South America: Government, Public Sector

Venezuela’s devastating June 24 earthquakes have transformed a delicate post-Maduro transition into a high-stakes test of the Trump administration’s strategy to maximize US influence.

Mexico's 2026 judicial reform amendment attempts to address concerns from the controversial 2024 constitutional change requiring democratic election of all judges, but critics argue it fails to resolve fundamental issues of judicial independence that could deter foreign investment. As the country prepares for its next judicial elections in 2028, international observers and credit rating agencies warn of unprecedented risks to institutional integrity and investor confidence.

Keiko Fujimori assumes Peru's presidency with an ambitious economic agenda rooted in her father's 1990s reforms, promising to accelerate foreign investment through deregulation, fast-track mining permits, and major infrastructure projects. Can her conservative, free-market approach overcome Peru's political volatility and deliver on pledges to cut project approval times by 40% while addressing persistent challenges in fiscal management, informal employment, and public safety?

Brazil's Executive Management Committee of the Chamber of Foreign Trade has issued GECEX Resolution No. 938/2026, establishing a 12% export tax rate on crude petroleum oils for a 60-day period following the expiry of Provisional Measure No. 1,340/2026. The resolution addresses the regulatory gap created when the provisional measure failed to be converted into law within the constitutional timeframe, reinstating export tax provisions on products classified under NCM heading 2709.

Keiko Fujimori assumes Peru's presidency with an ambitious economic agenda rooted in her father's 1990s reforms, promising to accelerate foreign investment through deregulation, fast-track mining permits, and major infrastructure projects. Can her conservative, free-market approach overcome Peru's political volatility and deliver on pledges to cut project approval times by 40% while addressing persistent challenges in fiscal management, informal employment, and public safety?

The Dominican Republic has achieved its lowest poverty rate in a decade, with official data showing a decline to 15.4% in early 2026. International validation from the World Bank confirms this downward trajectory, though significant disparities between urban and rural areas persist as a structural challenge for policymakers.

The Federal Government has launched the National Bioeconomy Development Plan (PNDBio), established under the National Bioeconomy Strategy created by Decree No. 12,044/2024.

El 16 de febrero de 2026, la Secretaría de Energía ("SENER"), publicó en el Diario Oficial de la Federación las Disposiciones Administrativas de Carácter General sobre la Manifestación de Impacto Social Del Sector...

Brazil's Supreme Court (STF) has concluded the joint trial of constitutional lawsuits involving Law No. 14,701/2023, known as the Indigenous Time Limit Requirement Act...

The Dominican Republic has achieved the lowest homicide rate in the Caribbean for the second consecutive year, with a rate of 8.7 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2025. This marks the fourth year of decline, contrasting sharply with the regional average of 34.0 per 100,000, as documented by InSight Crime's annual security report.

The US Department of State has designated Brazil's largest criminal organizations—Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) and Comando Vermelho (CV)—as Foreign Terrorist Organizations, fundamentally transforming operational security challenges into high-stakes legal risks under US counterterrorism statutes.

Recent actions by the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, together with parallel developments in Mexico, reflect an increasingly coordinated...