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The drain in hard currency sparked panic earlier in the year, with Bolivians forming lines outside banks to withdraw dollars. Bond yields spiked sharply and in May the government was forced to sell half of its $2.6 billion gold reserves to raise cash. A major drought in Argentina has hammered grains output and reserves, imperiling a $44 billion debt deal with the International Monetary Fund. "The model is now shifting towards a very big state, a tax-and-spend approach," he said. "It has calmed people a bit... but that amount (gained from the gold reserves sale), $1.3 billion, is not enough for Bolivia," said local financial analyst Jaime Dunn.

Persons: Read, LA, Evo Morales, Jose Gabriel Espinoza, Marcelo Montenegro, Alberto Ramos, Goldman Sachs, spender, Jaime Dunn, Reuters Graphics Espinoza, Morales, Raúl Cortés Fernández, Daniel Ramos, Adam Jourdan, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: Departmental Association of Coca Producers, LA PAZ, Reuters, International Monetary Fund, Bolivian, Graphics, Banco, Reuters Graphics, MAS, Thomson Locations: La Paz, Bolivia, Bolivian, America, Argentina, Peru, Brazil, Chile, Colombia

The fallout is a rare chink in Lopez Obrador's formidable popularity, steadily above 60% throughout his term. The pricing issue is urgent as northern corn farmers are harvesting now, many with nowhere to sell without taking a loss. It is not the first time that tensions have heated up between this administration and the agriculture sector. Valdez estimated that commercial agriculture producers represent about 10 million votes. Farmers argue Lopez Obrador's government has eliminated important sector benefits, including loans at beneficial interest rates, which his administration says too often fell into arrears.

Persons: Edgard Garrido, Andres Manuel Lopez, Lopez, Lopez Obrador's, Bosco, la Vega, Lopez Obrador, Claudia Sheinbaum, Marcelo Ebrard, Adan Augusto, Baltazar Valdez, Valdez, Raul Urteaga, Urteaga, spokespeople, Luz Maria Mendoza, Cassandra Garrison, Stephen Eisenhammer, Nick Zieminski Organizations: REUTERS, MEXICO CITY, U.S, Regeneration, Producers, Chicago Board of Trade, CNA, Farmers, North American Free Trade, United Farm Workers, Valdez, Global Agrotrade Advisors, Agriculture, Finance Ministry, FIRA, Thomson Locations: La Constitucion Totoltepec, Toluca , Mexico, MEXICO, Sinaloa, United States, U.S, Chihuahua, Mexico, Canada

☆ Mexico's top court strikes down part of electoral overhaul
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MEXICO CITY, June 22 (Reuters) - Mexico's Supreme Court ruled in a lopsided vote on Thursday to strike down part of a legislative overhaul of the country's electoral authority which was championed by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. Nine of the court's 11 justices voted to invalidate the reform, the court announced on Twitter, which overall would significantly shrink Mexico's national electoral institute INE and cut its budget. Critics of the reform drive counter that the electoral shake-up would cede power to state and local officials, many of whom are currently affiliated with Lopez Obrador's Morena party. In March, Lopez Obrador said he will seek a vote on a broader electoral reform just before leaving office, if Morena and its allies can win a supermajority in the next Congress which would be needed to enact constitutional changes. Reporting by Raul Cortes Fernandez and Valentine Hilaire; Editing by David Alire GarciaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Lopez Obrador, Lopez Obrador's, Raul Cortes Fernandez, Valentine Hilaire, David Alire Garcia Organizations: MEXICO CITY, Twitter, Thomson Locations: MEXICO, Lopez Obrador's Morena, Morena

☆ Mexico interior minister steps down to vie for presidential bid
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MEXICO CITY, June 16 (Reuters) - Mexican Interior Minister Adan Augusto Lopez has resigned from his post to compete for the ruling party's candidacy in next year's presidential elections, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Friday. Lopez Obrador said during a regular press conference that the interior minister had resigned the day before. The president did not immediately name a replacement, but said that Alejandro Encinas, who has led human rights issues for the ministry, would act as interior minister in the interim. Lopez's resignation follows that of former Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard, who stepped down earlier this week, and Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum, whose last day in office is Friday. Opinion polls so far have tended to give Sheinbaum, who would be Mexico's first female president if she won, a slight edge.

