:quality(75)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/bloomberglinea/IKAVCVVO5ZCFVCL2LNYCG3LQII.jpg "Bloomberg Línea")
Bloomberg Línea — Chile’s President-elect Gabriel Boric will present his cabinet on Friday, and Bloomberg Línea has analyzed who might make up his inner circle, with the greatest expectation surrounding who will be his finance minister, with local media speculating that Mario Marcel Cullell, president of the Central Bank, or economist Guillermo Larraín, could be in line for the role.
Ecuador is planning on forming joint ventures to boost its oil production, with 22 oil fields to be put up for auction, while analysis by Bloomberg shows that investors who had been driven away from Peru by the political turmoil are once again becoming enthusiastic about the South American country.
Following is a roundup of Thursday’s news from our reporters across Latin America.
Argentina
The Argentine government is redoubling its efforts to further contain prices, after inflation exceeded 50% in 2021. To this end, the administration of Alberto Fernández is preparing more measures to try to contain the increase in the cost of living in 2022, which would include agreements with some sectors.
The blue dollar, the parallel quotation in the country, continues at maximum levels, hitting 213 pesos on Thursday, a scenario that does not close the door to foreign investors, as Rob McEwen, owner of the company that operates the Los Azules copper mine in San Juan, stated that large mining companies are once again turning their eyes to Argentina.
Brazil
The president of the Central Bank, Roberto Campos Neto, said that the monetary authority has enough ammunition to intervene in the exchange rate and assured that the country’s presidential candidates are moving towards the center ahead of the October elections and that the country needs reforms to grow in a sustainable manner.
An analysis by Marcelo Carvalho, global head of emerging markets research at BNP Paribas, said Brazil’s Central Bank is expected to raise the Selic rate to 12% this year.
Chile
Chile’s President-elect Gabriel Boric will present his future government team on Friday, and Bloomberg Línea has analyzed who might make up his circle of trust. The greatest expectation falls on his Finance Minister and the local press has speculated that it will be Mario Marcel Cullell, president of the Central Bank, or the economist Guillermo Larraín.
:quality(75)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/bloomberglinea/UXGLHEV3BJDKHIMI3WOOPOIIDY.jpg "Gabriel Boric waves during an election night rally in Santiago, on Dec. 19.")
Colombia
Ecuador
Ecuador is planning on forming joint ventures to boost its oil production, with 22 oil fields to be put up for auction, with the aim of the state remaining part of the production process. Spot sales will be another mechanism to boost the sector.
Mexico
Mexico’s state oil company Pemex has completed the purchase of the Deer Park refinery from Shell. The value of the transaction for the refinery’s assets is $596 million, equivalent to 50% of Shell’s participation in the company’s debt. The purchase of the refinery, together with the construction of a new processing facility in Tabasco state, are part of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s strategy to achieve fuel self-sufficiency for the country, which currently imports much of the gasoline it consumes from abroad.
Also in the energy sector, Iberdrola and its partners are facing paralysis due to a plant with a permit that is about to expire. Mexican energy regulator CRE has denied Spanish company Iberdrola the migration of its self-supply permit to an electricity generation permit.
Peru
Repsol has expressed its regret at not communicating about the oil spill in Peru “in an adequate manner”. After the environmental catastrophe that has left more than one million square meters of contamination on the Peruvian coast, the company communicated the measures it has taken.
