A magnitude-7.7 earthquake struck Panama on Friday, cutting power, suspending classes and metro service, and damaging buildings as authorities assessed the damage. The quake hit a hotel and a church in Penonomé. Residents faced disrupted services. Officials recorded numerous aftershocks.
Who Pays
Brazil's inflation reached 4.58%, above the 4.5% ceiling, while grocery and transport prices featured in Argentina's domestic political debate. Those figures accompanied a regional roundup of elections, disasters and market movements, with household costs appearing alongside the numbers financial markets tracked.
In Colombia, spot power prices averaged about 126% more in September than a year earlier as El Niño dried reservoirs. The government launched an energy crisis plan. The report gave no details about its measures or their expected effect on household bills.
Heavy rains in Medellín and the Aburrá Valley overflowed streams and generated more than 400 emergency calls. In Panama, Copa Airlines resumed flights after the airport reopened, while officials prioritized diverted planes. Authorities continued assessing damage from the earthquake.
A wildfire threatened Peru's Huayllay Stone Forest as the farm export sector slowed. 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.
State and Ballots
Colombia's government was preparing a decree to regulate protests ahead of planned rallies. The move came days after a truck bomb targeted an army base on 8 October. The roundup reported the planned restriction and bombing, but gave no further details about the decree or rallies.
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. The report didn't identify the workers involved or describe the case's claims.
Brazil's second-round presidential campaign was underway. Lula's first advertisement asked for votes from people who hadn't previously supported him, while Flávio Bolsonaro promoted change and pledged to maintain existing social programs. The latest Datafolha poll gave Bolsonaro 52% of valid votes and Lula 48%.
Prediction markets offered a different measure of the contest. At 12:13 a.m. ET on 10 October, Polymarket priced Flávio Bolsonaro at 88.9% and Lula at 11.5% to win Brazil's 25 October runoff; about US$180 million had traded, with the key facts section specifying US$179.6 million. Kalshi, regulated in the U.S. by the CFTC, showed Bolsonaro at 88.0% and Lula at 12.0%. Those prices are bets on who wins, not shares of votes.
Peru's Queropalca mayoral election went to Hitler Mussolini Simeón Flores, 45, of the centre-left Ahora Nación party. He won with 229 votes, 25 more than his ultra-right rival from Renovación Popular. International headlines met the result with amusement.
Markets and Public Measures
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." The roundup reported their travel plans as voters debated grocery and transport costs.
A court decision in Brazil suspended an injunction that had let one betting operator continue operating, restoring the effect of the federal ban on online betting. Three police officers died when a PM aircraft crashed in Minas Gerais.
The 9 October market-close figures put Brazil's Ibovespa at 209,067, up 1.38%; Mexico's S&P/BMV IPC at 66,049, up 1.63%; and Chile's S&P IPSA at 11,044, up 0.18%. Argentina's S&P Merval stood at 2,828,027, down 0.16%; Colombia's COLCAP was 2,531, up 0.21%. The roundup described the Ibovespa as at a record 209,067.
José Antonio Kast was scheduled to visit Bolivia on the 16th, with cross-border relations expected to be a focus. The account brought together damaged buildings, emergency calls, cost concerns, campaign promises, state measures and market prices; it reported no union action or labor response.