LATAM POLITICS TODAY -Haiti to seek foreign military assistance to combat gangs

Former economy minister Clouthier stepped down at the president's regular news conference Thursday, leaving her ministry without a key negotiator amid trade disputes with the United States and Canada.

The latest in Latin American politics today:

Haiti to seek foreign military assistance to combat gangs Haiti is preparing to seek military assistance from the international community to confront gangs that have blocked the country's principal fuel port, the Miami Herald said citing sources with knowledge of the decision.

The government of Prime Minister Ariel Henry plans to make the written request on Friday to allied nations, without specifying where the troops should come from, the Herald reported. A representative of the prime minister's office did not respond to a request for comment.

Lula can defend Brazil election lead with third parties, abstainers BRASILIA - Leftist Brazilian presidential candidate Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva can defend his lead against right-wing incumbent Jair Bolsonaro by appealing to voters who snubbed both in the first round of voting, according to political analysts and pollsters.

Lula won 48.4% of valid votes on Sunday against 43.2% for Bolsonaro, a much tighter result than expected and 1.8 million votes shy of an outright victory that would have avoided the Oct. 30 runoff between the top two candidates. But even as Bolsonaro's campaign emerged from the first round energized by outperforming most polls, he faces an uphill battle in winning over enough new voters in the next four weeks.

Argentine minister resigns after indigenous Mapuche women evicted from land BUENOS AIRES - Argentine President Alberto Fernandez accepted the resignation of the minister for women, genders and diversity after she opposed the eviction of a group of indigenous Mapuche women from land in the southern Patagonia region.

Elizabeth Gomez Alcorta, who before taking office had worked as a defense lawyer for a Mapuche leader, had on Thursday criticized the eviction and subsequent arrest in Rio Negro province of six Mapuche women, one of whom was pregnant. Gomez Alcorta had said it was "extremely serious" that the detainees did not have a lawyer and were denied release.

Mexican tax chief Raquel Buenrostro named as next economy minister MEXICO CITY - Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has named the country's tax authority chief Raquel Buenrostro as the next economy minister, a day after former minister Tatiana Clouthier resigned.

"She's done a great job (as tax authority chief)," Lopez Obrador said at a regular news conference, touting Buenrostro's experience in the public sector and master's degree in economics. Former economy minister Clouthier stepped down at the president's regular news conference Thursday, leaving her ministry without a key negotiator amid trade disputes with the United States and Canada. She did not say why she was leaving the post. (Compiled by Steven Grattan Editing by Chris Reese)

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