Brazil’s Finance Minister Haddad Exits to Run for São Paulo Governor; Dario Durigan Takes Over as Lula Confronts the Banco Master Scandal and Rising Household Debt — Peru’s Second Presidential Debate Puts Security Centre Stage with 19 Days to the April 12 Vote — Chile’s Kast Announces a Historic Fuel Price Hike Citing the Iran War as Environmental Protests Widen — IPC Mexico Surges 2.18% in the Biggest Single-Day LatAm Equity Move of the Week
Executive Summary
The Big Picture: Today’s Latin American Pulse is shaped by a cabinet earthquake in Brazil, a 19-day election sprint in Peru, and a fuel price shock in Chile that marks the first real domestic cost of the Iran war for a Latin American government. This is part of The Rio Times’ comprehensive coverage of Latin American financial markets and economic developments.
Lula met his new Finance Minister on Tuesday morning. Dario Durigan, who served as Haddad’s executive secretary since June 2023, formally took over after Fernando Haddad resigned to run for governor of São Paulo. Rogério Ceron moves from the Treasury to the executive secretary role. The transition was orderly — but the timing is poisoned by the Banco Master scandal, which Lula himself called a “R$40 billion scam,” and by rising household debt that the Planalto now sees as an electoral liability.
Peru held its second presidential debate Tuesday night, with 11 candidates sparring over security and corruption. Fiorella Molinelli promised to capture fugitive Vladimir Cerrón if elected. The third and final debate is tomorrow. April 12 is 19 days away, and 36.7% of voters remain undecided in a field of 34 candidates.
Chile’s President Kast announced a historic fuel price increase, citing the Iran war’s impact on global oil markets and asking citizens for “responsibility.” It lands on top of environmental protection rollbacks that have already triggered street protests — the first significant domestic backlash since his March 11 inauguration.
Regional Mood
The region is entering its most politically dense week of 2026. Brazil’s fiscal architecture has a new pilot. Peru’s candidates are on live television every night this week. Chile is discovering that its new right-wing government will be defined by energy costs, not ideology. And tomorrow the Maduro trial opens in Manhattan — the event that every government in the hemisphere is watching.
Markets are cautiously constructive. The Ibovespa consolidated Monday’s relief rally with a +0.32% session. Mexico’s IPC surged 2.18% — the biggest single-day move in LatAm this week. But the Hormuz de-escalation trade remains fragile: Tehran denied Trump’s claim of “very good talks,” and Brent is back above $103.
Risk Snapshot
| Country | Key Driver | Risk Level |
|---|---|---|
| Brazil | Durigan replaces Haddad as FM; Ceron to exec secretary; Banco Master R$40B scandal; Q4 GDP today; Copom minutes this week | ELEVATED |
| Peru | Second debate held; Molinelli vows Cerrón capture; third debate tomorrow; 19 days to Apr 12; 36.7% undecided | ELEVATED |
| Chile | Historic fuel price hike citing Iran war; environmental rollback protests; IPSA fourth straight loss | ELEVATED |
| Colombia | Day of mourning for 66 soldiers; FAE $2.9T withdrawal from stabilisation fund; election campaign resumes | CRITICAL |
| Venezuela | Maduro trial opens tomorrow Manhattan; Rodríguez consolidating power; hemisphere watching | CRITICAL |
| Mexico | IPC +2.18% biggest LatAm move; inflation 4.63% annual; Gulf oil spill 15 municipalities; 229 migrants rescued | ELEVATED |
Brazil: Durigan Replaces Haddad as Finance Minister
Haddad exits to run for São Paulo governor; Ceron moves from Treasury to executive secretary; Banco Master scandal now a declared electoral liability; Lula confronts household debt crisis; Q4 GDP due today
What Happened
- —New Finance Minister: Dario Durigan, Haddad’s executive secretary since June 2023, formally assumed the Finance Ministry on Tuesday. Lula met him first thing Tuesday morning alongside Minister Esther Dweck and the economic team. Durigan announced his new team the same day: Rogério Ceron moves from the Treasury secretariat to executive secretary, consolidating the continuity signal.
- —Haddad’s exit: Fernando Haddad resigned March 19 to run for governor of São Paulo in the October elections, where he will face right-wing frontrunner Tarcísio de Freitas. The departure was part of the mandatory March cabinet reshuffle for officials seeking elected office — but it removes the architect of Brazil’s fiscal framework at a moment when markets are watching every signal.
- —Banco Master shadow: Lula called the Master collapse “a scam of more than R$40 billion” during a housing event in Maceió. He and ministers discussed the scandal’s electoral toxicity alongside rising household debt, which the Planalto now sees as neutralising the government’s social gains. Bloomberg reported Lula pinned blame on Bolsonaro for Master’s regulatory failures.
