Peru’s President Keiko Fujimori announced Wednesday 7 October that the Armed Forces and the National Police would operate under a unified command with 1,350 personnel, a control centre at Army headquarters in Lima and an elite search-and-capture group. The command puts military and police forces inside one structure as the government promises a harder response to crime.
The security apparatus expands
Fujimori also created a Special Commission Against Crime and promised to expel foreign criminals “in record time.” The government published no budget or start date for the measures. The guide reports no published legal change, number or deadline for expulsions, and no sign of visa-rule changes for law-abiding residents. The announcement lays out the state’s machinery. Practical details remain absent.
For foreigners holding Colombian permanent-resident visas issued under earlier rules, the Foreign Ministry reiterated that visa holders must transfer them by Saturday 31 October 2026. Applicants can complete the process online, and the ministry advised them to use its official site without intermediaries. Visa holders carry the administrative burden, while the ministry controls the process.
Hurricane Simón strengthened to Category 3 on Friday night. Mexican forecasters expected it to reach the Colima–Jalisco coast on Sunday 11 October, with Mexican media citing the U.S. National Hurricane Center for sustained winds of 195 km/h (121 mph) and a centre about 245 km (152 miles) south of Manzanillo, Colima. Forecasts called for landfall between Puerto Vallarta in Jalisco and Manzanillo in Colima as a Category 3 or 4 storm.
UnoTV forecast an initial landfall around 6 a.m. Mexico central time, while an earlier Infobae report put it at Sunday midday; the hour remains uncertain. Infobae forecast 150 to 250 mm (6 to 10 inches) of rain on the Guerrero and Michoacán coasts. Its report said its writers couldn’t read the NHC bulletins directly, and the storm’s track and strength could change. Travelers with flights or hotels on the Colima, Jalisco or Nayarit coast were advised to check with airlines or hotels and follow local civil protection instructions. The guide reports no grassroots or mutual-aid response to the storm.
Prices, holidays and who gets a vote
Brazil’s inflation rose to 4.58% over 12 months in September, above the central bank’s 4.5% ceiling. Prices rose 0.82% during the month, and housing costs climbed 2.31%. Households face rising costs; the guide also reports Brazil’s currency exchange rate, not a change in those household prices.
Monday 12 October is a public holiday in Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Colombia. In Brazil, the stock exchange B3 and bank branches will close, although banking apps will continue to work. Foreign residents don’t vote in Brazil’s presidential runoff, scheduled for Sunday 25 October, while campaigning continues.
At 00:35 ET on 10 October, Polymarket priced Flávio Bolsonaro’s chance of winning Brazil’s presidency at 88.9% and Lula’s at 11.5%, with US$179.6 million traded. Those figures are real-money bets, not a poll or official result. The guide says readers should consider them alongside polls and official results, not instead of them.
Rates and decisions made above
Brazil’s central bank reference dollar rate, the PTAX fixing, stood at 4.9892 reais to sell on Friday 9 October, down from 5.0119 on Thursday. Colombia’s official TRM was 3,194.44 pesos per dollar for Saturday through Monday, down from 3,218.75 on Friday. Chile’s official observed dollar rate closed Friday at 981.61 pesos, up from 979.85 on Thursday. These rates track the currencies and institutions that shape what people pay and receive.
The calendar lists Argentina’s September inflation release from INDEC at 4 p.m. Buenos Aires time on Tuesday 13 October, Brazil’s October mid-month inflation release on Friday 23 October, and the Colombian central bank’s policy-rate meeting on Friday 30 October. Brazil’s central bank is scheduled to set the Selic rate on Tuesday 3–Wednesday 4 November; the listed rate was 13.75%. The people living with prices and rules don’t set these decisions. The guide records the dates, rates and institutions holding the levers.