LATAM POLITICS TODAY-Nicaraguan government shutters 101 more charities, NGOs

The latest in Latin American politics today: Nicaragua shuts down Mother Teresa charity, 100 other groups The Nicaraguan government has shut down 101 civic organizations and charities, including a branch of the Missionaries of Charity established by Mother Teresa, the national assembly said in a statement late on Wednesday.

The latest in Latin American politics today: Nicaragua shuts down Mother Teresa charity, 100 other groups

The Nicaraguan government has shut down 101 civic organizations and charities, including a branch of the Missionaries of Charity established by Mother Teresa, the national assembly said in a statement late on Wednesday. The move is the latest in a spate of closures under President Daniel Ortega that the opposition has said is an attack on civil society. The government said the groups "failed to comply with obligations established by national legislation".

The Missionaries of Charity, which works with impoverished communities, had been operating in Nicaragua for over 34 years. Colombia's Petro picks market-friendly Ocampo as finance minister

BOGOTA - Colombia's leftist President-elect Gustavo Petro on Thursday named Jose Antonio Ocampo as his finance minister, a market-friendly choice who will have the challenge of maintaining the strong performance of Latin America's fourth-largest economy and passing ambitious fiscal reforms in Congress. Ocampo, 69, who has a Phd in economics from Yale University, is an experienced public servant who previously served as Colombia's minister of finance and has held numerous positions in the United Nations.

Downfall of Bolsonaro ally spotlights Brazilian leader's female voter issue RIO DE JANEIRO - Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, a far-right former army captain with a history of misogynistic comments, has a female voter problem that could cost him in October elections. And it just got worse.

Pedro Guimaraes, a staunch political ally and the head of state bank Caixia Economica Federal, resigned on Wednesday under pressure over allegations of sexual harassment that he denies. The scandal has put an unwanted spotlight on a weak spot for Bolsonaro, who got about half the female vote when he won election in 2018 but is now almost 30 percentage points behind his main left-wing rival, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, in opinion polling of women voters.

Bolsonaro wouldn't be able to control supporters' reaction to election, his son says SAO PAULO - Bolsonaro would not be able to control how his supporters react, his son said when asked if Brazil could see the equivalent of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol if election results in October are disputed.

The comments by Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, who runs his father's re-election campaign, in a newspaper interview are unlikely to ease mounting global concerns about the election. Bolsonaro trails leftist Lula in opinion polls and has repeatedly floated the idea that he may not accept any result in which he loses.

U.S. Supreme Court backs Biden in bid to end Trump 'remain in Mexico' policy WASHINGTON - The U.S. Supreme Court sided with President Joe Biden as he seeks to end a hardline immigration policy begun under his predecessor Donald Trump that forced tens of thousands of migrants to stay in Mexico to await U.S. hearings on their asylum claims.

The justices, in a 5-4 ruling authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, overturned a federal appeals court decision requiring Biden to restart Trump's "remain in Mexico" policy after the Republican-led states of Texas and Missouri sued to maintain the program. The ruling is a victory for Biden, who appealed the lower court's decision, and his plan for a more "humane" approach at the southern U.S. border. (Compiled by Steven Grattan; editing by Grant McCool)