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The morning intel from across Latin America. Free.
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Bottom Line Up Front
Today’s verdict: Cali locks down for tomorrow’s presidential handover — a car-free day, a daytime dry law and cargo, fuel and drone bans — while Uruguay quietly ends its territorial tax era with a 12% levy on residents’ foreign passive income, and Brazil’s Copom cuts the Selic to 14.00%.
01
Cali handover. The inauguration is tomorrow at 3 p.m. at the Arena USC, behind an operation of more than 11,000 personnel. Cargo, fuel-container and drone restrictions start this morning, and Friday brings a city-wide ban on private cars and motorcycles plus a dry law from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
02
Uruguay’s tax shift. Residents now owe 12% on foreign interest, dividends, rents and capital gains — with a narrower 8% option via a custodian intermediary — with the first payment due in October.
03
Brazil rates. The Copom cut the Selic a quarter point to 14.00% last night; Mexico’s Banxico decides today.
What changed since yesterdayBrazil’s Copom delivered a quarter-point cut to 14.00%. Cali’s handover restrictions begin today ahead of tomorrow’s ceremony, and Uruguay’s new 12% tax on residents’ foreign passive income moves into enforcement, with the first payment due in October.
Good morning. Your LatAm expat nomad daily guide opens on Cali’s lockdown ahead of tomorrow’s handover, Uruguay’s new foreign-income tax, and Brazil’s rate cut.
Colombia seals off its third city for a historic inauguration, Uruguay ends the territorial system that drew many foreign retirees, and Brazil’s central bank trims rates again.
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Key Points
- Cali, tomorrow. Inauguration 3 p.m. at the Arena USC; more than 11,000 security personnel; Batalla de Boyacá holiday.
- Restrictions. Car-free day Friday 7 a.m.–8 p.m. (free MIO transit); dry law 6 a.m.–8 p.m.; cargo, fuel-container and drone bans from this morning to Saturday.
- Uruguay. A 12% tax now applies to residents’ foreign passive income; first payment due in October.
- Brazil. The Copom cut the Selic to 14.00%.
- Mexico. Banxico decides today, with a hold at 6.50% expected.
- FX. Most-recent close; the Brazilian real near 5.12, the Colombian peso near 3,179.
00Status Changes Since Yesterday
| Colombia handover | Two days out | Restrictions begin; ceremony tomorrow | Aug 7, 3 p.m., Arena USC |
| Uruguay tax | Not covered | 12% on foreign passive income in force | First payment October 2026 |
| Brazil rates | Copom decision due | Selic cut to 14.00% | Guidance shapes the real |
| Chile reform | Cleared Congress | Awaiting vetoes and court ruling | Constitutional Court on tax stability |
| Medellín culture | Feria’s final stretch | Silleteros weekend ahead | Parade Aug 9 |
01Visas & Residency
| Uruguay | Under the 2025 budget law and Decree 95/026, Uruguay now taxes residents’ foreign passive income — interest, dividends, rents from property abroad and capital gains on foreign assets — at 12%, reducible to 8% in certain withholding cases. Income counts from January 1, 2026, and the first payment falls due in October. | A material change for retirees and investors: foreign dividends, interest, rents and gains are now in scope. Wages for work performed outside Uruguay generally stay untaxed. Check your position with a Uruguayan adviser. |
| Colombia | Cali is locked down for tomorrow’s inauguration: a car-free day Friday 7 a.m.–8 p.m., a dry law 6 a.m.–8 p.m., fuel-container and heavy-cargo restrictions from this morning until Saturday midday, a drone ban across Cali and neighbouring municipalities, road controls and hospitals on yellow alert. | No change to your status, but if you are in Cali or the Valle, leave the car at home Friday (MIO transit is free), plan around the alcohol window and road closures, and expect packed hotels and possible demonstrations. |
| Chile | The Kast tax reform cleared Congress on August 4 but is not fully promulgated: three presidential vetoes and a Constitutional Court challenge to the tax-stability guarantee remain. | Nothing changes for arriving remote workers: the three-year foreign-income exemption, the absence of a wealth tax and the US treaty all stand. Older homeowners would gain a first-home property-tax break once it takes effect. |
| Peru | Migraciones continues its enforcement build-out — a biometric carné piloting for foreign minors, thousands of police control operations and e-gates already running at Lima’s airport. | Nothing at the border for compliant residents; keep your carné and status current as identity checks tighten. |
| Mexico | Remote workers use the Residente Temporal, which needs about US$4,400 a month in income or roughly US$74,000 in savings in 2026. | Budget for the solvency test; it carries a four-year path to permanent residency. |
02Cost of Living & Money
These are the most-recent closing rates against the dollar. Uruguay’s new 12% tax on residents’ foreign passive income is the week’s biggest change for retirees, and a recent guide compares what each nomad visa costs across the region.
