Colombia Prepares Green Hydrogen Regulations; Mexico Nationalizes Lithium Reserves

Bloomberg Línea — Colombia’s Ministry of Mines and Energy has published outlines for a draft decree to prepare the regulations for the production and use of green hydrogen.

Mexico’s Chamber of Deputies has approved a government initiative to reform the Mining Law and nationalize the country’s lithium reserves, which was proposed by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. The proposal was approved with 298 votes in favor and 197 abstentions. The proposal seeks to nationalize lithium so that the exploration, exploitation and use of the mineral will be for the exclusive use of the nation, and the president will determine which decentralized public agency will be in charge of such tasks. The reform proposal came in response to the legislature’s failure to approve López Obrador’s proposed electricity sector reform on Sunday, and which sought to give control of the electricity sector to state-owned utility CFE.

Argentina’s Merval (MERVAL) was the only Latin American stock exchange to close with gains on Monday, rising 0.22%, thanks to the performance of stocks such as Cresud (CRES), Loma Negra (LOMA) and Banco Macro (BMA). Chile’s IPSA (IPSA) had the worst performance in the region on Monday, down 1.05%, with energy company shares, IT and real estate driving the index down.

Following is a roundup of Monday’s news from Bloomberg Línea and Bloomberg reporters across Latin America.

Argentina:

• After a period of adversity for the tourism industry due to the pandemic and quarantines, tourism companies in Argentina are enthusiastic about a strong recovery of operations in the domestic market, and also envisage a strong demand among Europeans and Latin Americans to visit the country.
• On Monday, President Alberto Fernández received his Ecuadorian counterpart, Guillermo Lasso, on the latter’s first visit to Argentina as head of state.

Brazil:

• Robin Brooks is chief economist at the Institute of International Finance and often offers forecasts, and and has suddenly become a social media sensation in Brazil. Brooks is a rarity in financial circles, having long said that the real should be valued more highly.

Chile:

• The disapproval rating of President Gabriel Boric is growing, according to polls. According to a poll by Activa, disapproval of Chile’s head of state reached 57%, up more than 10 percentage points, since he took office in March through the first half of April.

Colombia:

• Colombia’s Ministry of Mines and Energy has published outlines for a draft decree to prepare the regulations for the production and use of green hydrogen.
• The Colombian economy grew 8.1% in February, a rebound of 11.3 percentage points compared to the same month of 2021.

Dominican Republic:

• Between January and March, 55 public investment projects worth $1.25 billion were approved in the Dominican Republic, a record investment figure for a three-month period. The largest budget went to the health area with 79% of the total invested.

Ecuador:

• As in many countries, in Ecuador technology advances faster than laws, and that becomes a limiting factor for innovation and entrepreneurship. This is the case of Ecuadorian fintechs, which have plenty of creativity and talent, but lack support. Although the number of fintechs in the country has grown rapidly (by 77% between 2017 and 2021), they lack appropriate regulation, which is under development, and sufficient incentives.

El Salvador:

• Tourism arrivals to the Central American country during Easter Week were double the initial estimates of the authorities, despite the current ‘state of exception’ imposed to tame violence among gangs, with more than 400,000 visitors.

Guatemala:

• Startup Grind Guatemala is an initiative aimed at enabling more and more entrepreneurs to access high-profile connections that will allow them to scale their businesses, capture investment, and inspire others so that large companies can join in the creation of new technologies. In addition, in alliance with Banco Industrial, the initiative also organizeS monthly workshops that provide the practical tools to apply them to entrepreneurship.

Mexico:

• Mexico’s Chamber of Deputies has approved a government initiative to reform the Mining Law and nationalize the country’s lithium reserves, which was proposed by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. The proposal was approved with 298 votes in favor and 197 abstentions. The proposal seeks to nationalize lithium so that the exploration, exploitation and use of the mineral will be for the exclusive use of the nation, and the president will determine which decentralized public agency will be in charge of such tasks. The reform proposal came in response to the legislature’s failure to approve López Obrador’s proposed electricity sector reform on Sunday, and which sought to give control of the electricity sector to state-owned utility CFE.

Panama:

• A U.S. government delegation headed by Secretary of State Antony Blinken will participate in a ministerial meeting on migration and protection in Panama on April 19-20, in addition to holding bilateral meetings with President Laurentino Cortizo and Foreign Minister Erika Mouynes.

Uruguay:

• Uruguay is preparing to open an embassy in Turkey, seeking to position itself in a key area between Europe and Asia. The move also aims to strengthen bilateral ties while the government of President Luis Lacalle Pou is promoting talks for a free trade agreement, as it is a key market for the export of live cattle.

Venezuela:

• Venezuelans have found a new ally in online shopping through delivery platforms, such as PedidosYa, which recorded an 80% increase in market purchases in Venezuela during the last six months. Its CEO, Daniel Pessolano, says its users in the country, where it launched operations at the end of 2020, have discovered a simpler and safer option for food purchases.