MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, April 18th 2026 - 22:19 UTC

Investments

  • Monday, March 23rd 2026 - 01:53 UTC

    Lula and Peña agree to accelerate Itaipú treaty review

    Annex C stipulates that both countries are entitled to 50% of the energy generated, but requires whichever party does not use its full share to sell the surplus to the other at preferential rates

    The presidents of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and Paraguay, Santiago Peña, agreed on Sunday in Campo Grande to intensify negotiations over Annex C of the Itaipú treaty, the instrument that governs the financial terms and energy sales of the binational hydroelectric dam, one of the largest in the world.

  • Sunday, March 22nd 2026 - 21:32 UTC

    Peña promotes Paraguay as investment destination at meeting with Brazilian business leaders

    We met with business leaders who already invest in Paraguay and want to expand, but also with new players who see a concrete opportunity in our country,” Peña said

    Paraguay's President Santiago Peña met on Sunday in Campo Grande, the capital of Brazil's Mato Grosso do Sul state, with business leaders from the state's Federation of Industries (FIEMS) to promote investment opportunities in his country. The meeting, organized at the association's request, brought together representatives from sectors including bioenergy, food, construction and logistics.

  • Wednesday, March 18th 2026 - 11:12 UTC

    Government targets faster state processes with new economic reform package

    Oddone argued that the macroeconomic margin has already been largely exhausted and that the current bottlenecks lie in opaque price formation, slow procedures and overlapping controls

    Uruguayan President Yamandú Orsi and Economy Minister Gabriel Oddone said the government will send a competitiveness and innovation bill to Congress on May 31, focused on foreign trade, competition policy, innovation and administrative simplification. The initiative was launched alongside a call for unions, business chambers and academia to submit proposals by April 24.

  • Friday, March 13th 2026 - 01:08 UTC

    NASA sets April 1 for Artemis II, first crewed Moon mission in over 50 years

    The announcement follows several weeks of technical delays

    NASA said on Thursday that Artemis II had passed its flight readiness review and received the go-ahead to proceed toward a launch attempt on April 1, in what would be the first crewed mission around the Moon since the Apollo era. The agency said the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft are set to roll out to pad 39B on March 19 once remaining closeout work is finished.

  • Wednesday, March 11th 2026 - 14:23 UTC

    Venezuela opens mining sector to foreign capital as US authorizes Minerven gold dealings

    The move gained momentum after a visit to Caracas by U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, who arrived with more than two dozen mining and minerals companies

    Venezuela this week took another step toward opening its extractive sector to foreign capital, while the United States authorized limited transactions involving Venezuelan gold. The National Assembly approved on first reading a mining reform pushed by Delcy Rodríguez’s interim government, as Washington issued a license allowing dealings with Minerven, Venezuela’s state gold company, just days after the two countries restored diplomatic and consular relations.

  • Monday, March 9th 2026 - 01:58 UTC

    Global arms trade rose in 2021-25 as European demand surged

    Ukraine was the world’s largest arms importer in 2021-25, accounting for 9.7% of the total

    The global volume of transfers of major arms between states rose 9.2% in 2021-25 compared with 2016-20, the biggest increase since 2011-15, according to data released on Monday by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). The shift was driven above all by a sharp rise in European imports, which increased by 210% over the period and made Europe the world’s largest arms-importing region.

  • Thursday, March 5th 2026 - 17:44 UTC

    Formula 1-standard circuit proposed for Uruguay’s Punta del Este

    Maldonado mayor Damián Tort said the department draws investment because it offers “confidence, stability and clear rules,” framing the initiative as a potential driver of jobs and global visibility

    Local authorities in Uruguay’s Maldonado department are reviewing a proposal by Brazil’s Stehling Racing Team to develop a racetrack built to Formula 1 standards in the Punta del Este–Laguna del Sauce corridor, a plan still at an early stage and without any confirmation that it would translate into hosting a world championship round.

  • Saturday, February 28th 2026 - 23:16 UTC

    Chile: undersea cable dispute triggers US visa curbs, leaves Kast to decide on China Mobile project

    Kast’s transition team has complained about a lack of information during the handover. Incoming Interior Minister said the episode left Chile “under crossfire” between two key partners

    With Chile’s presidential handover set for March 11, outgoing President Gabriel Boric is closing his term amid a diplomatic dispute with the United States over a China Mobile-backed undersea fiber-optic cable project that would link Chile’s coast in the Valparaíso region to Hong Kong—an issue now landing on president-elect José Antonio Kast’s desk.

  • Tuesday, February 24th 2026 - 23:52 UTC

    Orsi and Lacalle Pou reunite at Uruguayan Air Force event marking arrival of A-29 Super Tucanos

    Orsi led the ribbon-cutting and handed part of the ribbon to Lacalle Pou, reflecting that the acquisition was launched under the previous administration. Photo: Uruguay's Defense Ministry

    Uruguayan President Yamandú Orsi and former president Luis Lacalle Pou attended an Air Force ceremony at Base Aérea No. 1 (Route 101, Canelones) for the presentation of the first A-29 Super Tucano aircraft entering service with the Uruguayan Air Force (FAU). Defence Minister Sandra Lazo and former defence minister—now senator—Javier García were also present.

  • Tuesday, February 17th 2026 - 23:37 UTC

    China showcases humanoid robots at its Spring Festival Gala with kung fu routines for a mass audience

    Organisers leaned on a familiar cultural symbol —kung fu— as a way to translate innovation into a language widely understood by domestic audiences

    China put humanoid robots front and centre at its Spring Festival Gala —the country’s biggest annual television event— featuring a choreographed martial-arts routine with traditional weapons such as swords and nunchucks, acrobatics and tightly synchronised sequences alongside human performers.