November
China’s $2b Peru port faces obstacles from the Andes to the Amazon
While Chancay may rekindle an old dream of integrating South America’s Atlantic and Pacific coasts, there is no effective way to make it happen.
- Dayanne Sousa and Rachel Gamarski
October
One Direction singer Liam Payne dead after falling from hotel balcony
Harry Styles’ former bandmate died after falling from the third floor of a hotel in Buenos Aires, according to Argentine media.
- Brendan O’Boyle, Eliana Raszweski and Agustin Marcarian
September
Peru’s Fujimori, divisive head of a political dynasty, dies age 86
During his decade in power, he revived the economy and crushed two leftist insurgencies. But he was forced out in a corruption scandal and later imprisoned.
- Marco Aquino
Venezuela opposition candidate flees to Spain
Edmundo Gonzalez, 75, who ran against President Nicolás Maduro in July, left after seeking refuge in the Spanish embassy in Caracas several days ago.
- Lisandra Paraguassu and Vivian Sequera
August
Brazilian airliner crashes, killing all 62 on board
Video shared on social media showed what appeared to be an ATR-made plane spinning out of control as it plunged to the ground.
- Reuters
July
Protests erupt in Venezuela as nations denounce election result
The US and countries around the world denounced the official results of Sunday’s vote, which did not appear to match statistical estimates based on partial counts.
- Frances Robles, Jack Nicas and Alejandro Cegarra
Maduro declared winner in Venezuela’s disputed presidential election
Nicolás Maduro will face the challenge of legitimising the vote to his people and the rest of the world, given his government’s history of repression and fraudulent elections.
- Patricia Laya and Andreina Itriago Acosta
June
Argentine Senate passes Milei reform bill as protests rage outside
The bill is key to overhauling an embattled economy, and includes plans for privatising public firms, granting special powers to the president and spurring investment.
- Nicolás Misculin and Eliana Raszewski
Mexico’s first woman president inherits debt and violence
Claudia Sheinbaum capitalised on outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s popularity while also inheriting rampant criminal violence and a large fiscal deficit.
- Maya Averbuch and Alex Vasquez
May
Argentina launches 10,000-peso notes, worth $17, as inflation bites
The new note, worth five times more than the previous largest note, was introduced as Argentina’s annual inflation rate reached 287 per cent in March.
- Ciara Nugent
April
Javier Milei fuels wild rally that makes peso No. 1 in world
The currency has, in fact, not only stopped plunging day after day but in one key foreign exchange market, it’s actually rallying sharply.
- Ignacio Olivera Doll
Governments rally around Mexico after embassy raid in Ecuador
The late-night seizure of Jorge Glas, Ecuador’s former vice president who was detained on graft charges, triggered a suspension of relations with Quito by Mexico City.
- Alexandra Valencia
February
Chile’s fires sweep into urban areas killing scores
Firefighters are struggling to contain forest fires in the centre and south of the country caused by El Niño weather patterns.
- Alexandre Plaza and Patricia Luna
January
‘Taxing parasites’: Is this the fieriest speech ever given at Davos?
Argentina’s Javier Milei set Davos alight, warning Western politicians that by trying to correct illusory market failures, they were sliding towards socialism.
- Hans van Leeuwen
Ecuador ‘at war’ with drug gangs, says president
Daniel Noboa said the country would begin deporting foreign prisoners this week to reduce prison populations and spending.
- Alexandra Valencia
Armed men storm Ecuador TV studio amid escalating violence
The South American country has been rocked by attacks, including the abductions of police officers, following a powerful gang leader’s apparent escape from prison.
- Annie Correal and Genevieve Glatsky
December 2023
Chileans reject constitution overhaul for second time
The latest vote highlighted the deep division in the South American country and the inability of political sectors to address people’s demands for change.
- Maria Verza and Patricia Luna
- Analysis
- Currencies
Why investors are cheering Argentina’s ‘shock therapy’
Analysts believe the radical measures announced this week by new President Javier Milei offer a realistic opportunity to rescue the South American economy.
- Tim Wallace
Argentina’s left vows resistance as Milei slashes budget
Union leaders called meetings after shock measures announced by the new president, while the left-leaning governor of Buenos Aires vowed to fight.
- Michael Stott
‘Shock therapy’: Argentines 54pc poorer as president devalues peso
Argentina’s new president, Javier Milei, is taking the first steps in a shock-therapy program to try and pull the country from an inherited economic crisis.
- Kevin Simauchi, Manuela Tobias and Ignacio Olivera Doll
Venezuelans vote to claim sovereignty over oil-rich chunk of Guyana
It remains unclear how President Nicolas Maduro will enforce the results. But Guyana considers the referendum a step towards annexation.
- Regina Garcia Cano and Jorge Rueda
- Opinion
- Mining
How Argentina’s Javier Milei looks set to undercut Australian lithium
The president-elect’s country holds 21 per cent of the world’s proven reserves. It is today producing just 6 per cent of supply. This is about to change.
- Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
November 2023
Trump tells Milei he plans to visit Buenos Aires
Argentina’s president-elect, Javier Milei, earlier this year called on the former US president to “continue with his fight against socialism”.
- Daniel Politi
- Opinion
- The AFR View
Thank Britain for why Australia isn’t Argentina
Trying to understand Argentina’s failure should also make Australians think more deeply about the sources of this country’s success.
- The AFR View
Trump-loving new president’s plan to end economic chaos in Argentina
A self-described “anarcho-capitalist”, Javier Milei has proposed abolishing the central bank and taking a “chainsaw” to public spending.
- Tim Wallace and Szu Ping Chan
