(Reuters) – The latest in Latin American politics today:
Colombia rebels open to talks with new president-elect
BOGOTA – Colombian leftist guerrilla group the National Liberation Army (ELN) is open to advancing peace talks with incoming President Gustavo Petro, it said today.
Colombia elected its first leftist president on Sunday, promising to target inequality and to negotiate with the ELN, beating construction magnate Rodolfo Hernandez with 50.5% of the vote.
However, investors have been spooked by Petro’s promise to radically overhaul Colombia’s economic model.
Colombia’s election outcome is vote for political change, EU says
LUXEMBOURG – The European Union’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said that Colombians had voted for a more equal society by choosing leftist Gustavo Petro as their next president.
Borrell also said an EU monitoring mission found the elections to be free and fair.
Petrobras CEO resigns amid political blowback on fuel prices
SAO PAULO – The chief executive of Brazil’s state-run oil company Petrobras resigned on Monday in the face of mounting pressure from politicians after the firm announced a fuel price hike last week, adding to inflation concerns in an election year.
Petroleo Brasileiro SA, as the company is formally known, said in a securities filing that Chief Executive Jose Mauro Coelho had resigned on Monday morning and an interim CEO would now be appointed for the board’s consideration.
The interim would become Petrobras’ fourth chief executive since Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro took office in 2019.
Brazilian authorities find boat of slain British journalist, indigenous expert
SAO PAULO – The boat used by killed British journalist Dom Phillips and Brazilian indigenous expert Bruno Pereira to travel to Brazil’s Amazon was found on Sunday evening, authorities said in a statement.
The speedboat was submerged under six sandbags at a depth of about 20 meters (65 feet) in the Itacoai river in the northern Brazilian rainforest, authorities said.
Chile’s ex-presidents to skip new constitution ceremony
SANTIAGO – None of Chile’s four former living presidents will attend July’s ceremonial handover of the proposed new constitution to President Gabriel Boric, ahead of a referendum in September which will determine its implementation.
The political boycott comes after the constitutional assembly initially said it was not inviting the former presidents due to capacity issues, but later reversed the decision after facing criticism.
(Compiled by Steven Grattan and Isabel Woodford; editing by John Stonestreet and Sandra Maler)
