LATAM POLITICS TODAY-U.S. lawmakers pitch measures to help struggling Haiti

Mexico ranks ninth globally in total cases, according to the World Health Organization, but officials have not announced plans to acquire vaccines even as other Latin American countries receive shipments. "It's been a long journey to find a vaccine," said Alberto Herbel, a communications professional and nightlife producer who flew from Mexico City to Los Angeles this month for a two-day stay to get vaccinated after failed attempts in France and Germany.

The latest in Latin American politics today:

U.S. lawmakers push for more action to help Haiti WASHINGTON - U.S. legislators from both major parties announced bills on Monday intended to help Haiti address a worsening humanitarian and security crisis by punishing political elites found to be colluding with criminal gangs.

The Haiti Criminal Collusion Transparency Act of 2022 would impose sanctions for human rights violations and visa restrictions on both Haitian gang leaders and those who support them. As some Haitians experience catastrophic hunger, the gangs use sexual violence to instill fear, a U.N. report found last week, following a gang blockade of a major fuel terminal.

On Saturday, the United States and Canada delivered tactical and armored vehicles to Haitian police. Lula's lead over Bolsonaro down ahead of Brazil vote

SAO PAULO - Brazilian presidential candidate Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva saw his lead over incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro slightly drop ahead of the Oct. 30 runoff vote, according to a survey by pollster IPEC. Lula's voter support reached 50% against 43% for Bolsonaro, compared with 51% and 42%, respectively, in the previous poll.

IPEC was one of several polling firms criticized for underestimating Bolsonaro's support in the first-round election. Cuba replaces energy minister as power outages stir unrest

HAVANA - Cuba's government replaced its energy and mines minister with the head of its state-run electronics company, official media reported, as the country struggles to contain hours-long power outages that have stirred rare protests. Newly-appointed Minister Vicente de la O Levy previously served as director of the state grid operator and spent time in Venezuela, a close ally of Cuba, as an energy sector delegate.

The announcement did not make clear the reason for the shake-up, but comes as Cuba battles one of its worst-ever energy crises, worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic and harsh U.S. sanctions. In Mexico, lack of monkeypox jabs forces some to go abroad

MEXICO CITY - As monkeypox continues to impact gay and bisexual men in dozens of countries around the world, at-risk Mexicans are going abroad for vaccines they say their government has not bothered to make available at home. Mexico ranks ninth globally in total cases, according to the World Health Organization, but officials have not announced plans to acquire vaccines even as other Latin American countries receive shipments.

"It's been a long journey to find a vaccine," said Alberto Herbel, a communications professional and nightlife producer who flew from Mexico City to Los Angeles this month for a two-day stay to get vaccinated after failed attempts in France and Germany. Mexico's Lopez Obrador outlines green energy push

MEXICO CITY - Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador outlined goals to turn a northwestern agricultural state into a green energy center, ahead of a visit later this month by U.S. climate envoy John Kerry. The plan focuses on expanding solar energy capacity while also boosting the country's nascent lithium sector in Sonora state, where Lopez Obrador said he hoped to meet with Kerry, possibly at a solar plant under construction in the coastal city of Puerto Penasco.

The plan incorporates initial efforts to develop Mexico's potentially lucrative lithium industry, which the government nationalized earlier this year, as well as electric car manufacturing. (Compiled by Steven Grattan and Sarah Morland; Editing by Andrea Ricci and Josie Kao)