Latin America

• Thursday, December 27th 2012 - 19:49 UTC

  Maduro with more power on economic affairs; devaluation of the Bolivar in the agenda

  

  Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez delegated certain responsibilities in economic affairs to Vice-President Nicolas Maduro including the right to authorize debt sales and seize assets. The announcement comes at a moment when significant economic decisions must be taken following the profligate spending leading to last October’s election.

• Thursday, December 27th 2012 - 05:45 UTC

  Venezuela opposition leader says Chavez not obliged to take the oath 10 January

  

  The Venezuelan government and opposition coincide that it is possible to postpone the oath taking ceremony of President Hugo Chavez, which according to the constitution should take place on 10 January, if the re-elected leader is still in Cuba recovering from his fourth cancer operation.

• Thursday, December 27th 2012 - 05:31 UTC

  Unasur observers will attend Paraguay election scheduled for next April

  

  Representatives from Unasur confirmed that they will be present to follow the April 2013 general elections in Paraguay, reported the spokesperson for the country’s Superior Electoral Justice Tribunal, TSJE.

• Wednesday, December 26th 2012 - 07:30 UTC

  Good year ahead for Mexico while investors feel frustrated with ‘Brazil cost’

  

  Brazil and Mexico, Latin America’s two largest economies could be facing a 2013 of contrasting performance and prospects. Brazil has been hit by weakening Chinese demand for commodities, while rival Mexico, the new darling of foreign investors, is posting increasingly strong growth. The figures speak for themselves.

• Wednesday, December 26th 2012 - 05:54 UTC

  Ecuador’s Correa prepares for re-election: increases minimum salary 9%

  

  Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa announced a 9% increase in the minimum wage for private-sector workers for 2013, a move that may help consolidate his February re-election bid that polls broadly show him favoured to win.

• Sunday, December 23rd 2012 - 07:03 UTC

  Merry Christmas from MercoPress

  

  MercoPress wishes a happy holiday season to all its readers and sponsors!

• Saturday, December 22nd 2012 - 22:22 UTC

  Preaching resentment and confrontation led to extended rioting in Argentina, says leading political analyst

  

  Argentina has lost its limits and references, and this was dramatically expressed these last few days says Joaquin Morales Solá, one of the country’s most respected political analysts, when the looting and rioting extended from Resistencia to the north next to Paraguay, to Bariloche in Patagonia.

• Friday, December 21st 2012 - 22:39 UTC

  Looting extends in Argentina: two people shot dead, dozens injured in clashes with police

  

  A rash of looting and ransacking of supermarkets in Argentine major cities and several provinces left two people killed, dozens injured and hundreds arrested. The looting and vandalizing of supermarkets began in the Patagonian resort of Bariloche on Thursday and seemingly triggered a knock-on effect across different provinces, as similar incidents began to arise in Buenos Aires, Santa Fe, Entre Ríos and Chaco provinces.

• Friday, December 21st 2012 - 04:21 UTC

  Chavez January 10 inauguration could be delayed, suggests top Bolivarian official

  

  For the first time a government official in Venezuela has raised the possibility that Hugo Chavez's January 10 inauguration could be delayed as the president struggles to recover from his latest cancer surgery in Cuba.

• Thursday, December 20th 2012 - 05:33 UTC

  Ecuador Central bank governor resigns admitting he has no Economics degree

  

  Ecuador's central bank president, Pedro Delgado, resigned on Wednesday after admitting that he did not hold a university degree in economics.