By The Rio Times | Created at 2026-08-10 09:11:49 | Updated at 2026-08-10 09:35:38
30 minutes ago
The Short Version
In short: Your LatAm expat and nomad daily guide for Monday, August 10. Colombia’s new government has moved from speeches to signed decrees, the Colombian peso has just finished a violent round trip that left it roughly where it started, and three inflation prints land between Tuesday and Thursday.
01
Colombia gets a government on paper. Six decrees went out on 7 August, numbers 1133 to 1138. Decree 1136 named all eighteen ministers, and the spending freeze has now reached the ministries: Interior has suspended new contracting and limited hiring until 20 August.
02
The peso’s round trip. The official TRM was 3,132.42 on 31 July, spiked to 3,230.44 on 4 August and sits at 3,157.43 today. Anyone who converted at the wrong moment last week paid for the handover.
03
Inflation week. Brazil’s IPCA lands Tuesday, US CPI Wednesday and Argentina’s INDEC print Thursday. If you earn in dollars and spend in reais or pesos, this is the week that matters.
What changed since FridayColombia’s transition stopped being ceremonial: ministers are appointed by decree, the austerity order is filtering into individual ministries, and a Council of Ministers is scheduled for La Guajira on Thursday. The peso gave back most of its handover-week move. Nothing changed on visas or residency anywhere in the region over the weekend.
Good morning. Your LatAm expat nomad daily guide opens on a Colombian government that now exists on paper as well as in speeches, a currency that went nowhere the hard way, and a calendar stacked with inflation data.
One-stop reference
Company Intelligence
Every listed company in Latin America — financials, ownership and structure for 1,450+ companies across 26 exchanges, in one place.
00 The LatAm Expat Nomad Daily Guide Status Board
| Colombia government | Sworn in, wealth tax promised | Eighteen ministers named by decree; spending freeze reaches ministries | Council of Ministers in La Guajira, Thursday |
| Colombian peso | TRM set at 3,157.43 | Same TRM in force through today | New TRM Tuesday |
| Brazil inflation | IPCA-15 had undershot at +0.06% | Focus survey | IPCA for July, Tuesday 9 a.m. |
| US rates | Payrolls fell 23,000 | Quiet | July CPI, Wednesday 8:30 a.m. New York |
| Argentina | Blue at 1,525 | CCL gap near 4% | INDEC inflation, Thursday 4 p.m. |
| Brazil weather | Wind alert for Rio and São Paulo | Coastal wind alert to midnight; frost in the south | Low humidity warnings in the centre-west |
01 Visas & Residency
| Region-wide | Nothing. No visa, residency, fee or appointment rule changed anywhere in Latin America over the weekend. | The rules that bound you on Friday bind you today. We say this plainly rather than padding the section, because a quiet weekend is itself useful information when you are planning a filing. |
| Colombia | The wealth tax is still a speech. No bill has been filed and no decree touching it has appeared in the Diario Oficial. | If you are weighing whether to let the 183-day clock run out, nothing has changed legally. What has changed is the direction of travel, and the government now has its full cabinet in place to draft with. |
| Argentina | Decree 681/2026, in force since 31 July, remains the live change. It adds hate speech, incitement to violence and offences against national symbols as grounds to refuse entry or cancel residency. | This one is already being applied at the border. If you hold Argentine residency, it is the rule most likely to affect you this month. |
| Mexico | The INM fee schedule that took effect on 1 January is unchanged: about MXN 11,141 (roughly US$650) for a one-year temporary residency and MXN 12,988 (roughly US$758) for permanent. | The promised 50 percent reduction mechanism still has no published eligibility criteria. Budget at the full rate. |
Rio Times · Live Market Intelligence
Brazil — Live Market Board
B3 · São Paulo
Aug 10, 2026 · 06:07
Ibovespa · benchmark
172,513.42
-1.73%
L 172,131day rangeH 176,117
+26.36% over 12 months
Market breadth · 15 names
7% advancing
1 ▲ advancing14 declining ▼
Currencies, rates & key inputs
Sector heatmap · average move today
Consumer Disc.
