June 18, 2021: Latin America Advisor
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LATIN AMERICA ADVISOR A DAILY PUBLICATION OF THE DIALOGUE www.thedialogue.org Friday, June 18, 2021 BOARD OF ADVISORS FEATURED Q&A TODAY’S NEWS Diego Arria Director, Columbus Group ECONOMIC Devry Boughner Vorwerk Will New Officials Blackout Leaves Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Grubhub 337,000 Without Joyce Chang Global Head of Research, Change Mexico’s Electricity in JPMorgan Chase & Co. Puerto Rico Paula Cifuentes Director of Economic & Fiscal Affairs, Economic Policy? A sudden power outage left more Latin America & Canada, than 337,000 customers without Philip Morris International electricity across the U.S. territory Marlene Fernández just days after another massive Corporate Vice President for blackout. Government Relations, Arcos Dorados (McDonald’s) Page 2 Peter Hakim President Emeritus, BUSINESS Inter-American Dialogue Donna Hrinak BR Distribuidora Senior VP, Corporate Affairs, Royal Caribbean Group Launches Offering Jon E. Huenemann as Petrobras Council Member, GLG Inc. Sells Stake James R. Jones Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (C) last week named Arturo Herrera (L) the BR Distribuidora launched a share Chairman, country’s new central bank chief and Rogelio Ramírez de la O (R) as his new finance minister. offering in which state oil com- Monarch Global Strategies // Photo: @lopezobrador_ via Twitter. pany Petrobras will sell a stake in Craig A. Kelly Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said this Senior Director, Americas the fuel distribution firm. Int’l Gov’t Relations, Exxon Mobil month that he would nominate current Finance Minister Ar- Page 3 Barbara Kotschwar turo Herrera to be the new chief of the central bank. Current Executive Director, Visa Economic Empowerment Institute Q head Alejandro Díaz de León’s term ends Dec. 31. López POLITICAL John Maisto Obrador had previously said he wanted a central bank president with a Director, U.S. Education Nicaragua Orders Finance Group “social dimension” who is “in favor of moral economics.” Is there likely Two More Arrests Nicolás Mariscal to be a big change in the Mexican central bank’s direction when Díaz de in Crackdown Chairman, León’s term ends? Is Herrera the best person for the position, and what Grupo Marhnos Nicaraguan authorities ordered Thomas F. McLarty III is he likely to prioritize? What is likely to be the direction of Mexico’s Fi- two more arrests in a widening Chairman, nance Ministry under the leadership of its new designated head, Rogelio crackdown. Former Education McLarty Associates Ramírez de la O, whom López Obrador tapped to succeed Herrera? Minister Humberto Belli and busi- Beatrice Rangel ness owner Gerardo Baltodano Director, AMLA Consulting LLC were ordered detained. Jaana Remes Jonathan Heath, deputy governor of the Bank of Mexico: Page 2 Partner, “Arturo Herrera, the current finance minister, has a clear McKinsey Global Institute Ernesto Revilla understanding of the bank’s role and its importance for the Head of Latin American correct conduct of monetary policy aimed at maintaining Economics, Citi A Gustavo Roosen price stability. The Bank of Mexico is a solid institution with a well-built President, legal framework, designed to weather all types of vicissitudes. Without a IESA doubt, Herrera will continue along the same path taken by the bank, start- Andrés Rozental President, Rozental & ing with its autonomy in 1994. Nevertheless, as of 2022 and for the first Asociados time ever, all five members of the board will be outsiders without previous Shelly Shetty Managing Director, Sovereigns work experience from within the bank. While it is true that the president Fitch Ratings has so far appointed three out of the five members of its Governing Board, it is fair to say that all three feel complete autonomy in terms of their decisions and have the bank’s legal mandate at the top of their priorities. While I cannot speak for other members, I was chosen because Belli // File Photo: Facebook Page of Humberto Belli. Continued on page 3 COPYRIGHT © 2021, INTER-AMERICAN DIALOGUE PAGE 1 LATIN AMERICA ADVISOR Friday, June 18, 2021 POLITICAL NEWS nization of American States condemned the NEWS BRIEFS arrests and urged the immediate release of the Nicaragua Orders people who have been detained. OAS Secre- Donors Pledge $1.5 Billion tary General Luis Almagro has called Ortega a for Venezuelan Migrants Two More Arrests in “dictator.” Also on Thursday, Nicaragua denied a New York Times reporter from entering the Donors at an international conference in Cana- Widening Crackdown country, the newspaper reported. The airline da on Thursday pledged more than $1.5 billion on which he was scheduled to travel canceled in grants and loans to support Venezuelan Nicaraguan authorities on Thursday ordered the ticket of Anatoly Kurmanaev, who met all of migrants who have fled the country’s humani- the arrests of a former education minister and Nicaragua’s legal and health requirements for tarian crisis, Reuters reported. The grants total a businessman as the government widened a entering the