Brazil's real rallied 1% as data showing inflation surged more than expected strengthened the case for a 100-basis-point interest rate hike later this month
Iron ore exporter Brazil's currency hit 3-1/2 month lows as the steel-making ingredient marked its fifth consecutive weekly decline, down 8% since last Friday
The real touched a five-month high. GDP expanded by 1.2% in the first quarter for the third quarter of growth, taking Latin America's largest economy back to its size at the end of 2019 before the pandemic.
The lower house is controlled by the president's National Regeneration Movement (MORENA), which holds just over half of the 500 seats. Recent polls project that, although MORENA could lose some seats, it is likely to retain control of the house with the help of two allied parties.
The peso weakened 1.08% to 20.8 per US dollar on Wednesday after the Senate approved the bill on Tuesday evening.
The legislation, aimed at strengthening state utility CFE, has frayed market nerves amid criticism it is essentially an "indirect expropriation" that could elbow out private sector renewable energy providers.
The peso weakened 1%, with markets also keeping an eye on manufacturing hit by a deep freeze in Texas.
The dimension of the effects at the national level can be significant for the industry, as it comes at a time when the (Mexican) economy is just starting to recover.
The currency of the world's largest copper producer Chile hit a fresh 14-month high after prices of the metal pushed back towards their multi-year highs.