Latin America

• Thursday, May 3rd 2018 - 08:29 UTC

  Dominican Republic drops Taiwan and establishes relations with Beijing

  

  The Dominican Republic and China announced on Tuesday they were establishing diplomatic relations as the Caribbean country became the latest nation to dump Taiwan, leaving it with just 19 diplomatic allies around the globe. Taipei said it was “deeply upset” at the decision, which it blamed on “dollar diplomacy”. The move deepens the island's international isolation while its giant neighbor flexes its economic and political might on the global stage.

• Monday, April 30th 2018 - 09:00 UTC

  Massive peaceful turnout in Nicaragua, with a month mediation of the Church

  

  Thousands of Nicaraguans marched peacefully through the capital Managua on Saturday in a mass demonstration to demand justice following the violent suppression of a wave of protests that left at least 43 people dead. During the rally, which was called by the Catholic church, Managua's bishop issued a deadline of one month to see if there was a serious intention to achieve change through a national dialogue aimed at resolving issues that triggered the country's worst unrest in 11 years.

• Friday, April 27th 2018 - 13:34 UTC

  The Washington Post: The political rot in Nicaragua

  

  Nicaragua is a volcanic nation, geologically and politically. Forty years ago, seemingly out of nowhere, a series of popular eruptions shook the entrenched regime of Anastasio Somoza, who fell from power on 19 July, 1979. Today, one of the revolutionary architects of that dictator’s ouster, Sandinista party chief Daniel Ortega, rules the country of 6.1 million as high-handedly and corruptly as Somoza ever did.

• Friday, April 27th 2018 - 08:20 UTC

  Chile's Lan cabin workers union return to work after 17 days of strike

  

  The union of cabin workers for LAN Express, a subsidiary of Chile-based LATAM Airlines group, unilaterally said on Thursday that they would revert back to previous working conditions after 17 days of strike that had led to the cancellation of 2,000 flights.

• Wednesday, April 25th 2018 - 15:17 UTC

  Repression and protests in Nicaragua do not mitigate: Daniel Ortega as Nicolás Maduro?

  

  “Ortega and Somoza are the same thing” protesters in Nicaragua yelled last week against the government of Daniel Ortega, after the announcement of a Social Security's reform that unleashed a wave of protests marked by repression and excessive use of force by the authorities. Human rights organizations have announced that at least 30 people have died in the demonstrations, including students, police and a journalist. This surprise wave of civil protests suggests comparing the crisis in the Central American country with the lived in the Venezuela of Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro for years.

• Tuesday, April 24th 2018 - 23:21 UTC

  Falklands: “Commercial and cultural office” in Stanley to promote Argentina, suggests ex diplomat

  

  The Falklands population is crucial for any solution to the Argentine claim over the Islands given their overwhelming support from British public opinion (and political system), and its full integration with the 53-nation Commonwealth, according to Argentine ex diplomat Jorge Lidio Viñuela, considered an expert and militant on the issue of South Atlantic insular claims.

• Monday, April 23rd 2018 - 09:52 UTC

  Ruling party wins election in Paraguay, but with surprise performance of the opposition

  

  Paraguay's Mario Abdo Benitez, “Marito”, who represents the country's long-dominant Colorado Party, was elected as president on Sunday, landing the top job in the country with the smallest economy in Mercosur. The US-educated son of a senior aide to the country's late dictator, Abdo Benitez won slightly more than 46% of the vote, with his centrist opponent Efrain Alegre taking almost 43% in a race that was far closer than expected.

• Monday, April 23rd 2018 - 09:49 UTC

  Nicaragua's Ortega cancels social security reform following riots and death of 26 killed by police

  

  Nicaragua's president on Sunday withdrew changes to the social security system that had triggered several days of deadly protests and looting. President Daniel Ortega said in a message to the nation late Sunday that the National Social Security Institute's board of directors had canceled the changes that were implemented April 16.

• Monday, April 23rd 2018 - 09:08 UTC

  EU and Mexico reach new trade agreement: tariff cuts for European cheese and pork

  

  The European Union and Mexico reached an agreement on Saturday on a new free trade deal, a coup for both parties in the face of increased protectionism from the United States under President Donald Trump. Since its plans for a trade alliance with the United States were frozen after Trump's election victory, the EU has focused instead on trying to champion open markets and seal accords with other like-minded countries.

• Saturday, April 21st 2018 - 06:31 UTC

  Unasur under pressure: six nations, including Brazil and Argentina, suspend their memberships

  

  Half of the nations belonging to Unasur, a South American bloc set up a decade ago to counter U.S. sway in the region, have decided to suspend their membership, a Brazilian official announced on Friday.