Latin America Advisor
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LATIN AMERICA ADVISOR A DAILY PUBLICATION OF THE DIALOGUE www.thedialogue.org Thursday, October 1, 2020 BOARD OF ADVISORS FEATURED Q&A TODAY’S NEWS Diego Arria Director, Columbus Group ECONOMIC Devry Boughner Vorwerk What’s Driving New Latin America CEO, DevryBV Sustainable Strategies Loses 34 Mn Jobs Joyce Chang Global Head of Research, U.S. Restrictions The International Labor Organiza- JPMorgan Chase & Co. tion’s latest count of jobs lost in Paula Cifuentes Latin America is more than double Director of Economic & Fiscal Affairs, on Cuba Activity? its previous estimates, set in early Latin America & Canada, August, that 14 million jobs had Philip Morris International been lost in the region. Marlene Fernández Page 2 Corporate Vice President for Government Relations, Arcos Dorados ECONOMIC Peter Hakim President Emeritus, Peru to Allow Inter-American Dialogue Donna Hrinak Some Int’l Flights Senior VP, Corporate Affairs, President Martín Vizcarra Royal Caribbean Group announced that his government Jon E. Huenemann will allow international flights Former Corporate and Government Senior Executive to seven countries starting next In addition to travel restrictions on U.S. citizens, the administration of U.S. President Donald James R. Jones week. The flights have been halted Trump has also blocked the import of cigars and rum from Cuba. // File Photo: Marcus61 via Chairman, for months due to the coronavirus Pixabay. Monarch Global Strategies pandemic. Craig A. Kelly U.S. President Donald Trump recently announced new Page 2 Senior Director, Americas Int’l Gov’t Relations, Exxon Mobil restrictions that will prohibit U.S. travelers from staying at John Maisto properties owned by the Cuban government, as well as block POLITICAL Director, U.S. Education Finance Group Q the import of Cuban cigars and liquor. What motivated the Bolsonaro Lashes Nicolás Mariscal Trump administration to draw up the new rules, and how significant are Out at Biden Over Chairman, Grupo Marhnos they? In what ways will they affect Cuba’s economy, its citizens and the Debate Remark Thomas F. McLarty III Communist government’s hold on power? Will Trump’s clampdown on Brazilian President Jair Bolson- Chairman, McLarty Associates Cuba, the latest in a string of reversals over the past four years of the aro attacked U.S. presidential candidate Joe Biden for saying in Beatrice Rangel Obama-era loosening of restrictions related to the island, help achieve Tuesday’s presidential debate that Director, U.S. goals with the country and in the region more broadly? AMLA Consulting LLC the South American nation would Jaana Remes suffer “significant economic con- Partner, Angela Mariana Freyre, principal at Squire Patton Boggs and sequences” if devastation of the McKinsey Global Institute Amazon rain forest continues. Ernesto Revilla former special advisor for Cuba policy at the U.S. National Page 2 Head of Latin American Security Council: “The new measures are the continuation of Economics, Citi Gustavo Roosen an electoral strategy to win Florida, which the president won Chairman of the Board, A by a very narrow 1.2 percent margin in the last election and where he is Envases Venezolanos Andrés Rozental currently trailing Vice President Biden in the polls. Given that there is no President, Rozental & travel to Cuba during this pandemic, the significance of the hotel/rum/ Asociados cigar/travel prohibitions is primarily symbolic and calculated for domestic Shelly Shetty Managing Director, Sovereigns political effect. In a post-pandemic Cuba, the prohibitions will have some Fitch Ratings negative impact on Cuba’s economy, people and government as a result of the lack of revenue. That said, to be removed from the restricted list, a hotel could be sold to foreign investors thus transferring title away from the Cuban government and becoming available to U.S. travelers. Also, rentals of private rooms and residences would see an increase in activity and have a beneficial effect on the growing class of self-employed in Bolsonaro // File Photo: Brazilian Government. Continued on page 3 COPYRIGHT © 2020, INTER-AMERICAN DIALOGUE PAGE 1 LATIN AMERICA ADVISOR Thursday, October 1, 2020 POLITICAL NEWS to prevent the Amazon’s destruction. The NEWS BRIEFS president’s son, Federal Deputy Eduardo Bol- Brazil’s Bolsonaro sonaro, has made frequent trips to Washington, Peru to Allow Some Round sometimes wearing a hat with Trump’s slogan, Trip International Flights Lashes Out at Biden “Make America Great Again,” and in a recent tweet endorsed Trump for president in this Peruvian President Martín Vizcarra announced Over Debate Remark year’s election, Foreign Policy reported. Wednesday that his government will allow international flights to seven countries starting Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Wednes- next week, El Comercio reported. The flights day attacked U.S. presidential candidate Joe ECONOMIC NEWS have been halted for months due to the coro- Biden for saying in Tuesday’s presidential navirus pandemic. At a press