Nicaragua becomes China's 28th global free trade partner, fifth in Latin America

Nicaragua: The Nicaraguan government this month signed a Free Trade Agreement with the Communist Republic of China with whom it had reestablished diplomatic relations in 2021 when Managua cut ties with Taiwan. The treaty was consolidated after a year of negotiations for the commercialization of duty-free products between both countries. 

According to the Chinese website Xinhua-Spanish, after signing the FTA, Nicaragua became China's 28th global free trade partner and the fifth in Latin America, the other four countries being Peru, Chile, Costa Rica and recently Ecuador.  

Since the beginning of its negotiations, in 2021, co-founder of the Sandinista Front – a communist political party – sociologist Oscar Rene Vargas warned "Ortega is selling to the population the illusion that this treaty is a bridge to progress", reported Voz de America, Voice of America’s Latin American proxy. 

Likewise, China Latin America Research Center in Bogota Executive Director Parsifal D'Sola, who specializes in issues of China in Latin America, said: “Although free trade agreements are sold as a panacea that will open the Chinese market’s doors, that doesn’t turn out to be entirely true.”

Costa Rica: United States and Costa Rica presidents met at the American government’s headquarters in Washington. This is the first visit in 15 years since the then Costa Rican president visited the White House during the Bush administration.

The meeting sought to address the issue of migration from South America, which has reached 38,000 people traversing the Central American country to reach North America, and cybersecurity “to stop drug trafficking groups through surveillance systems”.  In February, the U.S. donated $13.7 million in security equipment, including three surveillance drones to the Central American country.

The presidents claim to have made a commitment to foster “inclusive and sustainable growth” in the region through the Partnership for Economic Prosperity of the Americas, by pledging to create and promote “global and sustainable values” in the Americas under the CHIPS Act signed last year, according to the U.S. embassy website.

Brazil: The government of Goiás, one of the twenty-six states that make up the Federative Republic of Brazil, in collaboration with the Public Ministry of Health and Education will require parents or representatives to present a vaccination certificate when they enroll their children - up to 18 years of age - in public and private schools. According to Health Secretary Sérgio Vencio “the aim is to increase vaccination rates against numerous diseases, including COVID-19, polio, tuberculosis, yellow fever, rubella, measles, and meningitis.”

The mandate was imposed due citizens’ lack of interest when it comes to vaccinating their children, with vaccination rates showing a downturn since 2013 and intensifying when COVID-19 vaccines appeared.

Meanwhile, the Brazilian Supreme Court validated the Agrarian Reform Law that allows confiscating productive land from its owners if, according to officials, it does not fulfill a "social function," claiming that the expropriation will be for agrarian reform purposes. The State will expropriate to "compensate" the owner for the loss. 

The "social function" is one of the principles of private property in Brazil, which must be subject to collective interests, i.e., the obligation of the owner to build and use his land. In 1983, it was proposed to control the use of land to avoid idleness of urban building land. 

However, the Constitution states that productive properties, even if they do not comply with the so-called "social function", must be considered ineligible to expropriate, according to Article 185.

Cuba:  New anti-cash restrictions set by Cuba’s government are backfiring on businesses. The Diaz-Cannel administration has limited cash withdrawals to 5,000 pesos daily ($20) with the aim of transitioning the country to a cashless system, forcing Cubans to do their transactions electronically, via transfer, online payment, and bank cards. 

Many businesses are reportedly freezing investments. Small business owners find themselves being asked by their suppliers to be paid in cash and being told by the government they cannot do so.

Meanwhile in Brazil, Brazilian banks last week successfully completed pilot transfers using Drex, the country’s central bank digital currency (CBDC). Drex has been designed with a hidden feature that allows the central bank to freeze taxpayers' funds and adjust balances. 

Caixa Econômica Federal and Banco do Brasil announced last week that they had successfully completed the last of three test Drex transfers to each other throughout the month of August.

Drex is expected to be rolled out to the public next year. 

Venezuela: A Venezuelan restaurant has incorporated a robot waiter as part of its staff.  The robot created by Japanese robotics company Pudu, based in China, has been brought from Canada. The restaurant's manager Misak Sakkal, said that the idea of bringing the robot was born “so that people know more about the futuristic vision, that artificial intelligence is taking over everything” and “since it’s cheap workforce there are already many deals in the Venezuelan labor market.”

Artificial Intelligence technology is uncommon in countries like Venezuela, a country with a growing economic and social crisis with only a few supermarkets or pharmacies that have been able to incorporate automated payments in their stores.

Venezuela’s president Nicolas Maduro appeared on TV showing the robot.   The store employees and their manager repeated on several occasions that the robot is not a threat but an ally that makes their work easier adding that human quality is irreplaceable.