The Latin American Report # 600

Ecuador

In Durán, the most violent city in all of Ecuador, located in the coastal province of Guayas, another political assassination occurred yesterday, Monday, when a municipal official was attacked by hitmen while traveling in his vehicle. “These terrorists are carrying out this type of acts to distract the security forces, [...] to generate alarm,” said the chief of Durán’s police, where the problem is so severe that the mayor governs remotely after surviving an attack in 2023. Last year the homicide rate there was about 146 per 100,000 inhabitants, the highest in the country, while in the first half of the year it was 103.

Protests

In addition to the unstoppable violence—selective murders now seem to be “in vogue,” as last Sunday a footballer was killed in Esmeralda—the head of Carondelet is dealing with strong protests—especially from the representative indigenous community—over the recent removal of the diesel subsidy, which produced a significant automatic rise in its price. The Interior Ministry confirmed the detention of 24 people amid a national strike called by the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities, whose members, together with other representatives of civil society, have clashed with security forces in towns such as Otavalo, in the northern province of Imbabura.

The police claimed that its station was attacked, “[causing] damage to the police command facilities, motorcycles and vehicles, [and] putting at risk the physical integrity of our colleagues.” Other clashes between demonstrators and the police have occurred over attempts to interrupt the road blockades that were set up. Daniel Noboa’s government argues that removing the subsidy will make more than $1 billion available for social protection projects and incentives for SMEs, but indigenous groups, which already derailed two previous attempts from other administrations to implement this measure—closely tied to an IMF stabilization plan—maintain that what will happen is an increase in people’s cost of living.

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Mexico / Dominican Republic

Mexico’s Foreign Ministry has promised to conduct an exhaustive investigation into the deaths of two Colombian musicians whose bodies were found outside Mexico City. I have not found references about the condition in which the bodies were found, something that usually becomes public. The musicians, aged 31 and 35, had last been seen on Tuesday at a gym located in an upscale neighborhood of the capital, where they were on tour. Even Gustavo Petro had directly urged his counterpart, Claudia Sheinbaum, for help in finding the musicians alive. Meanwhile, in the El Maizal municipal district of Valverde province, Dominican Republic, the body of a Spanish citizen was found dead in his vehicle, shot in the head. It has not been confirmed whether he was a tourist or a resident.

Argentina

President Javier Milei is already in New York to cover a tight schedule within the framework of the United Nations General Assembly. The head of the Pink House is scheduled to meet with his U.S. and Israeli counterparts, with whom he has staked his fortunes symbolically and economically. According to EFE, this Tuesday, he will meet with Kristalina Georgieva, the head of the global lender that is key to the Argentine leader’s fiscal and monetary stabilization efforts.

In addition, on Wednesday, Milei will receive the Atlantic Council’s 2025 Global Citizen Award from the hands of the U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. In a show of near-unlimited confidence and backing, Bessent gave a strong boost to Milei’s economic-financial project—which has recently experienced very tense moments—through a strategic thread on X, where he stated that all options are on the table to support Argentina governed by La Libertad Avanza. Thus, the S&P Merval index reversed recent trends and rose 7.55%, as did the yields on dollar-denominated sovereign bonds, which climbed between 16.4% and 23.3%, while the country risk fell by roughly 25%. By the way, Cuba would love to find such an ally in countries like Russia or China.

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This is all for today’s report.