conference at the debate that the South American nation would government palace, the president said 11 desti- suffer “significant economic consequences” Latin America Loses nations in seven Latin American countries had if devastation of the Amazon rain forest 34 Million Jobs been approved for round-trip travel: Colombia, continues under his presidency, the Associated Ecuador, Panama, Paraguay, Uruguay, Bolivia Press reported. “The greed that some countries and Chile. The U.N.’s International Labor Organization have over the Amazon is a reality,” Bolsona- said Wednesday that at least 34 million jobs ro said on Twitter. “But the confirmation by have been lost in Latin America due to the someone who is fighting for the command of coronavirus pandemic, the Associated Press Migrant Caravan Gathers his country clearly signals that he wants to give reported. The ILO urged countries in the region up a cordial and profitable coexistence.” The in Honduras, Heads North to adopt “immediate strategies” to deal with far-right Bolsonaro, who has repeatedly alleged Hundreds of migrants began walking Wednes- the problem. The count was more than double day night from a city in northern Honduras the ILO’s previous estimate, set in early August, toward the Guatemalan border, Telemundo that 14 million jobs had been lost in the region. reported. Calls on social media to begin a The ILO figures are based on data from nine new migrant caravan from the San Pedro Sula countries which account for 80 percent of the bus station on Oct. 1 had been circulating for region’s workforce. The ILO lists Latin America weeks. Guatemala reopened its borders in Sep- and the Caribbean as the worst-hit region tember after closing them for months to curb in the world in terms of lost working hours, Covid-19 infections. Groups of migrants mov- with a drop of 20.9 percent in the first three ing north toward the United States captured quarters of the year, compared to an average headlines last year as they clashed with border Biden // File Photo: Biden Campaign. of 11.7 percent worldwide. Most employment authorities in countries along the route. in Latin America is concentrated in the service that foreign entities are trying to take over the sector, which is typically more informal and Amazon, also labeled Biden’s comments as has higher self-employment rates, the World “disastrous and gratuitous.” Biden said during Bank said in a report published this week. “The Coca-Cola Moves South Tuesday’s debate with U.S. President Donald economic impact of Covid-19 is unprecedent- Trump, an ally of Bolsonaro, that he would work America Headquarters to ed in size and scope. It has quickly evolved with international partners to raise $20 billion from a health emergency into an employment Brazil From Argentina for Brazil to stop Amazon deforestation. The crisis,” its authors wrote. “The accelerated Atlanta-based beverage company Coca-Cola is Trump administration has been relatively quiet transformation of jobs calls for a rethinking of moving its Southern Cone headquarters from amid an unprecedented international outcry labor regulations and social protection policies Argentina to Rio de Janeiro, La Nación reported over the Amazon. Deforestation in Brazil’s geared towards wage earners employed in the Wednesday. The company has offered a Amazon rose 34 percent between July 2019 formal sector of the economy,” they added. In voluntary retirement plan for those executives and the same month this year, Brazil’s official Brazil, South America’s largest economy, the not wishing to make the transfer to Brazil. The period for measuring deforestation, according unemployment rate reached an unprecedented company will seek to hire a Brazilian national to preliminary statistics from government 13.8 percent in the quarter ending in July, Folha to manage the new office, according to the space research agency Inpe, Reuters reported de S.Paulo reported Wednesday, citing new report. Luisa Ortega, who currently runs the this week. Bolsonaro has found a supporter data from the state-run Brazilian Institute of Buenos Aires office, will now work in Central in Trump despite international pressure from Geography and Statistics, or IBGE. Experts wor- America. The company says it will continue to traditional U.S. allies in Europe to take action ry that some countries of Latin America and operate in Argentina. COPYRIGHT © 2020, INTER-AMERICAN DIALOGUE PAGE 2 LATIN AMERICA ADVISOR Thursday, October 1, 2020 especially in the Caribbean will suffer a decade FEATURED Q&A / Continued from page 1 of historically high debt burdens as a conse- quence of social program spending needed to Cuba. Coupled with further restrictions on has reversed many Obama administration support jobless citizens through the pandemic. remittances, it is clear that the president concessions. However, he has not reversed [Editor’s note: See related Q&A in yesterday’s has no concern for the Cuban people or the suspension of the wet foot-dry foot poli- issue of the Advisor.] Cuban-Americans who aid their families cy, which Raúl Castro obtained from Obama.