Uruguay and Brazil presidents, scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting next 21 May in Brasilia will be addressing Mercosur issues, and advancing in the proposal that will allow the group's members to sign bilateral agreements with third parties not belonging to the region, thus avoiding the 'consensus' clause clamp.
Brazil's consumer price inflation slowed in April, but not enough to prevent the 12-month rate from remaining well above the central bank's target. The consumer-price index, IPCA, rose 0.71% in April, compared with a rise of 1.32% in March, the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, or IBGE, said in its latest release.
China's central bank announced Sunday it would cut interest rates by 25 basis points as authorities seek to boost the flagging economy following a raft of data indicating a slowdown. The benchmark one-year lending rate would be reduced to 5.1% and the deposit rate to 2.25% from Monday, the People's Bank of China (PBoC) said on its website.
Argentina's Lower Houe Impeachment Committee has a busy week ahead, with the agenda including a request to evaluate Supreme Court Justice Carlos Fayt’s 'psychophysical condition'. The committee will also treat impeachment requests against Prosecutor General Alejandra Gils Carbó, foreign minister Hector Timerman and vice-president Amado Boudou.
Chilean President Michelle Bachelet plans to announce a reshuffling of her Cabinet this Monday in a bid to restore her public image, which has been badly tarnished by corruption scandals, including one involving her son.
Venezuela will hold parliamentary elections in the last quarter of this year and the exact date will be announced soon, the head of the National Electoral Council (CNE) said on Sunday. The elected lawmakers will be inaugurated for five years on 2016.
Uruguay Sunday's department and municipal elections resulted mostly as forecasted with no major surprises, and as advanced by MP 9 May, in the capital Montevideo, with half the country's electorate, the two promising candidates have effectively been the elected mayor, Daniel Martinez and Edgardo Novick, a successful businessman and non political figure, who now becomes head of the opposition.
On Sunday May 10, Uruguay is holding county and municipal elections with 2.6 million eligible voters (out of a population of 3.3m) in an event which will be more centered on local issues and thus will not necessarily replicate the absolute majority vote of the ruling coalition in last October/November presidential and legislative election.
Some twenty private organizations representing commerce, agriculture and other activities openly supported in a Friday release Argentina's Supreme Court and Judiciary, rejecting what was described as hostile expressions from some government officials.
Economy Minister Axel Kicillof confirmed the Argentine government will be filing a complaint against speculative or 'vulture' funds for seeking to seize the accounts of the Argentine embassy in Belgium, and the Argentine mission before the EU in Brussels, adding hedge funds are the most “despicable and repugnant” of the world financial system.