• A catastrophic oil spill by Spanish oil firm Repsol in January has prompted Peru’s consumer protection agency to sue the company for $4.5 billion, according to BBC. Repsol denies responsibility for the spill. 

Regional

• In the Latin America Risk Report, James Bosworth and Lucy Hale write that in Chile, “Nearly 90 percent of voters who plan to vote in favor or against the new constitution say they are certain of their vote and will definitely go to the polls on September 4.” They also highlight the mixed opinions of Colombian voters on Gustavo Petro’s cabinet announcements.  
  
  
• The UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean’s (ECLAC/CEPAL) most recent report assesses sustainable and inclusive economic recovery, highlighting advances and challenges facing the region.  
  
  
• A new US arms trafficking regulation has the potential to impact the illegal weapons trade in the region, reports Insight Crime.

Venezuela

• German energy company Siemens Energy AG was granted licenses by the US Treasury Department to work with the Venezuelan state-run oil company to help rebuild Venezuela’s electricity grid, reports Bloomberg.
  
  
• In Caracas Chronicles, Betilde Muñoz-Pogossian writes that Venezuela’s presidential elections, currently scheduled for December 2024, must include a plan to incorporate eligible voters from the more than 6 million citizens who have fled the country. 

Arianna Kohan y Jordi Amaral / Latin America Daily Briefing
http://latinamericadailybriefing.blogspot