| Brazilian real | 5.12 | little changed |
| Mexican peso | 17.31 | firm |
| Colombian peso | 3,179 | firmer into the handover |
| Chilean peso | 910 | peso firmer |
| Peruvian sol | 3.39 | steady |
| Argentine peso | 1,485 | official; blue ~1,515 |
| Uruguayan peso | 40.20 | firm |
Brazil’s Copom cut the Selic by a quarter point to 14.00% last night, its latest step in a careful easing cycle. Mexico’s Banxico decides today, with a hold at 6.50% widely expected, and the US jobs report lands tomorrow; our week-ahead markets guide has the full calendar.
| 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
Tomorrow. Colombia’s presidential inauguration in a locked-down Cali (3 p.m., Arena USC), on the Batalla de Boyacá national holiday.
This weekend. Medellín’s Feria de las Flores peaks with Sunday’s Desfile de Silleteros, and Cali rolls straight into the Festival Petronio Álvarez, the Pacific’s great Afro-Colombian music gathering. Our week-ahead roundup has the region’s full diary.
04Art & Culture
Medellín’s Feria de las Flores runs through August 9, closing with its Desfile de Silleteros, and Cali’s Petronio Álvarez festival follows immediately after the handover, running to August 17. Further ahead, Buenos Aires opens a Frida Kahlo exhibition in September, bringing her personal objects from the Casa Azul to South America for the first time.
Mexico City settles into its winter concert season, and the southern-cone cities keep their theatre and music programmes.
05Food & Coffee
Cali’s dry law runs from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, 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. Cali’s restrictions start today: heavy-cargo and fuel-container limits from 8 a.m. until Saturday midday, and a drone ban covering Cali, Palmira, Jamundí, Yumbo and Candelaria. Friday brings a car-free day from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. (private cars, motorcycles and electric vehicles, with a fine around COP 633,200, roughly US$199) and a dry law from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., with road controls at the city entrances, hospitals on yellow alert and peaceful protests called by the opposition (details here).
Peru. Migraciones reports around 542,000 foreigners hold a valid carné, with roughly half a million estimated to have expired stay or residence — the backdrop to firmer identity checks.
Mexico. Cities are calm; the coast’s sargassum is the main seasonal disruptor.
07What to Watch — August 6–12
Thu Aug 6Mexico’s Banxico rate decision; Cali’s cargo, fuel and drone restrictions begin; FIL Lima closes.
Fri Aug 7Colombia’s presidential inauguration in Cali (3 p.m., Arena USC); car-free day and dry law; Batalla de Boyacá holiday; US jobs report.
Sun Aug 9Medellín’s Desfile de Silleteros; Cali’s Festival Petronio Álvarez opens.
OctoberUruguay’s first payment on the new 12% foreign passive-income tax.
AheadChile’s presidential vetoes and the Constitutional Court ruling on tax stability.
Frequently Asked Questions
What restrictions are in force in Cali this week?
Friday brings a car-free day from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. covering private cars, motorcycles and electric vehicles, with free MIO transit, and a dry law banning alcohol sales from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Carrying petrol in containers and heavy-cargo, debris and moving-truck movements are restricted from this morning until Saturday midday, private drones are banned over Cali and neighbouring municipalities through Saturday, and road controls apply at the city entrances.
What is Uruguay’s new tax on foreign income?
Uruguay now taxes tax residents’ foreign passive income — interest, dividends, rents from property abroad and capital gains on foreign assets — at 12%, reducible to 8% in certain withholding cases. Income counts from January 1, 2026, and the first payment falls due in October 2026.
Does Uruguay’s change affect digital nomads?
Wages for work performed outside Uruguay generally remain untaxed, so the change bites hardest on retirees and investors with foreign dividends, interest, rents or capital gains. Confirm your position with a Uruguayan tax adviser.
What did Brazil’s Copom decide?
It cut the Selic by a quarter point to 14.00%, continuing a cautious easing cycle. Mexico’s Banxico decides today, with a hold at 6.50% widely expected.
What are the latest exchange rates?
At the most-recent close the dollar bought roughly 5.12 Brazilian reais, 17.31 Mexican pesos, 3,179 Colombian pesos and 3.39 Peruvian soles. Argentina’s blue dollar sits near 1,515.
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