+5.06%
AZZA3
Industrials
-0.74%
WEGE3, RENT3
Consumer Staples
-1.15%
ABEV3
Financials
-2.13%
ITUB4, BBDC4, BBAS3, B3SA3
Mining
-2.16%
VALE3, CSNA3, GGBR4
Energy
-2.49%
PETR4, PRIO3
Latin America scoreboard
IndexLastTodayStrength
IbovespaBrazil
172,513.42
-1.73%
S&P/BMV IPCMexico
66,938.64
+0.82%
S&P IPSAChile
11,256.28
-0.17%
S&P MERVALArgentina
3,086,785
-0.45%
MSCI COLCAPColombia
2,350.44
+0.00%
BVL S&P PerúPeru
59,143.04
+0.74%
Full instrument board
| IBOV | 172,513.42 | -1.73% | +26.36% | 175,546.36 | 176,117 | 172,131 | — |
| USD/BRL | 5.08 | +0.03% | -6.86% | 5.08 | 5.08 | 5.08 | — |
| SELIC | 14.00% | — | — | — | — | — | |
| PETR4 | 40.87 | -2.99% | +25.64% | 42.13 | 42.96 | 40.83 | 97,847,200 |
| VALE3 | 74.97 | -0.56% | +38.42% | 75.39 | 76.13 | 74.52 | 13,030,300 |
| ITUB4 | 40.75 | -2.58% | +14.12% | 41.83 | 42.13 | 40.50 | 25,565,300 |
| BBDC4 | 17.31 | -2.20% | +9.63% | 17.70 | 17.82 | 17.25 | 26,491,400 |
| BBAS3 | 20.06 | -1.08% | +6.08% | 20.28 | 20.40 | 19.95 | 17,294,800 |
| B3SA3 | 14.95 | -2.67% | +15.80% | 15.36 | 15.50 | 14.84 | 26,675,300 |
| ABEV3 | 15.48 | -1.15% | +23.44% | 15.66 | 15.68 | 15.45 | 23,671,000 |
| WEGE3 | 48.12 | -0.58% | +23.38% | 48.40 | 48.40 | 47.66 | 6,864,400 |
| PRIO3 | 57.45 | -1.98% | +44.89% | 58.61 | 58.93 | 57.35 | 5,807,900 |
| SUZB3 | 41.70 | -0.64% | -22.98% | 41.97 | 42.04 | 41.14 | 4,188,200 |
| RENT3 | 37.82 | -0.89% | +6.09% | 38.16 | 39.00 | 36.30 | 17,240,400 |
| AZZA3 | 17.01 | +5.06% | -55.33% | 16.19 | 17.25 | 15.43 | 6,330,800 |
| CSNA3 | 4.57 | -3.59% | -37.48% | 4.74 | 4.76 | 4.47 | 11,198,200 |
| GGBR4 | 25.05 | -2.34% | +54.63% | 25.65 | 25.71 | 24.79 | 6,068,900 |
| ENEV3 | 26.18 | -1.58% | +88.48% | 26.60 | 26.69 | 25.95 | 5,533,200 |
Largest moves today
AZZA3
17.01
+5.06%
CSNA3
4.57
-3.59%
PETR4
40.87
-2.99%
B3SA3
14.95
-2.67%
ITUB4
40.75
-2.58%
GGBR4
25.05
-2.34%
BBDC4
17.31
-2.20%
PRIO3
57.45
-1.98%
The session read
The Ibovespa eased 1.73%, with breadth negative — 1 of 15 names higher. Consumer Disc. led, while Energy lagged.
From The Rio Times
Related coverage · 10 Aug 2026
Brazil Import Tax Pause Faces 8 September Expiry
Read →
02 Cost of Living & Money
The Colombian peso is the story. The official TRM in force today is 3,157.43 to the dollar, covering 7 to 10 August because of the Boyacá holiday and the weekend. That looks like a strong peso until you look at the fortnight: 3,132.42 on 31 July, then 3,230.44 on 4 August as the handover approached, and back to 3,157.43 now. Over ten days the peso is fractionally weaker, not stronger. The move in between was worth about three percent, which on a US$3,000 monthly transfer is roughly US$90 depending on which day you pressed the button.
| Colombia (COP) | 3,157.43 | Official TRM, in force 7–10 August. Down from 3,230.44 on 4 August, up from 3,132.42 on 31 July. |
| Brazil (BRL) | 5.0902 | Central bank PTAX, Friday close. |
| Mexico (MXN) | 17.16 | Friday reference rate. The peso firmed about 1.25 percent on the week. |
| Chile (CLP) | 911.77 | Dólar observado published for today. The peso has firmed about 1.4 percent since 31 July. |
| Peru (PEN) | 3.374 / 3.391 | SUNAT rate for today. The dollar closed Friday at S/3.378, its lowest in four months. |
| Argentina (ARS) | 1,470 / 1,520 retail | Banco Nación. Blue 1,505 / 1,525, CCL about 1,579, wholesale 1,498.50. |
| Uruguay (UYU) | about 40.30 | Indicative interbank. We could not reach the central bank rate this morning and are flagging it rather than printing a figure we cannot source. |
One practical note for anyone holding dollars in Colombia: the TRM is set in advance and holds through the weekend, so the rate you see quoted today was fixed on Thursday. If the peso moves on Monday trading, you will not see it in the official rate until Tuesday.