Persons: Adan Augusto Lopez, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Lopez Obrador, Lopez, Alejandro Encinas, Marcelo Ebrard, Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum, Raul Cortes, Kylie Madry, Sarah Morland, Cassandra Garrison, Bill Berkrot Organizations: MEXICO CITY, Mexico City Mayor, Regeneration, Thomson Locations: MEXICO, Mexico, MORENA

☆ Venezuelan asylum seekers tripled in 2022, UN agency says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

June 14 (Reuters) - Venezuelans seeking asylum abroad nearly tripled in 2022, according to the United Nations refugee agency, which found that more than two in five new asylum applicants globally last year came from Latin America and the Caribbean. Cuba, also hit by U.S. trade sanctions and fuel shortages, recorded the second highest asylum figure at 194,700, a six-fold increase on 2021. Asylum seekers primarily stayed within the region, particularly in neighboring countries, the UNHCR found, with the United States, Costa Rica and Mexico receiving the most requests. While 2022 saw countries process asylum requests faster than previous years, the UNHCR said that backlogs keep growing due to "the sheer volume of new applications." The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden has urged migrants to use legal pathways to enter the United States, including using a mobile app called CBP One to schedule appointments to request asylum.

Persons: Joe Biden, Sarah Morland, Raul Cortes, Grant McCool Organizations: United Nations, Refugees, UNHCR, U.S, Thomson Locations: America, Caribbean, Venezuelan, Americas, Cuba, Nicaragua, Colombia, Honduras, Haiti, UNHCR, United States, Costa Rica, Mexico, Mexico City

☆ Mayor of Mexico's Tijuana moves into barracks for safety after threats
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MEXICO CITY, June 13 (Reuters) - The mayor of the violent border city Tijuana in northern Mexico, Montserrat Caballero, has moved into military barracks for her safety after she received threats, the president said on Tuesday. Just south of San Diego in California, Tijuana has become one of Mexico's most dangerous cities as criminal groups fight over drug trafficking routes to the United States. "She's being protected, since about two weeks ago," Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said during his regular press conference. Murder rates fell last year but the government of Lopez Obrador is still on track to register a record total of murders for any six-year administration. Reporting by Stefanie Eschenbacher and Raul Cortes; Editing by Conor HumphriesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Montserrat Caballero, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Lopez Obrador, Caballero, Lopez, I've, Stefanie Eschenbacher, Raul Cortes, Conor Humphries Organizations: MEXICO CITY, Regeneration, Thomson Locations: MEXICO, Tijuana, Mexico, Montserrat, San Diego, California, United States

☆ Biden Names New Border Patrol Chief as Immigration Policies Come Under Scrutiny
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Eileen Sullivan | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

President Biden named a new Border Patrol chief on Friday as U.S. immigration policies have come under renewed scrutiny following the end of Title 42, a pandemic-era restriction that allowed the authorities to expel most migrants for more than three years. Jason Owens, who has served in the Border Patrol for more than 20 years, was most recently the leader of the Del Rio division in Texas, which handles one of the busiest areas for illegal crossings. He succeeds Raul Ortiz, who is set to retire at the end of the month after serving 32 years in the Border Patrol. Mr. Owens takes over at a time when illegal crossings have decreased. He also will have to contend with legal challenges to new Biden administration border policies, which are designed to deter people from crossing into the United States illegally.

Persons: Biden, Jason Owens, Raul Ortiz, Owens Organizations: Border Patrol, Del, Patrol Locations: Del Rio, Texas, South, Central America, United States

☆ Who wants to be a CEO right now?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Let's be real: Being a CEO sucks right now. But 2023 has brought a level of scrutiny that makes being a CEO today a nightmare for even the toughest leader. CNN's former chief Chris Licht stepped down on Wednesday after less than a year, following intense criticism from inside and outside his newsroom. Meme stock company GameStop fired its CEO Matthew Furlong on the same day as Licht, also after a short tenure. At the low point of a boom-and-bust cycle where high interest rates and high expectations reign supreme, being a CEO sucks.

