Colombia Prepares Green Hydrogen Regulations; Mexico Nationalizes Lithium Reserves

A roundup of Monday’s news from across Latin America

April 18, 2022 | 11:45 PM

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:

Brazil:

Chile:

Colombia:

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:

El Salvador:

Guatemala:

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:

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: