Latin America

• Friday, May 16th 2014 - 09:37 UTC

  YPF wants to create a G10 of Latin American state oil companies CEO's

  

  Argentina's YPF CEO Miguel Galuccio proposed on Thursday in Bolivia a G10 of Latin American state owned oil corporations to strengthen their bargaining power based on their resources and development synergy.

• Friday, May 16th 2014 - 08:35 UTC

  Argentines strongly disapprove of torture, but 49% are fearful if in custody

  

  Nearly half of all Argentines say they fear suffering torture if they were detained by authorities, a figure that represents slightly more than the global average, an Amnesty International survey has revealed. The results from a series of questions on the issue show Argentina as one of the nations that most disapprove of torture among the 21 countries surveyed.

• Friday, May 16th 2014 - 06:30 UTC

  Former Escobar lover links Menem's son 1995 death with the drugs business

  

  Virginia Vallejo, former lover of Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar Gaviria, linked the death of ex president Carlos Menem’s son –Carlos Menem Jr.- with Escobar’s family money laundry in Argentina in the 90s.

• Thursday, May 15th 2014 - 07:41 UTC

  Mujica's reference to Uruguayan's work contraction triggered controversy

  

  President Mujica's speech before the US Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday had its good side, the strong references to Brazil and the fact Uruguay is a 'decent country' and 'we don't go around bribing people', but there was also another side which was controversial.

• Thursday, May 15th 2014 - 07:16 UTC

  Mujica admits Mercosur problems but praises Brazil's open market attitude

  

  In a 'dialogue without ties' at the World Bank President Jose Mujica said that Uruguay is a 'frontier country' which history did not want it to belong to any of the two big neighbors (Argentina and Brazil) so that the Atlantic ocean would not be left to an only country.

• Wednesday, May 14th 2014 - 00:24 UTC

  Cristina Fernandez ally union admits 18.8% (7 million) of Argentines are under the poverty line

  

  At least 7 million Argentines, or 18.8% of the population, currently find themselves under the poverty line, with 1.7 million (4.2%) classed as in extreme poverty or indigence, according to a new report from the Argentine Workers' Central (CTA) union headed by the Cristina Fernandez government ally Hugo Yasky.

• Tuesday, May 13th 2014 - 19:11 UTC

  Argentina and Chile presidents pledge to increase border crossings

  

  President Cristina Fernández received on Monday her Chilean counterpart Michelle Bachelet and discussed the re-launching of the Maipú Agreement -signed in 2009- to increase the links between the two countries and boost regional commerce with Asia.

• Tuesday, May 13th 2014 - 18:51 UTC

  IMF warns Latin America about changing times and calls for fiscal prudence

  

  The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has suggested that Argentina could benefit from cutting public spending destined for subsidies on energy costs, stating that such policies are “very costly and distort economic activity.”

• Tuesday, May 13th 2014 - 08:29 UTC

  Argentina satisfied “with Chile's renewed support for the Malvinas cause”

  

  Argentina's president of the Lower House, Julián Domínguez underlined the “renewed Chilean support for the Malvinas Islands cause” during an event on Monday at the Legislative Assembly which received Chilean president Michelle Bachelet in Congress.

• Tuesday, May 13th 2014 - 08:14 UTC

  Brazil seals land borders with 30.000 troops ahead of the World Cup

  

  Brazil began deploying over the weekend some 30,000 troops to secure its borders as it prepares to host the World Cup that kicks off next month. The operation involving the army, navy and air force will extend over the 16,900-kilometer frontier separating the South American giant from its 10 neighbors.