Argentine Unions Achieve Salary Hikes; Bitcoin Struggles to Gain Traction in El Salvador

A roundup of Tuesday’s news from across Latin America

Bloomberg Línea
April 27, 2022 | 09:01 AM

Bloomberg Línea — Argentine unions representing various sectors, including the meat and poultry and fisheries industries, have achieved salary hikes following negotiations with the government, and in some cases of as much as 50%, which will be progressively applied during the coming months.

Bitcoin is having trouble gaining traction in El Salvador, the first country to adopt it as legal tender, with many Salvadorans reportedly having stopped using the government’s bitcoin wallet, known as Chivo, and only a small fraction are reportedly using crypto for remittances, taxes or for everyday purchases.

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

Argentina:

Brazil:

  • High interest rates and political and social instability around the world are affecting emerging companies, and venture capital investors are now looking to adjust valuations. This has affected hundreds of Brazilian unicorn workers, and billion-dollar tech companies QuintoAndar, Loft, Facily and Creditas have begun to lay off some of their staff.

Chile:

Colombia:

Dominican Republic:

  • The Dominican Republic has one of the highest gross domestic product (GDP) growth rates in the region, and enjoys political and democratic stability, in addition to possessing a strategic geographic location, all of which are characteristics that give it the potential to be a cradle of unicorns.

Ecuador:

El Salvador:

Mexico:

Panama:

Peru:

  • Fertilizer shortages have worsened and have become a major problem, threatening food security globally. Peru is already struggling with a deficit of 180,000 tons of urea so far this year, which puts at risk the 2022-2023 agricultural harvest, and which could affect close to 500,000 farmers in the country.