Latin America Legal

Legal developments & business opportunities arising in Latin America

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By: Squire Patton Boggs

Blog Authors

Squire Patton Boggs
Miguel Cano
Diego Capistrano
Mayte Fedowitz
Jose Feris
Paula A. Galhardo
Carolina Gamba
Ketan M. Ganase
Trevor Garmey
Mayte Gutierrez
Eduardo Guzman
Ludmilla Kasulke
Jan Kubicz
Josue Marti
Jose Martin
Loana Martín
Alvaro Mestre
Rory Murphy
Miguel Nasser
Clay Porter
Sarah Roa
Ludmilla Savelieff
Carolina O. Soto Hernández
Stacy Swanson
Sergey Treshchev
Melissa M. Valdez García
José María Viñals

Latest from Latin America Legal

On June 22, 2020, Mexico’s independent antitrust regulator (“COFECE”) filed a legal claim (controversia constitucional) with the nation’s Supreme Court arguing that the Ministry of Energy’s (“SENER”) Agreement setting forth the Policy of Reliability, Safety, Continuity, and Quality of the National Electric System (“Policy”), as published in the Official Gazette of the Federation on May 15, 2020, not only violates articles 16, 28, and 133 of the Mexican Constitution, but also Mexican laws applicable to…
On Wednesday, June 10, the Mexican court specialized in economic competition issued an order granting the definitive suspension of the Ministry of Energy’s (“SENER”) Agreement setting forth the Policy of Reliability, Safety, Continuity, and Quality of the National Electric System (“Policy”) and the independent system operator’s (“CENACE”) preoperative testing restrictions. This means that neither the Policy nor CENACE’s restrictions may be further pursued or enforced until a final judicial order on the matter is issued…
Since our May 20 blog post, the Energy Regulatory Commission (“CRE”) added its name to the list of agencies disturbing Mexico’s legal and regulatory certainty. Additionally, the López Obrador administration has spent time publicly defending recent Ministry of Energy (“SENER”) and independent system operator (“CENACE”) regulatory changes affecting renewable energy projects. On the evening of May, 28, 2020, CRE, in extraordinary session, passed two resolutions modifying the tariffs applicable to the transmission services used…
The impact of COVID-19 on global economies is being unfolded as we continue to experience the period of prolonged economic uncertainty. As the virus’ epicenter has shifted from Asia to Europe, and now Latin America, financial markets have plummeted and with them sectors such as the project development, infrastructure or construction sector on a worldwide scale. The construction sector, has started to experience the effects of the pandemic, nonetheless, the coming months will unravel the…
With presidential and congressional elections scheduled to take place on July 5, 2020,[1] the President of the Dominican Republic, Danilo Medina Sánchez, announced last Sunday May 17, 2020, a set of measures for a staged reopening of the Dominican economy. This raises the question of what happens if these reopening measures result in drastic spikes of new COVID-19 cases and the elections are therefore not held on July 5, 2020. There is a lot…
On April 29, 2020, Mexico’s independent system operator (“CENACE”) notified generators of its decision to indefinitely suspend all legally mandated pre-operation tests for solar and wind projects in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Such suspension purportedly seeks to safeguard the national grid against system interruptions clean intermittent energy projects could cause during the pandemic, and essentially bars any such projects from connecting to the grid until further notice. According to industry groups AMDEE and ASOLMEX,…
The financial constraints caused by the coronavirus has affected the world’s economy and its outlook is still unknown and gloomy. Companies from all industries worldwide have been taking all sorts of measures to mitigate losses, preserve cash flow and, ultimately, survive. Just like other companies around the globe, the coronavirus has pushed many struggling Brazilian companies over the edge and into bankruptcy. The International Monetary Fund predicts the Brazilian GDP will fall by 5 percent…
On May 5, 2020, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (“AMLO”) announced new measures to resume automotive manufacturing, mining, and construction activities amid the COVID-19 pandemic.  Mexican Minister of Economy Graciela Márquez Colín announced on May 13 a new plan to re-open the economy in three stages.  The first stage of the plan is set to begin on May 18 in those municipalities where no new COVID-19 infection cases have been reported.  The second…
Over 300 manufacturing CEOs in the United States sent a letter to the President of Mexico on April 22 asking him to align Mexico’s definition of essential businesses with that of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to minimize supply chain disruptions in North America. On April 21, the Mexican Minister of Health announced an extension of the suspension of non-essential activities until May 30, with the possibility…
Since the declaration of the state of public calamity on March 20, the Brazilian Government has taken several measures to contain the fast spread of the novel coronavirus and to ease the negative impacts of the novel coronavirus outbreak on the domestic economy. The most anticipated measure is the stimulus aid package, which has yet to be approved by the Congress. However, other several critical measures have been taken by the Brazilian Government, including the…