country. On Sunday, Nicaragua’s $954 million, including $407 million from the crackdown on opponents of President Daniel government added 13 Nicaraguan news outlets United States and $93 million from Canada. Ortega beyond politicians, the Associated to a criminal investigation that is targeting That amount exceeded the $653 million in Press reported. In a statement, Nicaragua’s members of the opposition over allegations grants that were pledged last year at a similar attorney general’s office said it was order- of money laundering, treason and “seditious event. More than 30 countries and develop- ing the capture of Humberto Belli, who was conspiracy,” The New York Times reported. ment banks took part in the conference. education minister under former President Violeta Chamorro, and Gerardo Baltodano, who owns Café Soluble, for failing to appear ECONOMIC NEWS Men Posing as Security to give statements as scheduled, the wire service reported. Both individuals had served Guards Attack Haiti on the board of the Nicaraguan Foundation for Blackout Leaves Power Plant, Employees Economic and Social Development, a non- 337,000 Without Officials at Haiti’s power company said governmental organization that is the target Thursday that its employees and some of its of an investigation. Earlier this month, the Power in Puerto Rico infrastructure were attacked by a group of men organization’s former executive director, Juan who pretended to be security guards, the Asso- Sebastián Chamorro, was arrested and ac- A sudden power outage left more than 337,000 ciated Press reported. L’Électricité d’Haïti said cused of committing crimes against the state, customers without electricity across Puerto the men and what it called complicit security the Associated Press reported. Nicaraguan Rico late on Wednesday, just days after an- guards occupied a power plant near the Péligre prosecutors announced Thursday that a judge other massive blackout, the Associated Press Dam in the country’s central region, adding that had ordered bank accounts belonging to Belli reported. Luma Energy, a private firm that took the men had previously been hired illegally and and Baltodano, and others tied to the organiza- over the U.S. territory’s power transmission later dismissed, but they continued to return to tion, to be frozen. The judge also barred Belli and distribution system on June 1, said three the plant. Michel Présumé, the firm’s director and Baltodano from leaving the country. The units went offline. The cause was not immedi- general, said on Wednesday that authorities pair are under investigation due to “financial ately known. Luma initially said some 190,000 had not removed or arrested the men. operations derived from illicit activities,” customers had been affected but later said in a prosecutors alleged. Belli and Baltodano were tweet that electricity had been restored to more the latest targets as authorities in Nicaragua than 252,700 customers and more than 84,000 pursue politicians, businesspeople and others, were still without power. Various spokespeople Fourteen Jamaican a crackdown that comes five months before for the company did not respond to the AP’s Migrants Detained After Nicaragua’s presidential election. Ortega, who request for comment. The blackout sparked Coming Ashore in Florida has been in office for 14 years, is seeking to a flurry of complaints on social media from Authorities on Thursday detained 14 migrants remain in power. Authorities in Nicaragua have enraged customers who said they had to dis- hailing from Jamaica via the Bahamas who arrested at least 16 people in recent weeks. card food and refrigerated medication such as came ashore in Pompano Beach, in South They include 13 members of Nicaragua’s insulin in recent days, according to the report. Florida, the Associated Press reported, citing political opposition, including four potential The company had announced hours before the local television station WPLG-TV. While being presidential candidates. Two former employ- outage that services would be interrupted in handcuffed, one of the migrant men told ees of the Violeta Chamorro Foundation and the following three nights for pre-scheduled WPLG-TV that he was fleeing from violence in Luis Rivas Anduray, the executive president of maintenance at one plant as well as interrup- his country. U.S. Customs and Border Protec- Banco de Producción, were also arrested. On tions in the generation of power run by Puerto tion did not immediately respond to the AP’s Tuesday, the Permanent Council of the Orga- Rico’s Electric Power Authority, or PREPA. request for more information. COPYRIGHT © 2021, INTER-AMERICAN DIALOGUE PAGE 2 LATIN AMERICA ADVISOR Friday, June 18, 2021 However, Luma said the most recent outage FEATURED Q&A / Continued from page 1 was not related to these announcements, La Noticia reported. Luma took over the opera- of my experience, reputation, independence dent of independence from the new governor tions of Puerto Rico’s power grid on June 1 in and nonalliance to any political party or toward the president makes it reasonable to a public-private partnership with PREPA that specific politician.