Regional Pulse: 5 December 2023

Southern Pulse’s weekly review of need-to-know events curated for people who work in Latin America.

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Milei seeks to align Argentina with US

On 30 November 2023, soon-to-be foreign minister Diana Mondino said that Argentina would not try to join the BRICS bloc of developing countries after all. The comment represents the shift in policies that incoming president Javier Milei plans to implement when he takes office on 10 December. Milei said during his campaign that he intends to align Argentina more closely with the US than China, which is a heavyweight within the BRICS bloc. Milei also pledged to move Argentina’s embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, following a similar decision made by former US President Donald Trump in 2017.

Brazil strengthens ties with Gulf states

On 30 November 2023, Mines and Energy Minister Alexandre Silveira released a video in which he confirmed Brazil would join the OPEC+ group aligned with the OPEC bloc of oil-producing countries. OPEC+, which counts Gulf states Bahrain and Oman among its members, supports OPEC goals by adopting global oil prices and policies set by member states. Petrobras CEO Jean Paul Prates has also suggested that OPEC+ membership could help create a Middle East subsidiary of the state-run oil company through closer ties with oil-producing states in the region. The video coincided with the first day of the 2023 UN Climate Change Conference (COP28). A day earlier, Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer signed three cooperation agreements with Saudi Arabia so that Embraer could establish public-private partnerships in the areas of civil aviation and defense, and also develop a flying car. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva supports the agreements, as his administration hopes to increase Brazilian exports to the region.

Azteca Bank resists alleged government-sponsored fake news campaign

On 29 November 2023, Azteca Bank was the victim of a fake news campaign on social media, which spread rumors of its alleged bankruptcy and prompted clients to remove their savings from the institution. However, the bank’s earnings results show that its financial situation is relatively steady. The bank’s CEO Ricardo Salinas Pliego faces legal battles over debts from his business conglomerate “Grupo Salinas” worth billions of pesos in Mexico and the US. Salinas Pliego said the campaign was allegedly promoted by the current administration to pressure him into paying the debt his conglomerate has over tax avoidance, which amounts to USD1.4 billion. The president of the private bank sought to control the rumors by having Azteca TV stars Paty Chapoy and Luis García show their support for the bank. Salinas Pliego refuses to pay the debt to the government and has sought various legal avenues to avoid it. However, courts will determine whether those avenues are valid in the coming months.

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