Latin America

• Saturday, July 22nd 2017 - 22:17 UTC

  Growing significance of trade with Latin America for India

  

  (*)By R. Viswanathan - For those who think that Latin America is too far and cost of freight is too high and therefore the region should be less important for India’s trade, here is the eye opener from the 2016-17 (April-March) statistics of the Commerce Ministry of India.

• Saturday, July 22nd 2017 - 08:39 UTC

  Venezuelan situation overshadows Mercosur presidential summit

  

  The members of Mercosur trade bloc called for an end to violence in Venezuela in a joint statement on Friday. However again opinions were divided: while Brazil and Argentina sponsored a more explicit warning to President Nicolas Maduro and his regime, Uruguay had it redrafted in a more conciliatory tone and Paraguay finally came out with a compromise option.

• Friday, July 21st 2017 - 09:10 UTC

  OAS summit in Peru will address democratic governance and corruption

  

  The Organization of American States (OAS) and the Government of Peru signed the agreement on preparations for the Eighth Summit of the Americas, which will bring together all heads of state and government of the Hemisphere in April 2018, in Lima.

• Thursday, July 20th 2017 - 21:19 UTC

  Ecuador steps down from OPEC's agreement to cut output: need of fiscal funds

  

  Ecuador will not honor the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ (OPEC) agreement to cut oil output, Ecuador’s Oil Minister Carlos Perez said this week. The country, one of OPEC’s 14 member countries, is rethinking its commitment to drop oil production to 522,000 barrels a day.

• Wednesday, July 19th 2017 - 15:16 UTC

  Mexico digesting major crude discoveries, delays offshore oil auctions

  

  Mexico will delay its next offshore oilfield auctions by a month, giving international bidders more time to evaluate recent major crude discoveries that highlight the potential value of the assets. A new billion-barrel find announced last week “confirms that the Mexican side of the Gulf of Mexico is very prolific,” said Juan Carlos Zepeda, Mexico’s chief oil regulator in an interview.

• Tuesday, July 18th 2017 - 05:01 UTC

  FMD outbreak in Colombia under control but origin remains inconclusive

  

  The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) reports that no further outbreaks of foot and mouth disease have been reported in Colombia, however, the investigation is ongoing.

• Friday, July 14th 2017 - 07:21 UTC

  Venezuelan bishops call for an end to the “inhuman repression” and appeal to the Armed forces

  

  Venezuelan bishops called for an end to the “inhuman repression”, urged the government of Nicolas Maduro to hold elections and to dismantle and censure pro-regime civilian armed groups and also addressed the armed forces recalling they must serve the people, not a regime.

• Wednesday, July 12th 2017 - 20:25 UTC

  Prosecutor is seeking jail for ex Peruvian president and wife charged with Odebrecht bribe

  

  A prosecutor in Peru is seeking up to 18 months in jail for former president Ollanta Humala and his wife Nadine Heredia to keep them from fleeing the country while money laundering charges are prepared against them, according to a request made public on Tuesday.

• Tuesday, July 11th 2017 - 07:22 UTC

  Colombian president grants amnesty to FARC 3.600 members, as part of the peace deal

  

  Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos has signed a decree granting amnesty to another 3,600 members of the Farc rebel group, which last year reached a peace deal with the government. It is the third and final amnesty decree signed by Santos.

• Monday, July 10th 2017 - 06:54 UTC

  Brazilian political system admits “hollowed out” president Temer could soon be removed

  

  Congressional support for Brazilian President Michel Temer is weakening, lawmakers said, days before the lower house is expected to vote on whether he should stand trial on a corruption charge. Temer, whose conservative government’s approval rating is languishing in single digits, is clinging to power after being charged with arranging to take millions of dollars in bribes, the first sitting Brazilian president to face such criminal proceedings.