- —Market reaction: Ibovespa rose 0.32% to 182,509, consolidating Monday’s 3.24% relief rally. USD/BRL held at 5.2330. The market’s calm reflects confidence in Durigan as a continuity appointment, but Q4 GDP data and Copom minutes this week will test whether the fiscal framework holds without Haddad.
Why It Matters
Durigan is a technician, not a politician. That’s both his strength and his vulnerability. He knows the fiscal machinery intimately — he built most of it alongside Haddad. But he has none of Haddad’s political weight with Congress, where the tax reform framework vote is expected around March 28.
The deeper problem is structural. Brazil enters an election year with a Finance Minister who was not elected to the role, a banking scandal touching government allies, and household debt levels that the president himself says are undermining his re-election narrative. Tarcísio, polling at competitive levels, now has Haddad as his direct opponent in São Paulo — turning the governor’s race into a proxy war for the presidency.
Key Watch
Q4 GDP (today). Copom minutes (this week). Tax reform vote (~Mar 28). Durigan’s first press conference. Banco Master delation developments. Haddad vs Tarcísio polling.
RISK: ELEVATED
Peru: Presidential Debate as the 19-Day Sprint Begins
11 candidates debated security and corruption Tuesday night; Molinelli vowed to capture fugitive Cerrón; third and final debate tomorrow; 34 candidates, 36.7% undecided; April 12 first round approaches
What Happened
- —Debate night: The Jurado Nacional de Elecciones held the second of three presidential debates at Lima’s Convention Centre on Tuesday evening. Eleven candidates participated, focusing on security and anti-corruption. Fiorella Molinelli (Fuerza y Libertad) generated the night’s biggest headline by promising to capture fugitive Vladimir Cerrón and ex-minister Juan Silva if elected.
- —Cerrón absent: Perú Libre’s Vladimir Cerrón, a fugitive from justice, could not attend the in-person debate and was barred from sending a replacement. His habeas corpus will be heard by the Constitutional Tribunal on March 31 — 12 days before the vote. Roberto Sánchez (Juntos por el Perú) defended the “castillista route” and demanded justice for 49 killed.
- —Final debate tomorrow: The third and last debate brings the remaining 12 candidates, completing the 34-candidate cycle. George Forsyth (Somos Perú) admitted his mistake in leaving the La Victoria mayoralty in 2021. López Aliaga and Fujimori, the frontrunners, debate tomorrow.
Why It Matters
Peru has had six presidents leave office early in the last decade. The impeachment of the interim president last month makes it seven. With 34 candidates and more than a third of voters undecided, the first round is likely to produce a fragmented result and a highly unpredictable runoff.
Security dominates. Candidates referenced El Salvador’s Bukele model repeatedly. Walter Chirinos explicitly named “the Bukele plan” as his security blueprint. The election will determine whether Peru follows the regional swing toward hard-right security candidates or produces another unstable coalition government. All Congressional seats are also on the ballot.
Key Watch
Third debate (tomorrow). Cerrón habeas corpus (Mar 31). López Aliaga vs Fujimori polling. Congressional composition. Flood emergency in 283 districts.
RISK: ELEVATED
Chile: Kast Announces Historic Fuel Price Hike as Protests Widen
President cites Iran war; asks for “responsibility”; environmental rollback protests continue; IPSA posts fourth straight loss; border trenches under construction
What Happened
- —Fuel shock: President Kast announced what he called a historic fuel price increase, driven by the Iran war’s disruption of global oil supply through the Strait of Hormuz. He asked Chileans for “responsibility” and framed the hike as unavoidable. Chile imports virtually all its oil; Brent above $103 is a direct terms-of-trade hit.
- —Protests widening: The fuel announcement lands on top of ongoing protests against Kast’s environmental protection rollbacks — the first significant domestic pushback since his March 11 inauguration. Telemundo led with the environmental protests as a headline story. The combination of rising living costs and deregulation may define Kast’s early presidency more than his security agenda.
- —IPSA fourth loss: The index fell 0.21% to 10,206.16, its fourth consecutive decline. The border trench project at the Peru frontier continues. BCCh likely to hold rates given the oil-driven inflation pressure.
Why It Matters
Kast ran on security and immigration, not energy policy. But the Iran war has made fuel the defining issue of his first two weeks. Chile’s near-total oil import dependency means every dollar increase in Brent translates directly into consumer prices — and into political pressure on a president whose coalition has no buffer for economic discontent.
The environmental protests are the early warning. If fuel costs and deregulation converge into a single grievance narrative, Kast could face the same social-pressure dynamic that destabilised Piñera in 2019. The difference: Kast has a legislative majority and no tolerance for street politics.
Key Watch
Fuel price implementation timeline. Protest escalation. BCCh rate decision. Copper price as counterweight. Border trench progress.
