Stories for May 13th 2011

Friday, May 13th 2011 - 14:53 UTC
Police with clubs is not the answer to Chile’s HidroAysén debate

Following Monday’s questionable approval of Chile’s major HidroAysén dam project - a jerry-rigged vote if there ever was one - the administration of President Sebastian Piñera turned police loose on thousands of demonstrators protesting the Patagonia dam project later that evening.
Friday, May 13th 2011 - 14:47 UTC
Capital inflow to Brazil during April falls dramatically

Brazil’s tax increase on foreign loans and debt sales to shield itself from the global currency war helped reduce by 88% the number of dollars that entered the country in April.
Friday, May 13th 2011 - 14:11 UTC
Mercosur has a surplus production of three million tons of rice

Uruguay which does not harvest transgenic rice has been consolidating as a growing European Union supplier and is a traditional provider for Mexico and Middle East countries such as Iran and Iraq.
Friday, May 13th 2011 - 14:03 UTC
Brazil tightens requirements for car imports: Argentina and Asia targeted

Brazil is tightening requirements for imports of cars in a move that sparked complaints from Argentina, its biggest supplier of the product. Imports to Brazil will need a special license that can take as long as 60 days to be approved, the Trade Ministry said in an e-mailed statement.
Friday, May 13th 2011 - 13:55 UTC
Brazilian president still recovering from pneumonia cancels trip to Paraguay

Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff cancelled on medical advice Sunday’s trip to Asunción where she was scheduled to participate in the bicentennial celebrations of Paraguay’s independence.
Friday, May 13th 2011 - 05:27 UTC
CFK warns Moyano on “blackmailing” and attacking the economic model

Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner insisted on Thursday that she “is not dying to be president again” but also sent a scathing message targeting organized labour rejecting ‘blackmailing’ and any attempts to bring down the (economic) model.
Friday, May 13th 2011 - 05:22 UTC
Correa heading for referendum victory but with a lesser margin than expected

Vote count in Ecuador showed President Rafael Correa heading for a referendum victory on Thursday after he accused electoral officials of delaying the tally in pro-government regions.
Friday, May 13th 2011 - 05:18 UTC
IMF warns Latam economic boom ‘could end in tears’ if spending is not trimmed

Latin America's economic boom could end in a “full-blown” crisis unless the region's governments properly manage the situation, the International Monetary Fund's top regional official said in an unusually stark warning to both policymakers and investors.
Friday, May 13th 2011 - 05:15 UTC
Power outage knocks out Venezuelan refinery complex, one of the world’s largest

A power fault hit Venezuela's main refinery centre on Thursday, stopping the 310,000 barrel-per-day Cardon facility and partially halting the 645,000-bpd Amuay installation, a source at state oil company PDVSA said.
Friday, May 13th 2011 - 04:55 UTC
Arctic Council reach first binding agreement for search and rescue responsibilities

The eight nation Arctic Council agreed steps on Thursday to make the region safer and promised to study ways to prevent oil spills as fast-melting ice and snow open access to rich mineral and petroleum resources.