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TLA Times | February 27, 2019

in Brazil, Mexico, Peru, TLA News

SNAPSHOT

Annual percentage GDP growth of Mexico.


Source: data.worldbank.org

EXCHANGE RATE


Figures from Feb. 22 Source: www.xe.com

FUN IN THE SUN

Swim with dolphins on Isla Mujeres.
 
At Dolphin Discovery, on Isla Mujeres near Cancun in Mexico, you can swim with dolphins — and a whole lot of other marine life, including sharks and stingrays. The dolphins are intelligent and friendly. You can even kiss them. We don’t recommend you do that with the sharks.   Details
LATIN AMERICA

Region’s logistics, supply-chain operations draw investment.

Tech Crunch reports that startups and new technology are changing shipping in Latin America, and investors are putting big money into the supply-chain sector in the region. Shipping has been booming as trade increases with China.  “The most exciting sectors for innovation in shipping are in trucking, consumer/third-party shipping options and in last-mile delivery,” one investor writes. “Startups in the logistics industry have their work cut out for them in Latin America, and these sectors are the most prominent battlegrounds for innovation so far.”  Details

PERU

Peruvian police, military lead crackdown on illegal mining. 

The Peruvian interior ministry sent 1,500 police and military personnel into Madre de Dios, a rainforest area that been plagued by illegal mining operations, Reuters reports via Macau News Agency. Unauthorized gold mining has led to deforestation. Previous attempts by the government have failed to slow the growing wildcat mining industry.  Details

BRAZIL 

Ford Motor Co.  shuts down plant in São Bernardo do Campo.

Fortune Magazine reports Ford is shuttering a factory that employs 2,800 in Brazil. Ford is losing money on its South American business and faring even more poorly in heavy trucks. The São Bernardo do Campo plant assembled big trucks and a small car, the Fiesta. The closing is a blow to Jair Bolsonaro, the pro-business president.  Details

MEXICO

Maquiladora owners ask president to help stop the strikes.

A group representing foreign-owned factories near Mexico’s northern border are asking leftist President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to aide in putting an end to strikes, reports the Los Angeles Times. Mexico has been plagued with strikes since AMLO took over. He raised the minimum wage 20 percent, but that didn’t help the maquiladora. They already made more money than the minimum wage. They think their wages should go up by a similar amount. Details

AMLO says no more joint oil deals until further notice.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador tells reporters that no more deals between state-owned Pemex will be undertaken until the existing projects begin producing oil, Reuters reports via Business Insider. AMLO has been a critic of liberalizing the energy sector in the country by allowing private countries to get involved in exploration and production. Details