Persons: Let's, CNN's Chris Licht, —, Jack Welch, CNN's, Chris Licht, Licht, Matthew Furlong, Jeff Shell, Jack Bowles, Patience, Matt Turner, Raul Vargas Organizations: Corporate, Service, General Electric, Observers, GameStop, Google, Farmers Group Locations: freefall, British

☆ Insurance employees reportedly threaten to quit after CEO backtracks on remote-work policy: 'I sold my house and moved closer to my grandkids'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Grace Mayer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Insurance company Farmers Group announced changes to the company's remote work policy last month, WSJ reports. Workers at insurance giant Farmers Group are reportedly threatening to quit or unionize after the company's new CEO backtracked on its remote work policy. "I sold my house and moved closer to my grandkids," another worker's comment read, according the Journal. Farmers Group spokesperson Carly Kraft told Insider over email that the company will shift to this hybrid work policy in September. The hybrid policy change will impact roughly 60% of the company's employees, Kraft wrote.

Persons: backtracked, Raul Vargas, Carly Kraft, Kraft, Meta, Jeff Dailey Organizations: Farmers Group, Workers, Employees, Farmers, Street, . Farmers Group, Amazon

☆ The debt-ceiling bill that just passed the Senate eases the way for a new gas pipeline — and for clean energy projects like EV charging and solar panels
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Bartie Scott | Eliza Relman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The debt-ceiling bill includes reforms that aim to speed up construction on energy projects. It also claims a West Virginia pipeline is in the national interest — and pushes through its completion. The reforms in the bill include limiting the environmental permitting process to two years, along with requiring projects to name a single lead agency that would develop one master environmental review document. Now, the permitting reforms included in the deal would force federal agencies to approve all remaining permits for the pipeline and allow it to bypass the courts and fast-track construction. Manchin, who is also the chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, plans to bring more comprehensive legislation to the Senate floor by the end of the summer.

Persons: —, Kevin McCarthy, Raúl Grijalva, polluters, Grijalva, Melanie Stansbury, Stansbury, Sen, Joe Manchin, Tim Kaine, Kaine, Manchin Organizations: Service, Environmental, White, Sunday, Arizona, Natural Resources Committee, NEPA, Natural Resources, Infrastructure Law, Democratic, Senate, Senate Energy Locations: West Virginia, Virginia

The House Rules Committee voted to advance a bill dealing with the federal debt ceiling to the full House. Raising the debt limit, now $31.4 trillion, would allow Treasury to continue borrowing to pay the US's bills. Earlier, he said on "Fox and Friends" that "There's nothing in the bill for" Democrats — hardly a helpful statement for Biden. Top administration officials are heading to Capitol Hill to brief Democrats privately ahead of Wednesday's planned vote. "It is my expectation that House Republicans would keep their promise and deliver at least 150 votes as it relates to an agreement that they themselves negotiated," Jeffries said.

Persons: —, Kevin McCarthy, Joe Biden, McCarthy, Democrats —, Biden, Wednesday's, Hakeem Jeffries, Jeffries, Scott Perry, Chip Roy, Nancy Mace, Pramila Jayapal, it's, Sen, Joe Manchin, Raul Grijalva, Chuck Schumer, McConnell, Schumer, Democratic Sen, Tim Kaine, Virginia, Janet Yellen, Aamer Madhani, Seung Min Kim, Farnoush Amiri, Darlene Superville, Mary Clare Jalonick Organizations: Treasury, Service, WASHINGTON, Republicans, Democrats, Caucus, Republican, Capitol, Fox, Office, Social Security, Democratic, Freedom Caucus, Liberal, Appalachia ., Congressional Progressive Caucus, Democrat, Natural Resources Committee, Senate, Senators, House, Associated Press Locations: Washington, Texas, Appalachia, Arizona, That's

☆ Mexico to discuss migration, Central America investment with U.S. homeland security advisor
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

MEXICO CITY, May 30 (Reuters) - Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is set to discuss migration and investment in Central America in a meeting Tuesday with U.S. Homeland Security advisor Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, Mexico's top diplomat said. Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard told reporters Mexican leaders would "review" plans on migration regarding visas and a drop in arrivals at the U.S.-Mexico border after the end of a U.S. health policy called Title 42. "The other point is investment in Central America," Ebrard said. Reporting by Raul Cortes and Kylie Madry; Editing by Anthony EspositoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Elizabeth Sherwood, Randall, Mexico's, Marcelo Ebrard, Ebrard, Raul Cortes, Kylie Madry, Anthony Esposito Organizations: MEXICO CITY, . Homeland Security, Mexican Foreign, Thomson Locations: MEXICO, Central America, Mexican, U.S, Mexico

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a candidate for the Republican 2024 presidential nomination, said the deal does not do enough to change the fiscal trajectory. "After this deal, our country will still be careening toward bankruptcy," he said on Fox News. There's no question about that," said Republican Representative Dusty Johnson, who said he had talked to dozens of fellow lawmakers. Some $4 trillion in debt for - at best - a two-year spending freeze and no serious substantive policy reforms," Roy wrote on Twitter. McCarthy has predicted it will draw the support of most of his fellow Republicans, who control the House 222-213.

