Argentine Food Prices Surpass Minimum Wage; Chile’s New Constitution Offers Healthcare

A roundup of Friday’s news from across Latin America

Bloomberg Línea
April 22, 2022 | 07:09 PM

Bloomberg Línea — Argentina’s statistics bureau INDEC has revealed that the country’s minimum salary is not enough to cover the total basic food basket, the cost of which increased by 7% in February.

Chile’s Constitutional Convention, charged with drawing up a new constitution that will be put to vote in an obligatory plebiscite on September 4, this week approved the creation of a national health service, which was one of the main demands of the social unrest in 2019. Under the proposal, the system will be financed, at least in part, through a tax on all workers.

On the region’s stock markets, Argentina’s Merval (MERVAL) resisted the downward trend seen in the United States and on the rest of the Latin American stock exchanges, while Brazil’s Ibovespa (IBOV) slid 2.86% to close with the worst performance in the region on Friday.

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

Argentina:

Chile:

  • Chile’s Constitutional Convention, charged with drawing up a new constitution that will be put to vote in an obligatory plebiscite on September 4, this week approved the creation of a National Health Service, which was one of the main demands of the social unrest in 2019. Under the proposal, the system will be financed, at least in part, through a tax on all workers.
  • Chile’s copper miners are showing negative results. For example, Antofagasta Minerals, part of the Luksic Group, reported a 24.2% drop in its copper production in the first quarter.

Colombia:

Ecuador:

Guatemala:

Mexico:

Uruguay:

Venezuela: