International Monetary Fund (IMF) Communications Department Director Julie Kozack announced at the regular press briefing on July 9 that IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva will visit Argentina and Uruguay later this month. The Uruguayan government subsequently confirmed that Georgieva will arrive in Montevideo on Thursday, July 30.

The visit comes at the invitation of Uruguay’s Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF). According to the official schedule released by the Uruguayan Presidency, Georgieva will hold meetings with President Yamandú Orsi, Minister of Economy and Finance Gabriel Oddone, and Central Bank of Uruguay (BCU) Governor Guillermo Tolosa. Tolosa also serves as Uruguay’s Governor at the IMF.

In addition to high-level government meetings, Georgieva will attend the Annual Economics Conference (Jornadas Anuales de Economía) hosted by the Central Bank of Uruguay, which will take place from July 27 to 30. Her itinerary also includes a discussion with representatives of the private sector.

Technical cooperation is a key backdrop to the visit. According to the Central Bank of Uruguay, the country is currently receiving IMF technical assistance in multiple areas, including “strengthening the fiscal framework, improving tax administration efficiency, refining monetary policy tools, and enhancing balance of payments and national accounts statistics.” The Central Bank stated that “the meetings will help deepen the dialogue between Uruguay and the IMF on the country’s economic priorities, as well as opportunities to further strengthen economic resilience, promote sustainable growth, and foster more inclusive development”.

Notably, this marks the first visit by an IMF Managing Director to Uruguay in 15 years, since the visit of then-Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn in 2011. The Orsi administration took office in March 2025, marking the return of the Frente Amplio coalition to power. In its 2025 Article IV Consultation report, the IMF noted that the new government’s agenda aims to “strike a balance between inclusive growth and macroeconomic stability, promote private investment, and strengthen social protection”.

Georgieva is a Bulgarian economist who has served as IMF Managing Director since 2019 and previously served as CEO of the World Bank. In addition to Uruguay, her Latin American tour also includes Argentina. The 2026 IMF-World Bank Group Annual Meetings will be held in Bangkok, Thailand, from October 12 to 18.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva chaired a ministerial meeting at the Planalto Palace on July 10, focusing on the national critical minerals strategy, aimed at promoting the exploration, processing, and industrialization of strategic minerals such as lithium, rare earths, nickel, and cobalt. Vice President and Minister of Development, Industry, Trade and Services Geraldo Alckmin, and Minister of Mines and Energy Alexandre Silveira attended the meeting.

The meeting comes as the government is pushing forward the National Policy for Critical and Strategic Minerals bill in Congress. The bill has already passed the Chamber of Deputies and is now awaiting Senate approval. However, progress has been hampered by tensions between Lula and Senate President Davi Alcolumbre.

The bill would expand government control over critical minerals, including the creation of a commission directly under the presidency to define priority projects, establish classification criteria, and veto sensitive transactions such as foreign acquisitions of mining assets. The bill also provides 5 billion reais in tax credits between 2030 and 2034 to stimulate the critical minerals supply chain.

The Brazilian government has identified priority minerals including rare earths, lithium, nickel, cobalt, copper, and graphite – essential raw materials for batteries, electric vehicles, electronics, and clean energy generation technologies. Brazil holds the world’s second‑largest rare earth reserves (about 21 million tonnes), second only to China, and also controls 26% of global graphite, over 90% of niobium, 12% of nickel, and 5% of proven lithium reserves.

However, there are internal disagreements over the degree of intervention. Points of contention include the extent of state involvement, the means to stimulate local processing of minerals, and Brazil’s positioning in global supply chains. The private sector fears the bill could increase regulatory uncertainty and scare off investment. The government also acknowledges that the economic viability of different minerals varies, depending on technology, market size, international competitiveness, and their position in the value chain.

Minister Silveira recently made clear that Brazil “under no circumstances” should export unprocessed critical minerals. He stressed that the country’s mineral wealth should drive industrialization, technological innovation, and job creation, not merely raw material exports. The Lula administration has established the National Mining Policy Council to coordinate strategic policies for critical minerals. On the international front, Brazil has signed a joint declaration with Germany to promote research, technological development, and innovation cooperation in critical minerals. The EU is also in talks with Brazil to establish a strategic partnership on critical minerals.

In its latest Economic Outlook report released on July 10, Citi Bank lowered its 2026 GDP growth forecast for Colombia from 2.7% to 2.5%. At the same time, Citi expects Colombia’s inflation rate to reach 6.2% in 2026, with the policy interest rate rising to 12.25% – both the second‑highest levels in Latin America.

In the regional growth landscape, Colombia’s 2.5% forecast places it behind the Dominican Republic (4.1%), Panama (4.1%), Costa Rica (3.5%), Peru (2.9%), and Argentina (2.9%). Brazil is expected to grow 1.8%, while Mexico is seen improving from 1.1% to 2%.

On inflation, Citi projects that Colombia’s inflation will rise from 5.1% in 2025 to 6.2% in 2026, before easing to 4.2% in 2027. This implies that the process of returning inflation to the central bank’s target range will be longer than previously anticipated. Citi expects the Colombian central bank’s policy rate to reach 12.25% by the end of 2026 – with some reports noting a range of 12.25% to 12.50%. For the exchange rate, Citi forecasts the dollar‑peso rate at around 3,527 by year‑end.

Ernesto Revilla, Citi’s Chief Economist for Latin America, noted that the region as a whole has shown considerable resilience. “Investors see our region as a good place with great potential – provided that economic policies become more investment‑friendly,” Revilla said. Citi also lowered its global growth forecast for 2026 from 2.9% to 2.5% but believes risks of a negative scenario have decreased as US‑Iran tensions have eased.

Analysts point out that Colombia’s economy faces multiple pressures – high inflation, elevated interest rates, and a slowing global economy – which are dampening its growth momentum. Citi also noted that if the new government can push forward fiscal and regulatory reforms to boost investment confidence, there is upside room for growth. This assessment leaves room for speculation about Colombia’s future economic policy direction.