03 What’s On
| Festival de Música del Pacífico Petronio Álvarez, 30th edition — main programme | 12–17 August | Unidad Deportiva Alberto Galindo, Cali | Historically free; we could not open an official 2026 ticketing page, so check before you travel |
| Soda Stereo, “Ecos” tour | 10, 11, 12, 14 and 15 August | Movistar Arena, Buenos Aires | Ticketed |
| Verdi’s Otello, new production | 14–25 August | Teatro Colón, Buenos Aires | Ticketed |
| Rubén Blades, “Fotografías” | 16 August | Buenos Aires | Ticketed |
| Argentine long weekend — Paso a la Inmortalidad del General San Martín | Observed Monday 17 August | Argentina | Banks, embassies and couriers closed |
Medellín’s Feria de las Flores closed on Sunday with the 69th Desfile de Silleteros, around 700 silleteros over a 2.4 kilometre route from the Puente Monumental de Guayaquil to La Alpujarra. If you are in Medellín this week, the city is returning to normal and hotel rates with it.
04 Art & Culture
Cali is the place to be this week. The Petronio’s main programme opens Wednesday at the Unidad Deportiva Alberto Galindo and runs to Sunday, built around the music competition, the Muestra de Expresiones Tradicionales, the Quilombo Pedagógico Germán Patiño Ossa and the Caserío Pacífico. Herencia de Timbiquí, Grupo Bahía and La Contundencia are among the named acts, out of more than 3,500 artists. This year’s theme is “La Casa Grande del Pacífico dialoga con el mundo, desde la raíz,” and a Cumbre Global Afrodiaspórica runs alongside it.
In Buenos Aires the Teatro Colón opens a new Otello on Thursday, which is the sort of thing that sells out to subscribers first and releases returns late. Worth checking the box office rather than the resale sites.
05 Community & Safety
The United States keeps Colombia at Level 3, Reconsider Travel, in an advisory dated 31 March. The Do Not Travel list covers Arauca, Cauca outside Popayán, Norte de Santander, the ten kilometre strip along the Venezuelan border, and Valle del Cauca except Cali. That carve-out matters this week: the city hosting the Petronio is specifically excluded from the harshest designation, while the department around it is not. If you are driving in rather than flying, the road matters more than the destination.
That is not abstract. Colombia’s infrastructure chamber, the CCI, warned on 9 August that violence against public works is threatening investment across the southwest, after an attack at Santander de Quilichao. In Argentina, the SMN has yellow alerts today for extreme cold, snow and wind across several provinces.
06 What to Watch — August 10–16
| Tuesday 11, 9 a.m. | IPCA for July | Brazil | The IPCA-15 came in at +0.06% against expectations near +0.20%, so a soft print would firm up rate-cut expectations and move the real. |
| Tuesday 11 | Copom minutes | Brazil | The record of the 4–5 August meeting. |
| Wednesday 12, 8:30 a.m. New York | US CPI for July | United States | The number that sets the dollar, and therefore what your dollar income is worth here. |
| Wednesday 12, 9 a.m. | Services survey (PMS) for June | Brazil | The services reading, not last week as some calendars have it. |
| Thursday 13, 4 p.m. | INDEC inflation for July | Argentina | Consultancies project 1.9 to 2.1 percent. It feeds rent indexation, pensions and UVA loans. |
| Thursday 13 | BCRP monetary programme | Peru | The rate has been at 4.25 percent for ten straight months. |
| Thursday 13 | Council of Ministers | Colombia | Held in La Guajira, the new government’s first outside Bogotá. |
| Friday 14, 9 a.m. | PNAD Contínua, second quarter | Brazil | Quarterly labour data. |
No central bank in the region decides this week. Banxico already held at 6.50 percent on 6 August and next meets on 24 September; Chile’s next meeting is 8 September; Colombia’s BanRep has no board scheduled.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Colombia’s official exchange rate today?
The TRM in force for 10 August is 3,157.43 pesos to the dollar. It covers 7 to 10 August because of the Boyacá holiday and the weekend, and it was fixed before the weekend, so Monday trading will not show up in the official rate until Tuesday.
Has Colombia abolished the wealth tax?
No. It remains a commitment made in the inaugural address. No bill has been filed and nothing touching it has appeared in the Diario Oficial. The government did name all eighteen ministers by decree on 7 August, so it now has the cabinet in place to draft a reform.
What economic data lands this week?
Brazil’s IPCA for July on Tuesday at 9 a.m., US CPI on Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. New York time, Brazil’s services survey the same day, and Argentina’s INDEC inflation on Thursday at 4 p.m. Peru’s central bank also decides on Thursday.
Sources: Banco de la República (TRM series via datos.gov.co); Banco Central do Brasil (PTAX); Banco Central de Chile; SUNAT; Banco Nación Argentina; IBGE calendar; US Bureau of Labor Statistics; INDEC; Banco de México; Diario Oficial de Colombia; Portafolio; INMET; Servicio Meteorológico Nacional; US Department of State.
