The Week Ahead: 17-23 March 2025
Welcome to Southern Pulse’s weekly newsletter, where we dive into the major events and headlines set to shake things up in Latin America this week. We’ll keep you updated on key topics we’re watching and events to keep an eye on. If you were forwarded this newsletter, you can subscribe here:
The Week Ahead
This week, Mexico, Colombia and Bolivia are expecting protests. Another key news item to watch is Ecuador’s final presidential debate between President Daniel Noboa and Luisa Gonzalez on Sunday.
Research for this newsletter was supported by Nelson, our AI-powered Latin American research companion. If you'd like to know more about Nelson, click here.
Monday 17 March
Holidays: 🇲🇽 Mexico celebrates the birthday of Benito Juárez, a 19th-century president who led the country against the French intervention in Mexico.
🇵🇾 🇧🇷 Paraguay’s public works ministry (MOPC) will receive bids for a construction project that will provide access to an important international bridge connecting the country with Brazil. The project, which will require investments of about USD10.8 million, will connect the cities of Carmelo Peralta in Paraguay and Porto Murtinho in Brazil. It will be part of the Bioceanic Road Corridor that seeks to connect the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean to improve regional logistics and trade.
Tuesday 18 March
🇨🇴 Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro has called on unions and social organizations to mobilize in favor of a popular consultation on his proposed health and labor reforms. Both reforms are stalled in Congress, where the opposition has a majority. While there is still no date for the consultation, unions in various sectors have confirmed they will participate in the protests. The labor reform seeks to increase salaries for those working on Sundays and extend paternity leave to four weeks, and also favors indefinite contracts in hiring processes. The health reform aims to keep private companies from administrating hospitals’ financial resources.
🇪🇨 🇹🇼 A business roundtable aimed at strengthening trade between Ecuador and Taiwan will take place in Quito. The Taipei Trade Office in Ecuador and the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) are organizing the roundtable, which will bring together Ecuadorian entrepreneurs and representatives of leading Taiwanese companies interested in establishing strategic alliances.
🇧🇴 In Bolivia, workers from various sectors will hold protests against the government over fuel shortages. A Bolivian government official told media outlets that the fuel supply problem is due to the lack of dollars to pay for the diesel and petrol imports and an alleged “boycott” in Congress where some opposition and MAS dissident legislators refuse to approve foreign loans. President Luis Arce announced 10 measures to deal with the situation, but union leaders from various sectors said they were insufficient and confirmed they would hold a march from Patacamaya to La Paz.
Wednesday 19 March
🇲🇽 In Mexico, unionized education workers will begin a nationwide, 72-hour strike against a labor reform under discussion in Congress. The Education Workers Union (CNTE)’s National Coordinating Committee announced it would conduct a 72-hour strike against a law that seeks to strengthen healthcare, housing and comprehensive social security for state workers through 25 actions. The law is under debate in the lower house of Congress and backed by President Claudia Sheinbaum. However, workers say the reform jeopardizes their pension benefits.
🇦🇷 In Buenos Aires, Argentina, retirees and labor unions plan to organize a protest in response to government austerity cuts outside of Congress. Last week, a protest turned violent when riot police clashed with protestors, who were joined by organized groups of soccer club fans known as barras bravas. Police detained over 100 people. The National Security Ministry headed by Patricia Bullrich filed a complaint against protestors who, according to authorities, were seeking to “destabilize” President Javier Milei’s government. Meanwhile, a representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights called on the government to investigate the police response, which it called an “indiscriminate use of force by the authorities.”
🇧🇴 🇵🇪 A mission of Bolivian business leaders will visit Peru’s Chancay Port to explore business opportunities between 19-22 March. The Chancay Port complex is located about 70 kilometers north of Lima. Peruvian exports to Bolivia totaled USD172.1 million during the first four months of 2024 — a 28.5% increase over the same period last year.
🇵🇪 Peru’s Congress will vote on a final report in the trial against former president Martin Vizcarra. The former president has been accused of committing crimes while in office. Among the allegations are that he led a criminal organization dedicated to corruption, extorted a former prime minister, and secretly received a COVID-19 vaccine with more than 400 government officials and family members.
🇺🇾 Uruguay will hold an important agricultural fair in Soriano province, which newly appointed President Yamandú Orsi is expected to attend.
Thursday 20 March
🇦🇷 🇪🇸 🇮🇱 Argentine President Javier Milei will visit Spain and Israel on a non-official visit. Milei will receive an award in the Spanish capital. According to sources cited in Infobae, President Milei will be received in Tel Aviv by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He is expected to sign a memorandum of understanding to show his support for the fight against terrorism after reaffirming his political alignment with the US and Israel earlier this year.
