In this South American nation stretching from lush jungles in the north to the edge of the Antarctic at its southernmost point, the country’s 45 million people are weighing a vote for change ahead of presidential elections on Sunday, Bloomberg News reported. At the heart of the decision is economic hardship that has roiled Latin America’s No. 3 economy since the middle of last year. It has hurt President Mauricio Macri, who under pressure had been pushing austerity measures to rein in debt.

At least three potential bidders have expressed an interest in buying two soy processing plants put up for sale by Brazilian grain crusher Imcopa Importação, Exportação e Indústria de Óleos SA, two sources familiar with the bidding process told Reuters. The bidders are U.S.-based Bunge Inc; CJ Selecta, owned by South Korea’s CJ Cheiljedang; and the local unit of Russia’s Sodrugestvo, according to the sources, who requested anonymity this week to discuss the confidential process, Reuters reported.

Argentina’s bondholders are braced for steep losses when the government attempts to tackle its $101bn debt burden after downbeat meetings with IMF officials and associates of Alberto Fernández, the presidential frontrunner, in Washington last week, the Financial Times reported. More than 20 bondholders met a team of IMF officials to discuss the outlook for Argentina ahead of the country’s general election this Sunday.

At least two died and dozens were injured from looting and riots this weekend in Santiago and other major Chilean cities as protests against income equality intensified and spread across the country, Bloomberg News reported. The government has declared a state of emergency in the capital and four other regions in central Chile, giving it broader powers to enact security measures like curfews, for the first time since Augusto Pinochet was dictator. President Sebastian Pinera announced Saturday night that he would suspend the hike in subway fares that initially sparked the protests.

A bankruptcy court in Paraná state has scheduled an auction to sell two plants belonging to Brazilian soy processor Imcopa International SA on Dec. 4, the company said on Friday, Reuters reported. Imcopa, one of the largest non-genetically modified soy crushers in Brazil, said the sale of the plants in the towns of Araucária and Cambé was foreseen in its reorganization plan approved by creditors in 2017. In a statement, privately owned Imcopa said the ruling was handed down on Thursday by Judge Mariana Gusso. The company declined to comment further.

The International Monetary Fund will stand by Argentina as it works through its economic crisis, Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Thursday. She added that the Fund was waiting to see the future policy framework adopted by the Latin American country, which holds an election later this month in which a change of government is widely predicted, Reuters reported.

Two weeks of protests and clashes, in which seven people were killed and 2,500 injured or arrested in the centre of Quito, have forced Ecuador’s President Lenín Moreno to rip up his economic reform plans, leaving him in a weaker position than ever before, the Financial Times reported. Faced with the demands of a $4.2bn IMF programme, the Ecuadorean leader needs to either cut government spending or raise revenue. His plan to abolish fuel subsidies, which triggered the mass protests, would have saved the state $1.3bn a year, or 1.2 per cent of gross domestic product.

Brazilian renewable energy firm Renova Energia SA has filed for bankruptcy protection, aiming to restructure a total debt of around 3.1 billion reais ($741.70 million), it said in a securities filing on Wednesday, Reuters reported. The bankruptcy filing comes two days after key shareholder Light SA sold its 17.17% stake in Renova to an investment fund for a symbolic value of 1 real, in a decision that followed failed talks to sell heavily indebted wind farm projects.

Ashmore Group Plc and Venezuela’s government may be headed for a legal battle as a potential default on the state oil company’s 2020 bonds sets off a rush to lay claim to the nation’s most prized asset abroad, Bloomberg News reported. Ashmore, which owned about half the securities as of June 30, has urged Petroleos de Venezuela to make the $913 million payment on its 2020 notes due Oct. 28, yet the team advising National Assembly President Juan Guaido claims it doesn’t have the funds, three people familiar with the matter said.

Brazilian conglomerate Odebrecht SA’s advisors plan to propose a delay in the bankruptcy plan vote by creditors, two people with knowledge of the matter said, Reuters reported. Odebrecht is likely to schedule a creditors assembly on Nov. 18 to comply with Brazilian bankruptcy protection rules, but so far there is not a concrete proposal to vote on, the sources added, asking for anonymity to disclose private discussions. Creditors presented objections to Odebrecht’s plan this month.