Uruguayan Vice-president Danilo Astori strongly criticized the current situation in Mercosur blasting protectionist measures of both Argentina and Brazil, which together with Paraguay are full members of the block
Sunday rains and flash floods in Punta Arenas, extreme south of Chile have left an estimated 800 people homeless forcing the city to close schools while the local chapter of the National Emergency office, Onemi, raised the alarm level from orange (moderate) to red (maximum).
Bolivian President Evo Morales defended Bolivians' right to chew coca leaves, the main ingredient of cocaine, on Monday, saying it was an ancient tradition and the world's No. 3 cocaine producer was working to fight drug trafficking.
Increasing common infrastructure projects such as tunnels and border crossings between Chile and Argentina will be the main motive of this week’s presidential summit between Sebastian Piñera and Cristina Fernandez.
Argentina plans to intensify its policy of protecting the trade surplus and impeding the outflow of hard currency and this week is expected to add another one hundred tariff positions which will be submitted to an increase in import levies.
United Kingdom’s Foreign Office Minister Jeremy Browne on a two-day visit to Chile criticized what he called the “economic blockade” to the Falklands Islands by saying it “wasn’t right” and again reaffirmed the right of self determination for the Islanders.
A new round of talks between the European Union and Mercosur is scheduled to begin Monday in Brussels for a week, according to a press release from the Argentine Foreign Affairs.
Leading figures from the public, private, and academic sectors will participate in the annual meeting of the Inter American Development Bank, (IDB), In Uruguay, March 15-19, to examine issues that include the European crisis, youth employment, citizen security, culture and sports for youth development, climate change, and cooperation between Asia and Latin America.
The UK’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Jeremy Browne arrives Monday in Chile for a two day visit and has scheduled a meeting with President Sebastián Piñera. The event consequently takes place just before Argentine President Cristina Fernández official visit on March 15 and in the lead up to the 30th anniversary of the Malvinas War.
Uruguay’s minister of Foreign Affairs Luis Almagro described on Friday as ‘inadmissible” the exclusion of Cuba from the VI Summit of the Americas scheduled for next April 14/15 in Cartagena, Colombia.