☆ Republicans speak out against U.S. debt-ceiling deal, in sign of rocky road ahead
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a candidate for the Republican 2024 presidential nomination, said the deal does not do enough to change the fiscal trajectory. "After this deal, our country will still be careening toward bankruptcy," he said on Fox News. There's no question about that," said Republican Representative Dusty Johnson, who said he had talked to dozens of fellow lawmakers. McCarthy has predicted it will draw the support of most of his fellow Republicans, who control the House 222-213. Most of the savings would come by capping spending on domestic programs like housing, border control, scientific research and other forms of "discretionary" spending.

☆ Mexican peso to stay strong despite end of central bank tightening cycle, analysts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Noe Torres | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MEXICO CITY, May 19 (Reuters) - The Mexican peso could remain the top performer among major global currencies in the coming weeks, despite Mexico's central bank choosing to halt a nearly two-year rate-hike cycle, analysts said. The Mexican peso has gained nearly 10% so far this year, driven mainly by the dollar's decline and money entering the country since the central bank started hiking interest rates in June 2021. Reuters GraphicsIn the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, seen as a market bellwether, speculators on different types of assets have been increasingly betting that the Mexican currency will keep appreciating. These positions, anticipating further strengthening of the peso since mid-March, reached 70,007 contracts in favor of the currency last week, a level not seen since March 2020. Considering these factors, Mexican economists expect the peso to weaken to 19.13 by year-end, a survey by the central bank showed, while a poll of Citibanamex experts estimated the figure at 19.20.

☆ Mexican president backs referendum on electing Supreme Court justices
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MEXICO CITY, May 17 (Reuters) - Mexico's president on Wednesday backed a proposal to hold a national vote on whether Supreme Court justices should be chosen by citizens, the latest move in the leader's push to reshape an institution he considers "rotten." Mexico's Supreme Court justices are currently approved by the senate with a two-thirds majority from a shortlist selected by the president, and they serve terms of 15 years. "I hope the vote happens, that the question goes to the people," President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said in his daily news conference when asked about the possibility, which his party has said they want Congress to vote on. Approval in a referendum would lend support for changing the constitution to create a system of citizen-elected Supreme Court justices, something the president said last week he would seek before leaving office in 2024. Reporting by Raul Cortes Fernandez; Editing by David GregorioOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene praised former First Lady Melania Trump as an example of a good immigrant
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene cited Melania Trump as an example of a good immigrant. Greene was speaking to the House ahead of the expiration of Title 42, a Trump-era migration law. Greene contrasted the former first lady's immigration with those trying to cross the Mexico-US border. We're very proud of our former first lady, Melania Trump, who immigrated legally to the United States," Greene said on Wednesday. Speaking in the House, Greene contrasted the former first lady's immigration from Slovenia with those trying to cross the Mexico-US border.

☆ Mexico president slams 'rotten' judiciary after electoral reform setback
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MEXICO CITY, May 9 (Reuters) - Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Tuesday criticized the country's judiciary as "rotten," one day after the Supreme Court invalidated part of a set of electoral reforms he had championed. The Supreme Court on Monday voted 9-2 to strike down a measure curbing elections authority INE's ability to police political communications. Critics of the elections overhaul have warned it will weaken democracy in a country set to hold presidential elections next year. Lopez Obrador has frequently attacked the agency, saying it allowed voter fraud to rob him of the 2006 and 2012 presidential elections. He has also squared off with Supreme Court justices, arguing they do not represent the people in the way lawmakers do.

☆ Victoria's Secret is bringing back its infamous fashion show as a movie, 4 years after canning it after criticism of its lack of diversity and inclusion
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Mary Hanbury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Victoria's Secret is releasing a movie in the fall. The movie is a reimagining of the brand's famous fashion show, which was axed in 2019. The show was canceled after it came under increasing criticism for its lack of diversity and inclusion. Victoria's Secret has been discussing the return of its fashion show for some time. "This film is the ultimate expression of the Victoria's Secret brand transformation," Raúl Martinez, creative director at Victoria's Secret, said in a statement to the press.

