MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, April 28th 2024 - 12:57 UTC

Latin America

  • Wednesday, January 31st 2024 - 10:19 UTC

    Latin America exports in 2023 contracted 2,2%, and prospects for this year are uncertain, IDB report

    Export performance deteriorated throughout most of the region. South America and the Caribbean were the sub regions hit hardest by the fall in commodity prices

    The value of exports from Latin America and the Caribbean contracted by 2.2% in 2023 after having grown by 17.0% in 2022, a new release from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) reports.

  • Tuesday, January 30th 2024 - 11:01 UTC

    Disqualification of María Corina Machado shadows Venezuela's path to reconciliation

    The government's suspension of Machado's candidacy, citing corruption allegations, echoes previous disqualifications in 2021 and 2014.

    The disqualification of Venezuelan opposition figure María Corina Machado from the Supreme Court Justice (TSJ) threatens the international aperture the South American country has experienced. The United States Government has issued a two-month ultimatum to the Maduro government, demanding the inclusion of barred opposition candidates in the upcoming presidential elections.

  • Tuesday, January 30th 2024 - 10:55 UTC

    Ship hits bridge affecting river traffic down Paraná waterway

    The En May set sail in October 2023 from Vietnam. The Zárate-Brazo Largo Bridge was inaugurated in 1977. It is nearly 5 kilometers long

    The Liberian-flagged freighter “En May” Sunday crashed onto one of the pillars of the Zárate-Brazo Largo bridge linking the Argentine provinces of Buenos Aires and Entre Ríos, which affected barge traffic along the Paraná River waterway, it was reported. Two tugboats were deployed to free up traffic, it was also explained.

  • Tuesday, January 30th 2024 - 10:36 UTC

    Covid 19: Sales of facemasks and alcohol gel on the rise in Argentina

    There is a considerable number of positive cases in the pediatric age group in Argentina

    Despite the ongoing economic crisis, a sharp increase in sales of facemasks (15%) and alcohol gel (10%) was reported amid a surge in Covid-19 detections, the Argentine Union of Pharmacists and Biochemists (SAFyB) said. In this scenario, federal health authorities have again recommended people update their vaccination scheme against the malady.

  • Monday, January 29th 2024 - 14:51 UTC

    Kenya led UN law and order mission to Haiti ruled 'unconstitutional'

    Kenya had been prepared to send up to 1,000 police and security personnel across the Atlantic, the first 300 of whom had been expected to arrive this month.

    The troubled island of Haiti, desperate for a multinational force to help combat rising gang violence, with over 5,000 people murdered last year, and several UN failed sponsored peace missions, has again been disappointed. The offer from the east African nation of Kenya to help with such a force has faced the country's top court ruling of 'unconstitutional'.

  • Saturday, January 27th 2024 - 10:59 UTC

    Milei: Cabinet crisis, diplomatic clash with Colombia and Argentina “closer” to dollarization

    Economy Minister Luis 'Toto' Caputo said the taxation chapter of the Omnibus Law bill was left for later and admitted he would be taking over Infrastructure after Ferraro's sacking

    While Argentine President Javier Milei said Friday that his country was closer to dollarizing its economy, Minister Luis 'Toto' Caputo announced that the taxation part of the so-called Omnibus Law bill was being spared for a later date in a move to have the legislation passed as soon as possible to achieve a zero deficit. However, the Chief of State's plans clash with other conflicts within the cabinet and also in diplomatic matters.

  • Saturday, January 27th 2024 - 10:55 UTC

    French PM says his country would not endorse EU-Mercosur deal

    President Macron “has always opposed” such an understanding, Attal explained

    French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal Friday announced his country's decision once again to oppose the free trade deal between the European Union (EU) and Mercosur amid protests from local farmers objecting to President Emmanuel Macron's latest measures affecting agrifood production.

  • Saturday, January 27th 2024 - 10:34 UTC

    Gaza crisis has repercussions in South America

    Milei attended a Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony in Buenos Aires

    Brazil's Foreign Ministry Friday issued a statement urging Israel to abide by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling and prevent the ongoing conflict in Gaza from escalating into genocide, Agencia Brasil reported. Itamaraty also called for the immediate release of all Israeli hostages in the hands of Hamas.

  • Friday, January 26th 2024 - 11:24 UTC

    Venezuela and Guyana to keep discussing Essequibo issue peacefully

    No significant progress was achieved on Thursday, although none was expected

    After more than five hours of conversations, diplomatic delegations from Venezuela and Guyana agreed on Thursday in Brasilia to discuss the dispute over the oil-rich Essequibo territory peacefully. The gathering at the Itamaraty Palace resulted from talks between Presidents Nicolás Maduro and Irfaan Ali on December 14 in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

  • Friday, January 26th 2024 - 10:56 UTC

    Covid-19: Facemasks mandatory again at Bolivian schools

    Facemasks will be mandatory for pupils, teachers, and school staff when classes resume next week

    Bolivian health authorities will be requiring school pupils to wear facemasks upon returning to classes next week as part of a set of preventive measures taken given an increase in the number of cases of Covid-19, Ministers María Renée Castro (Health) and Édgar Pary (Education) announced in La Paz.