Latin America

• Tuesday, April 12th 2016 - 09:00 UTC

  Don’t Blame Panama. Tax Evasion Is a Global Problem.

  

  By Juan Carlos Varela (*) - The following was published by The New York Times in The Opinion Pages. DESPITE their name, the Panama Papers are not mainly about Panama. They are not even primarily concerned with Panamanian companies. The more than 11 million documents, illegally hacked and released last week relating to previously undisclosed “offshore” corporations, is roiling the world with revelations of the vulnerability for rampant abuse of legal financial structures by the wealthy.

• Tuesday, April 12th 2016 - 07:25 UTC

  OAS calls for deep reforms in Peruvian electoral system, following Sundays vote

  

  The OAS Electoral Observation Mission (EOM/OAS) to the general elections in Peru presented on Monday its preliminary technical report on Sunday’s general election, in which it recommends a deep electoral reform, including the system of disqualification of candidates.

• Monday, April 11th 2016 - 06:31 UTC

  Keiko Fujimori wins first presidential round in Peru, but polls anticipate she could lose the run-off

  

  Fujimori, the conservative daughter of jailed former president Alberto Fujimori, won the first round of Peru's presidential election on Sunday but she will likely face center-right economist Pedro Pablo Kuczynski in a tight run-off. Exit polls and early official results showed Fujimori with close to 40% support, falling well short of the 50% needed for an outright victory.

• Monday, April 11th 2016 - 06:05 UTC

  ECLAC anticipates minus 1.9% contraction in economic activity this year in South America

  

  Latin America and the Caribbean are forecast to have an average economic activity contraction of -0.6% during 2016, according to the latest release from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). This new estimate reflects that the contraction experienced by regional Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2015 (-0.5%) will extend to the current year.

• Saturday, April 9th 2016 - 21:42 UTC

  Keiko Fujimori poised to win Peru's first round presidential election, but opposition to her has climbed to 51%

  

  Keiko Fujimori is poised to win the first round of Peru's presidential election on Sunday, but with insufficient votes to avoid a second round on June 5, according to the latest survey with data collected on April 6. The Ipso poll showed Keiko with 37.7% of valid votes, and a double digit lead over each of her nine rivals.

• Friday, April 8th 2016 - 07:28 UTC

  Uruguay in Brussels to begin a crucial round of Mercosur/EU negotiations

  

  Uruguay Foreign Minister Rodolfo Nin Novoa is scheduled to begin this Friday in Brussels what is believed to be the last round of talks with the European Union to reach a wide ranging cooperation and trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union.

• Saturday, April 2nd 2016 - 08:47 UTC

  Peru presidential election next 10 April with no clear winner

  Veronika Mendoza, a 35-year-old leftist presidential contender in Peru who is promising a new constitution to weaken the country's business elite jumped 5 percentage points in a poll and was seen as statistically tied at second with investor-favourite Pedro Pablo Kuczynski.

• Friday, April 1st 2016 - 07:44 UTC

  UK at Chile's Air and Space Fair offering a significant range of defense products

  

  Partnership, disaster relief, industrial cooperation and innovation are the main UK themes as UK companies exhibit a range of world beating defense capabilities at Chile's FIDAE 2016, some attending for the first time, others as a result of having exhibited at a successful FIDAE 2014.

• Thursday, March 31st 2016 - 06:37 UTC

  Three mega-cruise vessels with 14.000 passengers coincide at St. Kitts and Nevis

  

  Three mega luxury cruise liners – Oasis of the Seas, Navigator of the Seas, and Costa Favalosa coincides this week with close to 14,000 passengers at the Caribbean islands of St. Kitts and Nevis and, along with them, hopes of increased business for locals. The capital Basseterre and its environs were bustling with string-band musicians, taxi-drivers competing for tours, tourists soaking up the sun, restaurants and stores full of visitors, and vendors busily plying their trade.

• Tuesday, March 29th 2016 - 06:57 UTC

  Argentina pulling out of Venezuela's sponsored Telesur TV network

  

  Argentina's government is pulling out from its involvement in the Spanish-language TV network that was started by the late Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez, saying the broadcaster blocks alternative viewpoints.