☆ Mexico's top court invalidates part of president's electoral reform
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MEXICO CITY, May 8 (Reuters) - Mexico's Supreme Court on Monday struck down part of an electoral overhaul championed by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador that curbs the power of the country's elections authority, which the leftist leader has repeatedly attacked. A separate part of the legislative reform, which slashes the budget and staffing at the National Electoral Institute (INE), is still being evaluated by the tribunal. In March, the court temporarily suspended other parts of the overhaul, citing violations of citizens' political rights. Lopez Obrador says he was twice robbed of the presidency before he won by a landslide in the 2018 election, and argues the INE is too expensive and biased in favor of his opponents. Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets in February after lawmakers approved the reform, in one of the largest protests so far against Lopez Obrador's 4-1/2 year-old administration.

☆ New York Mayor Eric Adams to bus asylum seekers upstate, much like Texas Gov. Greg Abbott bussed asylum seekers to New York City
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Katie Balevic | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Eric Adams is sending asylum seekers in New York City to upstate New York, drawing criticism from local officials. Greg Abbott for sending migrants from Texas to New York City. In doing so, Adams appears to be passing asylum seekers off – just as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott did when he had migrants bussed from his state to New York, the Associated Press reported. In the last year, some 60,000 asylum seekers have arrived in New York City, the mayor's office said in Friday's press release.

☆ Cubans, waylaid by weather and fuel shortage, march for May Day five days late
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] People gather at the seafront Malecon to watch the International Worker's Day celebration in Havana, Cuba May 5, 2023. REUTERS/Alexandre MeneghiniHAVANA, May 5 (Reuters) - Cubans rallied on Havana's Malecon waterfront boulevard to celebrate International Worker's Day on Friday, five days after the planned May 1 event was called off due to foul weather and a fuel crisis that has crippled public transport on the island. "This year it was not possible, due to the fuel situation," said university professor Javier Sanchez, 24, as he cheered during the morning celebration. Though May 1 dawned clear in Havana, a wind and rain storm the previous day hindered preparations, leading Cuban officials to postpone the event until Friday. Cuban state-run media estimated that 100,000 Cubans had gathered on the Malecon by early Friday morning.

☆ Mexico president defends son after report alleging corruption
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

This week Mexican news outlet Latinus published a report alleging that Andres Lopez Beltran, a son of the president, had helped friends snare public contracts worth over 100 million pesos ($5.6 million). Lopez Obrador ditched the airport upon taking office in 2018 on the grounds that it was too costly and tainted by corruption. Lopez Beltran could not immediately be reached for comment. Lopez Obrador acknowledged family friends had won government contracts, but said they posed no conflicts of interest. Lopez Obrador denied any conflict of interest at the time.

☆ Mexico president asks Biden to stop USAID funding opposition groups
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Sarah Morland | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MEXICO CITY, May 3 (Reuters) - Mexico's president asked his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden to stop the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) from funding groups hostile to his government, according to a letter presented to journalists on Wednesday, echoing previous Mexican criticism of U.S. interventionism. The letter calls for Biden's intervention, saying the U.S. State Department in recent days announced that USAID would increase its funding toward such organizations. Mexico had in 2021 sent a similar letter asking USAID to withdraw funding allocated to non-governmental organizations critical of the government. The State Department, USAID, MCCI and Article 19 did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The State Department has said there are credible reports on restrictions on free expression and media in Mexico - the deadliest country for journalists last year.

☆ ‘Oliver!’ Returns, With Darker Twists Intact
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Sarah Bahr | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

It was 10 a.m. on a recent morning in a rehearsal room at New York City Center, and nine boys scurried around the space, clutching parasols of red and white lace, tin cups and jaunty pocket squares. “OK, everyone!” said Lorin Latarro, the choreographer of the show, a new staging of “Oliver!,” the Lionel Bart musical opening at City Center on Wednesday for a two-week run as part of the Encores! “Would you risk the ‘drop’?” he sang, his eyes bugging as he grabbed his scarf and mimed a noose tightening around his neck. (Translation: Are you willing to go out and commit robbery and possibly face the gallows if you’re caught?) All nine pickpockets in training nodded enthusiastically.

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