The Day at a Glance | April 4 2022

The Top

*The European Union is preparing to carry out new sanctions on Russia; it accuses it of war crimes in northern Ukraine.

*Ministry of Finance and Public Credit estimates growth will set above 3% in Mexico in 2022 and 2023.

*Consumer confidence logged improvement in Mexico during March (+0.4%; 43.9).

Economic environment

Ukraine accuses Russia of war crimes. The Ukrainian government accused Russia of war crimes in the norther part of the country – in regions close to the capital of Kyiv – after around 300 civilian bodies were found in the city of Bucha, northwest of the capital. The number was reported by the local government, even though it hasn’t been corroborated. News reports affirmed that between 20 and 50 bodies showed signs of having been victims of extra-judicial killings carried out by Russian troops that recently vacated the region. Ukrainian authorities said they will investigate possible war crimes, while Moscow denied the accusations and considers this a “provocation” and a “fabrication”. In light of these events, the European Union is discussing new economic sanctions on Russia, and it’s expected that the new package of sanctions could include Russian exported gas and energy. Germany confirmed that it will announce new sanctions in the following days, along with its Western allies and German Minister of Defense Christine Lambrecht urged the EU to consider implementing an embargo on Russian gas. French President Emmanuel Macron assured that there is clear evidence of war crimes in northern Ukraine and reaffirmed that new sanctions will be necessary, which could include Russian exported oil and coal. However, spokespersons for the German Ministry of Economy have warned of great consequences for the country if Russian gas is included in the sanctions, which is why it asked for caution to be used in the new measures that will be imposed against Moscow. The United Nations Security Council will discuss these events on Tuesday.