Latin America

• Tuesday, July 9th 2013 - 01:50 UTC

  Paraguay not interested in Mercosur if Venezuela holds the chair, says top official

  

  Paraguay called for practical sense from its Mercosur partners Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay to try and overcome the current impasse which could lead to a rift if Venezuela occupies the chair of the group at this week’s summit in Montevideo. Paraguay does not recognize Venezuela’s full membership because it was decided in its absence.

• Monday, July 8th 2013 - 07:11 UTC

  Opinion polls are not enthusiastic about Cristina Fernandez ahead of October mid-term election

  

  Five weeks ahead of primaries and three months away from mid term congressional election, public opinion polls indicate that President Cristina Fernandez could be heading to a serious defeat, particularly in the province of Buenos Aires, which with 37% of the national vote is decisive for any victory pretension.

• Monday, July 8th 2013 - 07:06 UTC

  Teamsters bring Argentina to a stop and challenge fiscal policy and income tax

  

  Argentina’s teamsters union headed by the powerful leader Hugo Moyano, a former ally of the government and currently one of her most aggressive adversaries, has declared a national strike on Monday which in practical terms means the country is in full campaign ahead of the mid term October election when President Cristina Fernandez will try by all means to retain control over Congress.

• Monday, July 8th 2013 - 06:46 UTC

  Over a third of Argentine population in poverty conditions says food and nutrition report

  

  At least 17.8% of the Argentine population lives in indigence conditions, taking as reference a ‘Healthy Food Basket’ which estimates family monthly needs in 3.700 Pesos which is more that five times the official stats office Indec reference sum of 730 Pesos.

• Monday, July 8th 2013 - 04:13 UTC

  Brazil demands an explanation from the US regarding electronic surveillance of its citizens and companies

  

  Brazil will demand an explanation from the United States over reports its citizens' electronic communications have been under surveillance by US spy agencies for at least a decade, foreign minister Antonio Patriota said on Sunday.

• Saturday, July 6th 2013 - 07:16 UTC

  Venezuela and Nicaragua prepared to offer ‘humanitarian asylum’ to Snowden

  

  Presidents Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua and Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela said Friday they were willing to grant asylum to NSA leaker Edward Snowden. The NSA whistleblower has asked for asylum in several countries, including Nicaragua and Venezuela.

• Saturday, July 6th 2013 - 07:01 UTC

  H1N1 influenza virus outbreak in north Chile; government considering decreeing ‘health alert’

  

  Eleven people have died from the H1N1 influenza virus in northern Chile in an outbreak that the health minister raised the possibility of decreeing a health alert to restrict people's mobility.

• Friday, July 5th 2013 - 23:52 UTC

  Brazil cuts spending determined to ensure 2.3% primary surplus, pledges Mantega

  

  Brazil announced on Friday it will immediately cut government spending by 6.65 billion dollars to balance the budget and achieve the goal of a primary fiscal surplus of 2.3% of GDP. The decision is seen as a strong signal to recover investors’ confidence following weeks of turmoil and poor performance of the economy.

• Friday, July 5th 2013 - 23:41 UTC

  Bachelet and Longueira will dispute the Chilean presidency next November

  

  Chilean president Sebastián Piñera congratulated former president Michelle Bachelet and ex Economy minister Pablo Longeuira who emerged as winners in the two main coalition’ primaries held last Sunday, the first time such an event takes place in the country.

• Friday, July 5th 2013 - 23:35 UTC

  Brazil’s growth refuses to take off, despite all of government incentives

  

  Brazil’s industrial output fell 2% in May after jumping a revised 1.9% in April, the national statistics agency announced this week in Rio de Janeiro. The fall was greater than forecasted but still was 1.4% above a year ago. However as the government or President Dilma Rousseff struggles to fight inflation, the latest data complicates the strategy to prop growth.