RISK: ELEVATED
Regional Snapshot
|
Mexico IPC surged 2.18% to 65,775 — the biggest single-day equity move in Latin America this week. The rally was driven by Trump’s claim of Iran talks, which Tehran denied. Inflation hit 4.63% annual in the first half of March (INEGI). Core inflation stuck above 4% for 20 consecutive fortnights. The Gulf of Mexico oil spill has now affected 15 municipalities in Veracruz and Tabasco. Authorities rescued 229 migrants packed into a trailer. Mexican families now lead U.S. immigration detention statistics, surpassing Venezuela and Honduras. |
Colombia National day of mourning for the 66 soldiers killed in Monday’s C-130 crash. Identification of bodies continues. Investigation team deployed to Puerto Leguízamo. Four still missing. The government withdrew approximately COP$2.9 trillion from the Fondo de Ahorro y Estabilización (FAE) — a fiscal policy response to the oil-price-driven revenue squeeze. Brent at $103 per barrel. COLCAP rose 0.31% to 2,237.66. The peso strengthened to $3,700.60 per dollar. May 31 election campaign resumes under the crash’s political shadow. |
|
Argentina National holiday: 50th anniversary of the 1976 military coup. Milei’s government pushed the “memoria completa” narrative, insisting both military and guerrilla victims be commemorated. Desclassified SIDE documents from the dictatorship era were released. Markets closed. MERVAL at 2,778,025 (Monday close). Milei’s Hungary visit and $LIBRA crypto scandal remain live threads. |
Venezuela / Cuba Venezuela: Maduro trial opens tomorrow (Thursday March 26) in Manhattan federal court. Hearing may address whether Venezuela can fund his defence. Rodríguez consolidating power after last week’s full military high command purge. Cuba: The Granma 2 arrived Tuesday with 14 tonnes of Mexican humanitarian aid. Blockade month four. Hospitals losing power. Military preparations continue. |
|
Bolivia / Ecuador Bolivia: Seven gubernatorial runoffs confirmed for April 19. Petrobras’s authorisation to import Vaca Muerta gas from Argentina threatens Bolivia’s remaining gas revenue at the worst possible moment. World Cup repechaje: Bolivia vs Suriname in Monterrey this week. Ecuador: Curfew ends March 30 (5 days). EU drug-policy cooperation agreement signed March 20. Constitutional Court cleared South Korea trade deal (SECA) for National Assembly debate. |
|
Markets at a Glance
| Index | Close | Change | Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ibovespa | 182,509.14 | +0.32% | Consolidating Monday rally; Durigan continuity priced |
| IPC (Mexico) | 65,775.14 | +2.18% | Biggest LatAm move of the week; Trump Iran talks claim |
| COLCAP | 2,237.66 | +0.31% | Resilient despite C-130 crash; peso strengthened |
| IPSA (Chile) | 10,206.16 | −0.21% | Fourth straight loss; fuel hike + protests weighing |
| MERVAL | 2,778,025.03 | — | Closed — national holiday (1976 coup anniversary) |
| Gold | US$4,551.31 | +1.72% | Recovery continues from $4,125 Friday crash |
| Silver | US$73.203 | +2.87% | Outperforming gold on recovery |
| Bitcoin | US$71,018 | +0.71% | Holding above $70K; steady |
| USD/BRL | 5.2330 | flat | Durigan transition calm; Selic 14.75% |
Equity indices: Tuesday March 24, 2026 closes, from TradingView Tier 0 charts (timestamped 07:08–07:09 UTC, March 25). MERVAL shows Monday close (Argentina holiday Tuesday). Gold, silver, Bitcoin from TradingView daily (07:08–07:09 UTC). Brazil FM change from Muita Informação, Bloomberg, Gazeta do Povo. Peru debate from La República, Infobae Peru, JNE. Chile fuel from CNN en Español. Mexico inflation from INEGI via UnoTV. Colombia FAE from Infobae Colombia/Bancolombia. Argentina coup anniversary from Infobae. Cuba from Prensa Latina. Rio Times Bolivia coverage.
The Week Ahead
| Date | Event | Country |
|---|---|---|
| Wed Mar 25 | Brazil Q4 2025 GDP (IBGE); Peru third presidential debate; Brazil–France friendly | Brazil / Peru |
| Thu Mar 26 | Maduro trial opens — Manhattan federal court | Venezuela / U.S. |
| ~Fri Mar 28 | Tax reform framework vote (Chamber of Deputies) | Brazil |
| Sun Mar 30 | Ecuador curfew scheduled to end (4 provinces) | Ecuador |
| Mon Mar 31 | Cerrón habeas corpus hearing — Constitutional Tribunal | Peru |
| Sat Apr 12 | Peru presidential & legislative first round | Peru |