Colombia’s government is preparing a decree to regulate protests, days after a truck bomb targeted an army base on 8 October. The proposed rules put state power over public gatherings front and centre as the region faces disasters, political campaigns and rising living costs.
Rules from the Top
The proposed protest decree came as heavy rains hit Medellín and the Aburrá Valley, where overflowing streams generated more than 400 emergency calls. Colombia’s energy pressures also reached beyond official talking points: spot power prices averaged about 126% more in September than a year earlier as El Niño dried reservoirs, and the government launched an energy crisis plan.
A magnitude-7.7 earthquake struck Panama on Friday. It caused power outages, suspended classes and metro service, and damaged buildings. Authorities recorded numerous aftershocks and assessed the damage. The quake hit a hotel and a church in Penonomé. Copa Airlines resumed flights after the airport reopened, while authorities prioritized diverted planes. The immediate costs were tangible: disrupted transport and classes, outages and damaged buildings.
In Brazil, a court suspended an injunction that had let one betting operator continue operating, restoring the federal ban on online betting. Three police officers died when a PM aircraft crashed in Minas Gerais. The roundup also reported Brazil’s inflation at 4.58%, above the 4.5% ceiling.
Ballots and Market Scoreboards
Brazil’s second-round presidential campaign was underway. Lula’s first advertisement asked for votes from people who hadn’t previously supported him. Flávio Bolsonaro promoted change and pledged to maintain existing social programs. The runoff is scheduled for 25 October, but another scoreboard was already pricing the contest: at 12:13 a.m. ET on 10 October, Polymarket put Flávio Bolsonaro at 88.9% and Lula at 11.5%, with US$179.6 million traded. Kalshi, which the CFTC regulates in the U.S., showed Bolsonaro at 88.0% and Lula at 12.0%. The latest Datafolha poll gave Bolsonaro 52% of valid votes and Lula 48%. Those prediction-market prices are bets on who wins, not shares of votes.
In Peru, Hitler Mussolini Simeón Flores, 45, won the mayoral election in Queropalca with 229 votes, 25 more than his ultra-right rival from Renovación Popular. Simeón Flores belongs to the centre-left Ahora Nación party. The result drew amused international headlines, while a wildfire threatened the Huayllap Stone Forest and the farm export sector slowed.
Argentina’s Economy Minister Luis Caputo was travelling to Thailand for the IMF’s annual assembly. His U.S. counterpart, Scott Bessent, was staying home for “domestic commitments.” At home, cost-of-living concerns, including grocery and transport prices, featured in the political debate. The trip and the debate appeared in the same roundup; people who don’t set the agenda still face those prices every day.
Disruption Beyond the Campaigns
In Chile, a head-on collision between a truck and a jeep on a regional highway killed five people and injured a sixth. The Siat de Carabineros was investigating the cause. José Antonio Kast was scheduled to visit Bolivia on the 16th, with cross-border relations expected to be a focus.
In Mexico, President Claudia Sheinbaum accused former president Felipe Calderón of opening the country’s doors to foreign agencies, linking the claim to national sovereignty. A U.S. labor case involving a Puebla plant gave Mexico exactly 10 days to respond.
Markets closed on 9 October with the Ibovespa at 209,067, up 1.38%; the S&P/BMV IPC at 66,049, up 1.63%; and the S&P IPSA at 11,044, up 0.18%. The S&P Merval stood at 2,828,027, down 0.16%, while the COLCAP was 2,531, up 0.21%. The roundup described the region’s mood as grief, absurdity, anxiety and weary hope. Its figures tracked exchanges and currencies; reported disruptions, prices and emergency calls reflected the pressures people lived through.