News about Latin America

Hurricane Trudy, which weakened from Category 3 to Category 1 on Friday, is forecast to pass near Mexico's Pacific coast between Michoacán and Jalisco from Saturday night through Sunday, and a hurricane warning covers the coast from Manzanillo to Playa Pérula. Its centre may stay offshore, so travellers and residents should follow local civil-protection orders and check airline and hotel notices. In Colombia, older permanent-resident visas must be transferred online before 31 October 2026, which is 14 days away. In Brazil, the dollar rose 0.6% against the real on Friday, and prediction markets still favour Flávio Bolsonaro in the runoff vote on 25 October. Argentina's country-risk gauge rose to 648 points.

The October 17, 2026 Latin America briefing centres on Brazil, where Flávio Bolsonaro pledges a fiscal adjustment of 1.5% to 2% of GDP funded by selling public property, securitising debts and fighting corruption, while protecting the minimum wage, pension floors and health and education spending. In Mexico, the US lifted restrictions on Mexican airlines at AIFA and AICM, opening more routes north, while the Health Ministry denied reports of cockroaches and spoiled food at the National Institute of Neurology. Chilean President José Antonio Kast made a historic visit to Bolivia, the first by a Chilean president to La Paz since 1955, and the two countries signed accords on trade, mining and connectivity, though Bolivia restated its maritime demand. The brief also covers Argentina, Colombia and Cuba, where another power plant fire pushed the informal dollar rate to a record.