Latin America

• Tuesday, December 10th 2013 - 22:41 UTC

  Argentina's police strike and looting: a blend of inflation, corruption, impunity and social division

  

  The rash of looting and rioting which has spread to most of Argentina's provinces as the police went on strike or protest demanding better pay and working conditions has taken the political system by surprise, which has been slow in reacting to the gravity of the situation.

• Tuesday, December 10th 2013 - 06:11 UTC

  Argentina fears more massive protest and looting on anniversary of 2001 economy meltdown

  

  While facing the challenge of police unrest that has spread to half of the Argentine provinces the government of President Cristina Fernandez is designing a plan to counter the threat of further rioting and looting on 20 December, the anniversary of the worst day of the 2001 crisis which forced the resignation of then elected president Fernando de la Rúa and was followed by the largest sovereign debt default in Argentine history.

• Monday, December 9th 2013 - 19:04 UTC

  As protests spread, Argentine government yields to police forces demands

  

  The Argentine police crisis in demand for higher salaries and better working conditions and which prompted protests and further lootings in several provinces last week and during the weekend rapidly spread on Monday to other districts.

• Monday, December 9th 2013 - 16:57 UTC

  Election confirms Venezuelan remains split and with no reconciliation on sight

  

  Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro declared victory in municipal elections as his ruling Socialists won a majority of votes nationwide on Sunday, even though they lost to the opposition in five key cities. He also pledged to deepen his “economic offensive” to force businesses to cut prices, which was a turning point in his campaign.

• Monday, December 9th 2013 - 14:09 UTC

  Chilean presidential debate first round favors under-dog Matthei

  

  Evelyn Matthei of the right-wing Independent Democratic Union (UDI) and Michelle Bachelet of the left-leaning Socialist Party (PS) partook in their opening head-to-head presidential debate, as for the first campaign in Latin American history two women compete against each other in a presidential election second round.

• Saturday, December 7th 2013 - 20:30 UTC

  Municipal elections in Venezuela most probably will confirm deeply divided country

  

  Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro says that winning Sunday's municipal elections is essential for continuing the country's socialist revolution and honoring the legacy of the late Hugo Chavez. For opposition leader Henrique Capriles Radonski, the vote is seen as a referendum on Maduro's economic policies, which he says are destroying the country.

• Saturday, December 7th 2013 - 06:34 UTC

  Brazil says Argentina will again open the doors to bilateral trade next week

  

  Argentina will from next week open the doors for Brazilian imports held up on the border between the two nations, including footwear and motor vehicles, according to Brazilian Minister of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade Fernando Pimentel.

• Saturday, December 7th 2013 - 06:03 UTC

  Brazil inflation slows down in November to an annualized 5.77%

  

  Brazil's annual inflation cooled in November falling to 5.77%, reported the Institute of Geography and Statistics, IBGE, on Friday. The November reading was the lowest since registering 5.84% in December 2012.

• Friday, December 6th 2013 - 07:05 UTC

  Brazil's central bank expected to keep current pace of interest rate increases

  

  Brazil's central bank said its current pace of interest rate increases remains appropriate to rein in consumer prices, repeating language it used to justify previous half-percentage-point increases, according to the November 26/27 minutes released on Thursday.

• Thursday, December 5th 2013 - 18:55 UTC

  UK and Germany support small scale renewable energy project in Chile

  

  The UK is supporting and helping finance the development of a 20 million-dollar small scale renewable energy project in Chile. The project will be financed from the joint UK-Germany NAMA (Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Action) Facility and Chile's is only one in four of 47 projects worldwide that applied for this funding and reflects the quality of the Chilean application.