LATAM POLITICS TODAY-Costa Rica to regularize status of 200,000 migrants


Reuters | Updated: 11-08-2022 06:33 IST | Created: 11-08-2022 06:33 IST
LATAM POLITICS TODAY-Costa Rica to regularize status of 200,000 migrants

The latest in Latin American politics today:

Costa Rica to make status of 200,000 mostly Nicaraguan migrants official Costa Rica, a country of 5.2 million people, is preparing to make official the status of some 200,000 migrants, largely from its northern Central American neighbor Nicaragua, authorities said.

The plan, which will require approval from President Rodrigo Chaves, aims to formally include the migrants in the jobs market and healthcare system, Costa Rica's migration chief said. An influx of people fleeing Nicaragua saw asylum requests in Costa Rica reach a record 60,000 last year, but migration officials believe this could climb to 80,000 in 2022.

Colombian lawmakers send anti-fracking bill to congress BOGOTA - Colombian lawmakers, the environment minister and environmental campaigners have presented a bill to ban fracking and the development of unconventional sources of hydrocarbons to the Andean country's Congress.

Though this is the fourth occasion that such a proposal has been sent to lawmakers to debate, anti-fracking activists are optimistic that this time the bill will be successful, touting support from more than 100 members of Congress and the new, leftist government led by President Gustavo Petro. Costa Rica seeks entry to trans-Pacific bloc

Costa Rica formalized its request to join a trade partnership of 11 countries across Asia and the Americas, President Rodrigo Chaves announced, in a step toward strengthening trade ties with Asian economies. The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) formed in 2018 as an offshoot of the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership, and includes Chile, Mexico, and Peru, as well as Australia, Brunei, Canada, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and Vietnam.

Ex-Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo hospitalized after suffering a stroke ASUNCION - Former Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo is in a medically induced coma after suffering a stroke and is in stable condition, party officials said.

Doctor and legislator Jorge Querey said that Lugo, who is also currently a senator, was hospitalized after an ischemic stroke and that initial studies indicated Lugo suffered a "relatively small" injury. New Colombian government must exercise caution on reforms, says business leader

President Petro's proposed tax reform bill, which his government said would raise some 25 trillion pesos ($5.8 billion) in 2023, is "is causing great concern," the head of Colombia's leading business association said. "We are doing a lot of analysis where we are seeing that businesses are going to have a very heavy tax burden," said the president of the Colombian Business Association(ANDI) Bruce Mac Master.

New tax legislation "has to be careful" not to alienate investment in the country, where 50% of the labor market is in the informal sector, Mac Master said, who also warned against plans by the new labor minister to back a bill to change some contractual stipulations and modify working hours. Brazil farm sector leader says no room for Lula return to presidency

SAO PAULO - The head of Brazil's powerful farm lobby, the National Confederation of Agriculture (CNA), Joao Martins, says the country has no room for the return of a president who had been jailed for corruption. Though he did not mention former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva by name, Martins was clearly referring to the leftist leader who is the front-runner ahead of the October elections.

Martins spoke at a CNA conference attended by far-right incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro, who is seeking re-election with strong support from the farm sector. (Compiled by Steven Grattan and Brendan O'Boyle; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Grant McCool)

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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