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☆ Can Elections Force Venezuela’s Authoritarian Leader From Power?
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-11 | by ( Julie Turkewitz | Adriana Loureiro Fernandez | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The stakes could hardly be higher. This July, for the first time in more than a decade, Venezuelans will vote in a presidential election with an opposition candidate who has a fighting — if slim and improbable — chance at winning. Amid an economic and democratic crisis that has led more than seven million Venezuelans to abandon the country — considered among the world’s largest displacements — Nicolás Maduro, the country’s authoritarian president, has done something few thought he would: allowed an opposition candidate with widespread support to appear on the ballot. Though largely unknown, the challenger is leading in several polls, underscoring how many Venezuelans are hungry for change.

Persons: Maduro

The day Edmundo González was plucked from obscurity and chosen to take on South America’s longest ruling authoritarian leader, technicians were busy making sure his home was not wiretapped. “This was not in our plans,” his wife, Mercedes López de González, said in an interview that day in April in their apartment in Caracas, the capital of Venezuela. Not long ago, Mr. González, 74, was a retired diplomat and grandfather of four with no political aspirations. He kept busy writing academic papers, speaking at conferences and taking his grandchildren to haircuts and music lessons. Now, many Venezuelans have placed their hopes in him to end years of repressive rule as he challenges President Nicolás Maduro, who has held power since 2013, in elections scheduled in late July.

Persons: Edmundo González, ”, Mercedes López de González, González, Nicolás Maduro Locations: Caracas, Venezuela

☆ Walmex Q3 net profit jumps more than 12%, pushed by higher sales
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The logo of Walmart is pictured outside a store in Mexico City, Mexico July 27, 2023. Walmart de Mexico, or Walmex, the biggest retailer in Mexico, posted net profit of 13.63 billion pesos ($782 million). Quarterly revenue at the chain rose 7.7% from the year-earlier period to reach 213.07 billion pesos, missing slightly the LSEG estimate of 213.34 billion pesos. Sales increased 9.5% in Mexico and 9% in Central America, with the retailer adding 24 new stores in Mexico and three in Central America, which contributed 1.6% to total revenues. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) for the quarter rose 8.5% to 23 billion pesos.

Persons: Henry Romero, Walmex, Guilherme Loureiro, Loureiro, Cofece, Valentine Hilaire, Aida Pelaez Fernandez, Brendan O'Boyle, Tom Hogue, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: Walmart, REUTERS, MEXICO CITY, Central America, Thomson Locations: Mexico City, Mexico, MEXICO, Mexican, Central America

Yes to life" take part in a anti-lithium protest in Covas do Barroso, Portugal, August 15, 2023. With 60,000 tonnes of known reserves, Portugal is already Europe's biggest producer of lithium, traditionally mined for ceramics. Referring to the Barroso project and another in France, he said it would be "a disaster if either ... doesn't succeed". But with only 15 of 916 submissions in a public consultation supporting the project, Savannah faces a struggle to win over locals who have said they will fight it and the APA in court. "Politicians listen to those who shout loudest and have most money - and that's the mining industry," she said.

Persons: Catarina Demony, Maria Loureiro, Loureiro, Barroso, Martin Jackson, , Savannah's, Michael Schmidt, doesn't, Schmidt, Nelson Gomes, Greta Thunberg, Karin Kvarfordt Niia, LKAB's, Anders Lindberg, UDCB's Catarina Alves Scarrott, Aida Fernandes, Barroso's, Dale Ferguson, Ferguson, Emanuel Proenca, Teresa Camille, Gunilla Hogberg Bjorck, Miguel Pereira, Covas do Barroso, Pietro Lombardi, Simon Johnson, Aislinn Laing, Catherine Evans Organizations: REUTERS, Savannah Resources, DO BARROSO, EU, Agriculture Organization, CRU, APA, State, Barroso, Reuters, UDCB, Thomson Locations: Covas do Barroso, Portugal, Barroso, China, London, Savannah, Europe, France, Kiruna, Sweden's, Montalegre, Scarrott, Portuguese, EUROPE, Chile, Covas, Karr, Covas do, Madrid, Stockholm

