Argentina

• Following demonstrations by thousands of protestors in support of Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, the Vice President asked her supporters to go home in an effort to avoid violence between demonstrators and city police, says Reuters. 
  
  
• Beginning on August 24, Argentina’s Mendoza province officially began accepting cryptocurrencies as legitimate methods of payment for government fees and taxes, reports Cointelegraph.

Bolivia

• A futuristic graphic novel, Altopía, imagines the Bolivian city El Alto in 2053 with a mostly Indigenous population and significant robotic presence, writes The Guardian.

Brazil

• “A record 181 candidates who self-identify as Indigenous are registered to take part in Brazil’s 2 October general election – a 36% increase in four years. Most of them are running for state or federal deputy, and many are entering politics for the first time. Until now, Brazil has elected just two Indigenous representatives to congress,” notes The Guardian.
  
  
• The Brazilian Senate passed a bill to increase mandatory coverage for private, supplementary health insurances. (Senado)
  
  
• “The last member of a besieged Indigenous tribe in Brazil has died, apparently of natural causes. Activists are holding up his legacy as a symbol of both the genocide and resilience of his people, calling for his land to be preserved as a reminder of both,” reports NPR.

Chile

• “Chile’s experiment and constitutional rewrite is a global lesson in direct democracy for both good and bad. On the one hand, it shows the immense power of grassroots organizing, non-traditional political leaders, and the channeling of social discontent and public anger into constructive debates that minimize political repression and violence. On the other hand, citizen expectations, the suffering of those most impoverished and without a social safety net, alongside the squeeze felt by young people and middle-class families—threaten to risk the lofty aspirations and democratic values of reform, for the short-term necessities of the moment,” writes Anders Beal at Global Americans.

Colombia

• Two journalists were murdered in northern Colombia on Sunday. It is not clear if their killing was related to their profession, but police are investigating the incident, reports Reuters.

Ecuador

• Hunting of the Galapagos Islands’ famous giant tortoises has been outlawed since 1933, but the remains of 4 tortoises were found, sparking an environmental crimes investigation. (BBC)

El Salvador

• El Salvador appears to be experiencing a historically low homicide rate, but a lack of transparency, changes in methodology, and a politicized statistics reporting strategy means that gauging an accurate number of homicides and comparing to years past is not possible, according to El Salvador Perspectives.

Guatemala

• Guatemala has re-upped its support for Taiwan despite recent China-Taiwan tensions, notes Reuters.

Mexico

• With recent revelations surrounding the Ayotzinapa case and the arrest of Jesús Murillo Karam, attorney general during the Enrique Peña Nieto administration, James Bosworth and Lucy Hale write at the Latin America Risk Report, “the López Obrador government needs to follow the evidence and only prosecute what they can prove. Given the intense politicized effort that the president has placed on corruption allegations against his predecessors, there will be extra scrutiny on any attempts by AMLO’s government to go beyond the evidence and use this case for political advantage.”
  
  
• AMLO “has remained uncharacteristically quiet about allegations” of corruption related to the Peña Nieto administration and US firm WhiteWater Midstream, says El País.

Regional

• “Since its formation five years ago, every country in South America has seen a transition of power except Venezuela—and some more than one. Yet Maduro sits more comfortably in Caracas now than he did before the Lima Group was created,” writes James Bosworth at WPR. 
  
  
• With Chilean Michelle Bachelet set to finish her term as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on Wednesday, Argentina is pushing for Federico Villegas Beltrán, current Argentine ambassador to international organizations, to take Bachelet’s place, reports Clarín. UN Secretary General António Guterres will decide who will be Bachelet’s replacement.
  
  
• Following a three year break in diplomatic ties, Colombia and Venezuela have officially re-normalized diplomatic relations, as the new Colombian Ambassador to Venezuela landed in Caracas on Sunday, reports Al Jazeera.
  
   
• Chile summoned Brazil’s ambassador in Santiago to explain Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s recent comments falsely claiming Chilean President Gabriel Boric was involved in the burning of Santiago’s metro during Chile’s 2019 protests, reports AFP.
  
  
• Peru is taking over the Pro Tempore presidency of the Council of the Andean Community, composed of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. (MercoPress)

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