Latin America

LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Deserted during months of quarantine, the streets of Bolivia are roiling again with protests that have forced the government into an uncomfortable challenge: trying to resolve the country’s long-term political crisis with elections in the middle of a rising pandemic.

Local authorities say that the attack was perpetrated by a group of men who arrived at the center in a red van. No arrests have been made.

Despite recording nearly three times more deaths than health officials initially predicted, beds are widely available.

The attorney general announced yesterday that he requested arrest warrants for 46 officials in the reopened investigation into the disappearance of 43 Mexican students from Iguala, Guerrero in 2014.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador will visit U.S. President Donald Trump on July 8 and 9 in his first trip abroad as the country’s leader, the foreign relations secretary confirmed Tuesday.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Nearly six years after 43 students disappeared in Mexico’s southern Guerrero state, Attorney General Alejandro Gertz Manero said Tuesday that prosecutors had requested 46 arrest warrants for municipal officials in the state in relation to the case.

The U.S. Drought Monitor reported last week that over a quarter of Puerto Rico, mostly in the south, is experiencing severe drought and nearly 60% is in drought.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico City began allowing more businesses to reopen Monday, after almost three months of various types of lockdowns.

The Financial Times reported that the region accounted for half of the world’s deaths from COVID-19, even though it has only 8% of the world’s population.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico City’s main wholesale market detects dozens of coronavirus cases every week. A covered food market in Venezuela was the source of one of the largest outbreaks in the country. And every single merchant in a vast market in Peru has tested positive for the virus.

In this episode of Latino USA, we explore why one of the largest economies in the world has failed to combat the pandemic.

The two countries have among the lowest death rates for COVID-19 in Latin America, despite sharing borders with Brazil, where more than 50,000 people have died.

PANAMA CITY (AP) — In the weeks since Panama loosened restrictions in an attempt to gradually reactivate its economy, new coronavirus infections have surged, especially in the densely populated poorer neighborhoods of its capital.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico pushed past 25,000 reported coronavirus deaths and 200,000 confirmed cases Thursday, as the treasury secretary said he tested positive and would self-isolate while working from home.

Thousands of people waited in long lines this week to enter shopping malls all over the country, with social distancing rules loosely enforced.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Wednesday he plans to travel to Washington to meet with President Donald Trump, an announcement that was met with a storm of criticism in Mexico.

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Guatemala President Alejandro Giammattei said Wednesday that most of the 240 workers in the country’s National Laboratory have tested positive for COVID-19.

The country is still recovering from deadly earthquakes in 2017, that left hundreds dead and buildings destroyed.

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — The International Monetary Fund is forecasting a nearly double-digit recession for Latin America and the Caribbean in 2020 —a contraction of 9.4%— as the region is dragged down by its two largest economies, which continue to suffer from the coronavirus.

In the Sunday interview, Trump also made vague comments about his support for Juan Guaidó, whom the administration recognized as Venezuela’s interim president last year.

He was an ardent believer of the racial tenets of the moment and in particular, that “civilized nations” should act as protectors of “barbarous” ones.