* Erdogan says he will keep battling interest rates, lira slides * Chile"s peso leads declines among Latin American currencies * Brazil government cuts GDP forecasts, raises inflation outlook By Shreyashi Sanyal Nov 17 (Reuters) - The Chilean peso weakened on Wednesday as a dollar rally slammed prices of copper after solid retail sales data from the United States spurred bets of a sooner-than-expected interest rate hike there. The MSCI"s broader EM index struggled for direction as the dollar continued to strengthen. A 1% fall in Chile"s peso led losses among Latin American currencies, dropping for the second straight session after prices for its No.1 export, copper, fell. In political news, Chile"s Senate voted against removing President Sebastian Pinera from office on Tuesday, ending an impeachment process that had successfully passed a lower house vote last week over alleged irregularities in the sale of a mining company. Chileans are now gearing up to vote in presidential elections on Sunday, in which Pinera is not a candidate. "Chile"s peso has suffered, not only at the hands of politics but also from the decision to allow residents to tap their private pension pots - selling $50 billion worth of assets," said Chris Turner, global head of markets and regional head of research for UK & CEE at ING. Most Latin American currencies were trading in a narrow range after sharp declines in the previous session, with the MSCI"s index for Latam FX edging 0.2% higher. Brazil"s real was 0.1% lower in early trading, after the country"s economy ministry cut its forecasts for GDP growth this and next year, while it raised its outlook for inflation, showing some economic deterioration on its radar. Colombia"s peso weakened 0.2%, down for the sixth straight session even as data from the previous day showed its economy grew 13.2% in the third quarter of 2021 compared with the year-earlier period, higher than analysts expectations. "We expect this strong momentum to continue in the Q4, but should moderate into 2022 both on the public expenditure side as COVID-19 programs and vaccination drives wane, and on the private side as consumer confidence curbs tied to electoral uncertainty," Citi analysts wrote in a client note. Turkey"s lira led declines among emerging market currencies after President Tayyip Erdogan upped the pressure on the central bank. The lira fell 2.8% to touch new record lows against a stronger dollar as Erdogan said he will continue his battle against interest rates "to the end", a day ahead of a central bank policy meeting at which it is expected to cut again. Erdogan has had influence over monetary policy in the past, with his frequent calls for stimulus and his rapid overhaul of the central bank"s leadership. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1512 GMT: Stock indexes Latest Daily % change MSCI Emerging Markets 1287.87 -0.21 MSCI LatAm 2126.53 -0.18 Brazil Bovespa 103837.63 -0.54 Mexico IPC 50987.96 -0.34 Chile IPSA 4304.57 -0.01 Argentina MerVal 88973.73 -0.781 Colombia COLCAP 1336.55 0.23 Currencies Latest Daily % change Brazil real 5.5014 -0.04 Mexico peso 20.6993 0.11 Chile peso 822.5 -1.37 Colombia peso 3903.28 -0.28 Peru sol 4.0004 -0.37 Argentina peso (interbank) 100.3400 -0.03 Argentina peso (parallel) 197.5 1.52