Brazil is demanding that ousted Honduran president Manuel Zelaya be reinstated before the scheduled presidential election of November 29th, according to government sources quoted in the Sao Paulo and Brasilia press.
Brazil’s all powerful Sao Paulo Federation of Industries, FIESP, said it is willing to yield positions so a free trade agreement can be reached with the European Union but also suggested Brazil should leave Mercosur aside.
Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo put an end Wednesday to rumors circulating the capital Asuncion about a possible coup by replacing all top military commanders. The announcement came from the armed forces themselves, not the president's office.
Magallanes Region, in the extreme south of Chile, economic performance from 2004 to 2008 has been one of the worst of the country according to the regional report from Chile’s Central Bank. The region experienced in the period a 1.3% GDP contraction, the only negative result of all Chilean regions.
Colombian opposition groups have reacted angrily after details of a controversial military deal with the US were made public.
Argentina’s Economy Minister Amado Boudou travels to Scotland Thursday where he will participate in a meeting with his G-20 counterparts. Boudou is also scheduled to meet with International Monetary Fund (IMF) head Dominique Strauss-Kahn.
Argentina has accused Brazil of not keeping to agreed “self regulated” bilateral trade understandings originally destined as an umbrella for Argentine industry, and instead has resorted to customs barriers which are delaying or impeding exports.
Brazilian central bank President Henrique Meirelles admitted “exuberant” investors might create an asset bubble in Latinamerica’s biggest economy.
“We believe Honduran President (Manuel) Zelaya should be restored to power,” State Department spokesman Ian Kelly told reporters on Wednesday, but he added that Washington was focused on implementing the whole agreement reached over the weekend and the process was “now for Hondurans to decide”.
Brazil's foreign reserves totaled 232.9 billion US dollars at the end of October, up from 224.2 billion at the end of September. In the first ten months of 2009, reserves were up 26.1 billion. Reserves ended last year at 206.8 billion.