Latin America & Caribbean Review | Ambassador Deepak Bhojwani | January 2021
2020 In Perspective The year ended badly for most of the region. While the COVID pandemic had much to do with the political and economic slide, much of the blame could be laid on the inability of the region’s leaders to maintain political stability and coordinate economic policies. Violent demonstrations in Chile, Colombia, Bolivia, Argentina, […]
Latin America & Caribbean Review | Ambassador Deepak Bhojwani | November 2020
COVID-19 By end October Latin America and the Caribbean had registered close to 11 million cases and 400,000 deaths from the virus. Brazil was the highest, with about 5.4 million and over 160,000 deaths. Other severely affected countries are Argentina, Mexico, Peru, Colombia. States with smaller populations which saw disproportionate rates of infections and deaths include Chile, Ecuador, Bolivia, Dominican Republic and Panama. Some […]
Latin America & Caribbean Review | September 2020
COVID-19 The virus continued to ravage the region through July and August. Infections by end August are estimated to have crossed 7 million. Brazil led the pack with around 3.8 million cases and around 120,000 deaths; Mexico followed with around 600,000 infections and over 62,000 deaths. Peru, Chile, Colombia and Ecuador also continued to see infections rise. Apart from tiny Uruguay, […]
Latin America & Caribbean Review | July 2020
COVID-19 “Latin America is the new epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, and Brazil is the most troubling country,” said Michael Ryan, the World Health Organization (WHO) executive director. By end June Latin America, with close to two and a half million cases, accounted for 25 percent of the total global infections, and 250,000 deaths. The […]
Latin America & Caribbean Review | May 2020
Coronavirus in LAC Despite a slow start, infection spread in most of the region through the summer in most parts of South America. COVID-19 panic soon overcame government apathy and denial. Most countries saw sudden spikes in cases and almost all countries shut down their borders temporarily. Central governments scrambled to announce measures to prop […]
Latin America & Caribbean Review | March 2020
Brazil President Visits India Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro visited India 24-27 January as Chief Guest on Republic Day. This was the third time a Brazilian President had been India’s Chief Guest, after F H Cardoso in 1996 and Lula da Silva in 2004. This was also PM Modi’s third meeting with Bolsonaro in four months, after the G20 […]
Latin America & Caribbean Review | January 2020
Political Developments On 10 November, following two tumultuous weeks of protests, Bolivia’s President Evo Morales, Latin America’s longest serving leader, and the first indigenous president of Bolivia, resigned. The Attorney General alleged that irregularities found by the OAS audit – authorised by Morales – of the results of presidential elections held on 20 October, were crimes […]
Latin America & Caribbean Review | Ambassador Deepak Bhojwani | November 2019
Political Developments South America – Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia – was convulsed through October: On 18 October Chile’s government was caught unawares by violent protests, looting of shops and vandalising of public property. The immediate spark was the government’s hiking of local metro fares by 3 percent, rolled back by Congress but too little too late. […]
Latin America & Caribbean Review- Special Bulletin by Ambassador Deepak Bhojwani | September 2019
Political Developments Venezuela’s government and opposition representatives met in early July on the Caribbean island of Barbados for a second round of meetings. This round was also mediated by the Norwegian government and was facilitated by Enrique Iglesias, the European Union’s mediator. Few details were revealed by either party, with the Maduro establishment maintaining its stand […]
Latin America & Caribbean Review- Special Bulletin by Ambassador Deepak Bhojwani | July 2019
Political Developments Venezuela’s government and opposition met in informal talks in Oslo, Norway mid-May. Norwegian television network NRK, citing unnamed sources, reported that contacts between the Maduro and Guaidó camps began in Cuba before shifting to the Scandinavian country. The talks were held at a secret location in Oslo with the participation of Norway’s foreign ministry […]