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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, November 24th 2024 - 22:44 UTC

Chile

  • Friday, September 15th 2017 - 07:32 UTC

    Chilean company will build new cellulose plant in the south of the country

    The new plant will allow the company to diversify its offering of forest products, the firm said in a statement. Arauco had been considering the plant for some time

    Chilean forestry company Arauco, a subsidiary of industrial conglomerate Empresas Copec SA, will invest US$185 million to build a new cellulose and textile pulp plant in the nation’s south, the company said on Thursday.

  • Thursday, September 14th 2017 - 06:20 UTC

    Piñera maintains a wide lead in polls ahead of November presidential election

    Piñera, who was president of Chile between 2010 and 2014, captured 34% of voter intentions in the survey by GfK Adimark, up from 32% last month.

    Conservative presidential candidate Sebastian Piñera is maintaining a wide lead in the polls ahead of Chile's November election, though the race to challenge him in a potential runoff is tight, according to a monthly survey. Piñera, who was president of Chile between 2010 and 2014, captured 34% of voter intentions in the survey by GfK Adimark, up from 32% last month.

  • Monday, September 11th 2017 - 06:22 UTC

    Chile creates a marine protected area around Easter Island

    In 2015, Bachelet first committed to creating the marine reserve, after lobbying from residents.

    Chilean President Michelle Bachelet officially created a 740,000-square kilometer marine reserve around remote Easter Island, a move that will protect dozens of species found nowhere else. The move follows five years of efforts by environmental organizations and the Rapa Nui people of Easter Island, famous for its extreme isolation and mysterious stone statues known as Moai.

  • Friday, September 8th 2017 - 08:42 UTC

    Chile and Argentina working on an energy, gas and power, swap deal

    “We made a proposal to Argentina and we are very close to reaching an agreement,” Rebolledo said, referring to the energy swap.

    Chile expects to close an energy swap deal with Argentina in the days ahead, Chilean Energy Minister Andres Rebolledo said in an interview Thursday. The neighboring nations are also negotiating the locations for five additional transmission line interconnection points, with an agreement expected as early as January, the minister revealed.

  • Friday, September 1st 2017 - 09:35 UTC

    Bachelet replaces top economic officials: dispute over Chilean mining policy

    Nicolás Eyzaguirre was named minister of finance, replacing Rodrigo Valdés and Jorge Rodriguez takes over from Céspedes.

    Chilean President Michelle Bachelet’s top economic officials resigned on Thursday after the cancellation of a major mining project, weakening her center-left coalition before November elections. Finance Minister Rodrigo Valdes said in a news conference some members of Bachelet’s government had not shared his sense of urgency to spur growth and attract investment to the world’s top copper producer.

  • Tuesday, August 22nd 2017 - 06:45 UTC

    Abortion under certain circumstances finally becomes legal in Chile

    Women in Chile will be allowed to seek an abortion when their life is in danger, when a fetus is unviable or when a pregnancy results from rape.

    Chilean Constitutional court on Monday ruled that a law legalizing abortion in certain cases is constitutional, a win for President Michelle Bachelet’s ruling coalition and for groups that have campaigned for years against the country’s strict ban.

  • Saturday, July 22nd 2017 - 22:58 UTC

    Mining companies considering expansion in Chile as copper price recovers

    Chile's Environmental Evaluation Service unanimously approved the project, the second largest copper mining investment under evaluation in the country

    Chilean authorities have approved a US$2.5 billion expansion of BHP Billiton's Spence copper mine, a local newspaper reported, though the company has not yet decided whether to go ahead with the project.

  • Thursday, July 20th 2017 - 20:43 UTC

    Chile closer to legalizing abortion in special cases

    President Michelle Bachelet supports the measure and has said she would sign the law, but opposition said they would appeal it before the Constitutional Tribunal

    Chilean lawmakers took a major step toward legalizing abortion in some cases on Wednesday, a dramatic development in one of Latin America’s most traditionally conservative countries. In a marathon session lasting well past midnight, the Senate voted to allow abortions when a mother’s life is in danger, when the fetus is not viable, and in cases of rape.

  • Monday, July 17th 2017 - 05:16 UTC

    Santiago de Chile covered in two inches snow blanket

    The biggest snow blanket in decades, some forty centimeters deep, had many Santiago residents making snowmen and tossing snowballs

    A rare snowfall in Santiago, Chile, left at least one person dead and caused widespread power outages Sunday. An early winter cold front brought cold temperatures to the southern and central parts of Chile, with Santiago reaching near-freezing temperatures and snow fell throughout the morning and early afternoon.

  • Saturday, July 15th 2017 - 08:12 UTC

    S&P downgrades Chile's rating, for the first time since 1990

    Falling commodities prices (copper) have severely hurt the export-dependent economy, while a number of corruption scandals have sapped confidence.

    Credit ratings agency S&P downgraded Chile's long-term foreign currency rating to 'A+' from 'AA-' on Thursday, the country's first downgrade since the 1990s, as weak business confidence and low prices for key export copper have eaten into fiscal revenues.