🇧🇴 Bolivia’s Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) will determine the fate of political organizations without renewed leadership, including the Front Victory Party (FPV) that former president Evo Morales wants to run under to seek another presidential term in August 2025. In December 2024, Bolivia's Public Prosecutor's Office issued a formal indictment against Morales for allegations of “aggravated human trafficking” involving an underage girl when he was president in 2016. Morales is holed up in a bunker in the jungle, protected by thousands of armed supporters.
Friday 21 March
🇨🇴 Satena Airlines will fly a new route that seeks to boost growth in the Catatumbo region. Satena will connect Medellín, Cúcuta and Ocaña to facilitate transportation and foster development in historically isolated areas. Satena is majority-owned by the government and provides service to more remote areas of Colombia. The announcement comes in light of the security crisis in the Catatumbo region, where clashes between armed groups have forcibly displaced at least 50,000 people.
Weekend
Saturday 22 March
Holidays: 🇵🇷 Puerto Rico commemorates slavery being abolished on this day in 1873.
💡 Nothing pressing for today. Have you had a moment to check out our recent Visual Pulse regarding terrorism in Latin America? While some progress has been made, countries including Colombia and Chile continue to be at risk of terrorist activities in particular regions.
Sunday 23 March
🇪🇨 In Ecuador, the two candidates seeking the presidency will face each other in the last debate before the second round of elections on 13 April. Current president Daniel Noboa and opposition candidate Luisa Gonzalez of the left-leaning Citizen Revolution Movement party — an advocate of the correísmo ideology — will participate in a final debate.
Keeping an Eye On
In this section, we highlight topics or people we will be monitoring during the week.
🇲🇽 🇺🇸 Sheinbaum, the Trump whisperer?
Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum’s unexpected rise as a “Trump whisperer” by international media outlets is a testament to the power of marketing and public relations. Despite granting concessions to the US government at every turn, Sheinbaum has surprisingly earned a reputation as a master negotiator by non-Mexican media outlets. The contrast between rhetoric and actions is striking. While Sheinbaum’s rhetoric emphasizes sovereignty and Mexico’s determination not to bow down to the US, her actions point in the opposite direction. The Mexican government appears to have granted every concession Trump has demanded, from increasing security at the border to handing over 29 imprisoned cartel leaders to the US. This move disregarded several of the inmates’ rights in Mexico, as many did not even have official extradition requests from the US. This is not the first time Mexican authorities have trampled human rights. The Mexican military has opened fire on migrants multiple times in the past year, killing at least eight people — including children. Meanwhile, the Canadian government’s confrontational position has boosted the ruling Liberal Party’s popularity. We’ll be keeping an eye on how much longer Sheinbaum can ward off Trump’s tariffs with these negotiating tactics, and how they will shape US-Mexico relations in the longer term.
🇧🇴 Squeezed by currency shortages, is Bolivia turning to opaque funding sources?
The Bolivian government has turned to increasingly desperate measures to prop up its foreign reserves in recent weeks, raising concerns that it is turning toward opaque funding sources. The lack of US dollars has dramatically curtailed the country’s ability to import fuel, leading to severe shortages. To improve the situation, state-owned energy company YPFB announced on 12 March that it would use cryptocurrencies to pay importers. On the same day, the state-owned gold trader Epcoro laid out plans to step up purchases of locally mined gold to increase the country’s reserves. Similarly, Epcoro has come under scrutiny after the country’s political opposition accused it of gold laundering: purchasing illegally mined gold and laundering it through the state’s reserves. Epcoro CEO Pablo César Pérez told Bloomberg that the company was paying miners in cash up front. As is the case with crypto, these transactions are not easily traceable. As the Bolivian government continues to struggle, we’ll keep an eye on the impact that its turn to crypto and gold will have on local criminal ecosystems.
Upcoming Events
On 20 March, the Wilson Center's Latin America Program will team up with the University of Buenos Aires (UBA) to host an event focused on AI and economic opportunities in Argentina. RSVP in advance to attend this event at UBA's Faculty of Law in Buenos Aires.
On 24 March, the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF) will introduce its Strategic Framework for Security and Justice for Development. The event will be streamed via the CAF's website, and guests must register in advance.
On 25 March, the American Chamber of Commerce in Mexico is set to commemorate 108 years of operation in the country with an event in Mexico City. The agenda will cover various topics, including trade, migration, and security.
Also on 25 March, the Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics will be hosting a panel discussion on USAID and the Future of Foreign Aid. The event will be livestreamed on YouTube.
Thanks for taking the time to read The Week Ahead. If there's something you think we overlooked, or you'd simply like to share your thoughts, we'd love to hear from you. Feel free to reach out at press@southernpulse.com.
CC BY-ND