LatAm Expat & Nomad Daily Guide for Friday, August 7, 2026
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Good morning. Your LatAm expat nomad daily guide opens on Colombia’s handover day, what its first decrees could mean for consular services, and a quiet market Friday.
Colombia installs a new government in its third city, and the announcement foreigners should follow is not the ceremony but the plan to shrink the diplomatic network.
Key Points
- The ceremony. 3 p.m. today at the Arena USC in Cali, the first handover outside Bogotá.
- Who takes office. Abelardo de la Espriella as president, José Manuel Restrepo as vice-president.
- Announced, not yet signed. An austerity package that would close 14 embassies and about 15 consulates.
- In Cali. Car-free day 7 a.m.–8 p.m. with free MIO transit; alcohol ban 6 a.m.–8 p.m.; drone ban.
- Closed today. Colombian banks and markets are shut for the Batalla de Boyacá holiday.
- FX. Latest close; the Colombian peso at 3,181, the official rate in force today, the Brazilian real near 5.12.
00The LatAm Expat & Nomad Daily Guide Status Board
| Story | Yesterday | Today | Next |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colombia handover | Restrictions began | Inauguration, 3 p.m., Cali | First security council Aug 8 |
| Consular network | Not covered | Closures expected by decree | Which posts, and when |
| Colombian markets | Peso near 3,153 | Closed for the holiday | Reopen Monday |
| Chile reform | Awaiting vetoes | Unchanged, monitor | Constitutional Court ruling |
| Medellín culture | Silleteros weekend ahead | Feria’s final days | Parade Sunday |
01Visas & Residency
| Where | What changed | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Colombia | A new government takes office today. It has announced an austerity drive that would restructure the foreign service and close 14 named embassies — Algeria, Azerbaijan, Barbados, Cuba, Czechia, Ethiopia, Ghana, Haiti, Hungary, Malaysia, Nicaragua, Romania, Senegal and South Africa — plus about 15 consulates that have not been named. For twelve of the fourteen, closing the building does not break relations: service moves to another mission in the region. Cuba and Nicaragua are different — the president-elect says he will cut diplomatic ties with both. In Paris the embassy to France and the mission to UNESCO come under one ambassador, and in Rome the embassy to Italy and the mission to the FAO do the same. A Jerusalem embassy reopens, a new post opens in Nigeria, and a 100-day audit reviews what remains. None of it is signed yet: it takes effect only by decree once the new government is sworn in. | Nothing changes for your status today. But if you rely on a Colombian consulate for passports, apostilles or notarial acts, watch for closure announcements — fewer posts can mean longer waits and a relocated nearest office. |
| Colombia, on the ground | Cali is car-free from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., alcohol sales are banned from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., drones are grounded and banks and markets are closed for the holiday. | If you are in the Valle, use the free MIO transit, expect road controls and possible demonstrations, and plan any banking around the closure. |
| Uruguay | Residents now owe 12% on foreign passive income — interest, dividends, rents abroad and capital gains — with 8% available where a Uruguayan bank or broker withholds. Withholdings for the first half of 2026 were collected in July; if nobody withholds for you, you make payments on account twice a year. | Retirees and investors are most exposed; wages for work performed outside Uruguay generally stay untaxed. Check your position with a Uruguayan adviser. |
| Chile | The Kast tax reform cleared Congress on August 4 but is not fully promulgated: presidential vetoes and a Constitutional Court challenge to the tax-stability guarantee are pending. | Nothing changes for arriving remote workers: the three-year foreign-income exemption, no wealth tax and the US treaty all stand. |
| Region-wide | Private health insurance is no longer just good advice. Argentina checks cover at the border for every foreign arrival; Brazil and Panama ask for it as a visa condition, Brazil for cover valid nationwide and Panama for cover valid locally for the whole stay. | Check that your policy covers hospitalisation, emergencies and evacuation, and that it is valid across the whole country — a travel policy is often refused. |
02Cost of Living & Money
Colombian markets and banks are closed today for the Batalla de Boyacá holiday, so the peso figure below is the official rate in force today, set by Thursday’s trading. A recent guide compares what each nomad visa costs across the region, and Uruguay’s new 12% tax on foreign income is the week’s biggest change for retirees.