☆ Walmart Mexico posts slightly higher profit amid June sales uptick
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Carolina Pulice | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MEXICO CITY, July 27 (Reuters) - Walmart's Mexico and Central America unit on Thursday posted a 5% year-on-year rise in its second-quarter net profit, boosted by slightly higher sales especially in June, though earnings were slightly behind forecasts. Walmart de Mexico (WALMEX.MX), the largest retailer in Mexico, posted a net profit of 11.44 billion pesos ($668 million). The company posted a profit of 0.66 pesos a share, just below the Refinitiv estimate of 0.69 pesos. Same-store sales increased 8.5% in Mexico and 9.5% in Central America, and the firm expanded its physical footprint with 22 new stores in Mexico. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) for the quarter rose 8.5% to 21.9 billion pesos.

Persons: Paulo Garcia, Guilherme Loureiro, Monex, Loureiro, Carolina Pulice, Noe Torres, Kylie Madry, Lincoln, Christopher Cushing Organizations: MEXICO CITY, Central America, Walmart, America, Thomson Locations: MEXICO, Mexico, Central, Central America

Each morning, José Aguilera inspects the leaves of his banana and coffee plants on his farm in eastern Venezuela and calculates how much he can harvest — almost nothing. Explosive gas flares from nearby oil wells spew an oily, flammable residue on the plants. “When it falls, everything dries up.”Venezuela’s oil industry, which helped transform the country’s fortunes, has been decimated by mismanagement and several years of U.S. sanctions imposed on the country’s authoritarian government, leaving behind a ravaged economy and a devastated environment. The state-owned oil company has struggled to maintain minimal production for export to other countries, as well as domestic consumption. But to do so it has sacrificed basic maintenance and relied on increasingly shoddy equipment that has led to a growing environmental toll, environmental activists say.

Persons: José Aguilera, ” Locations: Venezuela, U.S

☆ The U.S.-China Rivalry Is Complicating the World’s Debt Crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Peter S. Goodman | Adriana Loureiro Fernandez | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

and its most influential participant, the United States, also wanted something else: They were adamant that Chinese creditors restructure $545 million in debt — loans Suriname had used to build roads and housing. As scores of middle- and lower-income countries grapple with an intensifying debt crisis, assistance is often held up by conflict between traditionally dominant Western institutions and a significant rising player: China. Its financial institutions dispense loans accompanied by few demands, providing an alternative to the austerity prescribed by the I.M.F. and the Biden administration have balked at providing relief until Chinese financial institutions participate. Otherwise, they assert, Chinese lenders are free-riding on debt forgiveness extended by others.

Persons: —, Biden Organizations: International Monetary Fund, International Monetary Locations: Washington, Suriname, United States, China, Asia, Africa, Latin America

☆ Walmart in Mexico sees net profit rise in first quarter, yet trails competitors
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 26 (Reuters) - Walmart's Mexico unit (WALMEX.MX) on Wednesday posted a 3.7% rise in first quarter net profit as same-store sales rose in all markets, but it flagged inflation concerns after falling behind competitors in Mexico. Walmart de Mexico, known as Walmex, recorded 11.5 billion pesos ($639 million) in net profit for the first three months of the year, missing a Refinitiv estimate of 12.3 billion pesos. The company said changes in how taxes were calculated in a Central American country hit net profit, which otherwise would have grown 15.6%. Both Mexico and Central America posted same-store sales growth, with revenue up 9.7% from a year earlier to land at 206 billion pesos. Walmex's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) grew 7.7% to 22.31 billion pesos.

☆ Walmart's net profit rises 10% in Mexico, even as expenses climb
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MEXICO CITY, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Walmart's Mexico unit on Thursday posted a 10% jump in third-quarter net profit, tracking analyst estimates, while expenses grew faster than revenue due to higher e-commerce and labor costs, the company said. Walmart de Mexico (WALMEX.MX), the biggest retailer in Mexico, posted a net profit of 12.15 billion pesos ($603.8 million), or 0.70 pesos a share, compared with the Refinitiv estimate of 0.69 pesos. The company known as Walmex said e-commerce makes up 4.8% of total Mexico sales, up from 4.5% a year ago. "The current environment requires a lot more focus and attention than the day-to-day business typically does," said Chief Executive Guilherme Loureiro in the results webcast. Annual inflation hit 8.76% in the first half of September.

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