| Currency | Per US$ | Read |
|---|---|---|
| Brazilian real | 5.12 | little changed |
| Mexican peso | 17.22 | firm |
| Colombian peso | 3,153 | official rate in force today; market closed |
| Chilean peso | 916 | a touch weaker |
| Peruvian sol | 3.39 | steady |
| Argentine peso | 1,500 | official; blue ~1,515 |
| Uruguayan peso | 40.20 | firm |
Brazil’s Copom cut the Selic to 14.00% on Wednesday and Mexico’s Banxico held its rate at 6.50% on Thursday, its second hold in a row. The US July jobs report lands today, the last big number from outside the region this week; our week-ahead markets guide has the calendar.
| City | Furnished 1-BR | Comfortable month |
|---|---|---|
| Mexico City | US$800–1,500 (Roma Norte) | US$1,800–3,500 |
| Playa del Carmen | US$900–1,400 near the beach | US$1,700–3,600 |
| Mérida | US$500–800, bills often in | US$1,100–1,500 |
| Oaxaca | US$400–750 | US$1,600–2,400 |
| Medellín | US$500–1,200 (El Poblado) | US$1,200–1,800 |
| Bogotá | US$550–1,300 furnished | US$1,200–2,850 |
| Buenos Aires | US$800–1,300 (Palermo) | US$1,500–2,000 |
| São Paulo | US$950–1,900, condo fees in | US$1,800–2,500 |
| Rio de Janeiro | US$690–1,190 (Botafogo) | about US$2,000 |
| Florianópolis | US$700–1,400 | US$1,250–2,000 |
| Lima | US$600–900 (Barranco) | US$1,300–1,600 |
| Santiago | US$550–900 (Providencia) | US$1,200–2,000 |
| Montevideo | US$600–1,000 (Pocitos) | US$1,500–2,200 |
03What’s On
Today. Colombia’s presidential inauguration in Cali at 3 p.m., on the Batalla de Boyacá national holiday.
This weekend. Medellín’s Feria de las Flores closes with Sunday’s Desfile de Silleteros, and Cali opens the 30th Festival Petronio Álvarez on Sunday, the Pacific’s great Afro-Colombian music gathering, running to August 17. Our week-ahead roundup has the region’s diary.
04Art & Culture
Cali’s 30th Petronio Álvarez festival opens on Sunday, two days after the handover, and runs to August 17, filling the city with marimba, currulao and Pacific cooking. Medellín closes its Feria on Sunday with the silleteros carrying flower displays through the streets.
Mexico City runs a busy August concert calendar, and the southern-cone cities keep their winter theatre and music programmes.
05Food & Coffee
Cali’s alcohol ban runs to 8 p.m., so a late dinner is fine but a lunchtime drink is not. Medellín is at capacity for the flower fair, so book tables in El Poblado, Provenza and Laureles ahead.
On Mexico’s Caribbean coast, sargassum keeps beach days pointed at the cleaner northern beaches and the cenotes.
06Community & Safety
Colombia. Expect a heavy security presence across Cali and the Valle today, road controls at the city entrances, a grounded-drone rule and possible peaceful demonstrations. Banks are closed for the holiday (details here).
Peru. Migraciones continues its identity-control build-out — a biometric carné piloting for minors, police control operations and e-gates running at Lima’s airport. Keep your carné and status current.
Mexico. Cities are calm; the coast’s sargassum is the main seasonal disruptor.
07What to Watch — August 7–13
Background: our living in merida expat guide guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens in Colombia today?
Abelardo de la Espriella is sworn in as president at 3 p.m. at the Arena USC in Cali, alongside vice-president José Manuel Restrepo — the first handover held outside Bogotá. The courts declined to suspend the ceremony.
Why should foreigners care about the foreign-service shake-up?
The incoming government has announced an austerity drive that would close 14 named embassies — among them Cuba, Nicaragua, Haiti, Hungary, Romania and South Africa — and about 15 consulates it has not named. Nothing is signed yet; it takes effect by decree. If you use a Colombian consulate for passports, apostilles or notarial acts, that unnamed consulate list is the one to watch: fewer posts can mean longer waits and a different nearest office.
What is closed or restricted in Cali today?
A car-free day runs 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. with free MIO transit, alcohol sales are banned 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., drones are grounded, and banks and financial markets are shut for the Batalla de Boyacá holiday.
Are Colombian markets trading today?
No. It is a national holiday, so the exchange and banks are closed. The official rate in force today is about 3,153 to the dollar, set by Thursday’s trading, and it holds through Monday, when trading resumes.
What are the latest exchange rates?
At the latest close the dollar bought roughly 5.12 Brazilian reais, 17.22 Mexican pesos, 3,153 Colombian pesos and 3.39 Peruvian soles. Argentina’s blue dollar sits near 1,515.
Connected Coverage
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