Latin America

• Friday, April 4th 2014 - 05:01 UTC

  Chile assesses extent of earthquake damage; police and military ensure order

  

  Coastal residents of Chile’s far north spent a second sleepless night outside their homes as major aftershocks continued Thursday following a magnitude-8.2 earthquake that damaged several thousand homes and caused six deaths. But no new major damage or casualties were reported, and a heavy police and military presence kept order.

• Friday, April 4th 2014 - 04:35 UTC

  Uruguayan government feels it can tame inflation based on March's index

  

  Inflation in Uruguay during March reached 0.58% accumulating 4.74% in the first quarter and 9.73% in the last twelve months, which is seen as 'positive' and an indication that recent measures to contain prices are 'being successful', according to Economy minister Mario Bergara.

• Thursday, April 3rd 2014 - 07:25 UTC

  Argentina's YPF sells one billion dollars in 10-year bonds at 8.75% rate

  

  Argentina’s nationalized oil and gas producer, YPF, sold 1 billion dollars in a bond sale on Tuesday, the company said in a statement. The 10-year bonds will pay 8.75% interest and were five times oversubscribed, YPF said. The U.S. dollar-denominated securities were issued under Argentine law and was considered a great success by the company.

• Thursday, April 3rd 2014 - 07:03 UTC

  Maduro takes his case to a New York Times column: “a call for peace”

  

  Venezuela: A Call for Peace - By Nicolás Maduro, President of Venezuela - The recent protests in Venezuela have made international headlines. Much of the foreign media coverage has distorted the reality of my country and the facts surrounding the events.

• Thursday, April 3rd 2014 - 06:58 UTC

  Powerful 7.8 magnitude aftershock hits Chile's far north and south Peru

  

  A powerful 7.8-magnitude aftershock hit Chile's far-northern coast on Wednwsday, shaking the same area where a magnitude-8.2 earthquake hit just a day before causing some damage and six deaths.

• Wednesday, April 2nd 2014 - 08:23 UTC

  Venezuelan opposition lawmaker and supporters cleared from square with tear gas

  

  Venezuelan troops dispersed opposition demonstrators with tear gas on Tuesday and blocked anti-government activist Maria Corina Machado, recently stripped of her seat in the National Assembly, from reaching the legislature.

• Wednesday, April 2nd 2014 - 07:20 UTC

  Earthquake in Chile kills five; north of the country with no power or water

  

  A strong 8.2-magnitude earthquake has struck off the northwestern coast of Chile, killing at least five people and setting off a small tsunami that prompted evacuations along the country's Pacific coast. Chilean Interior minister Rodrigo Peñalillo confirmed that five people had died, “four are men and a woman in Iquique and Alto Hospicio, caused by heart attack and crushing”.

• Tuesday, April 1st 2014 - 04:06 UTC

  Bachelet sends corporate tax bill to Congress; first step for education reform

  

  President Michelle Bachelet sent Chile's Congress a bill on Monday that would raise corporate taxes to fund a sweeping overhaul of the country's education system. The proposed reform aims to raise 8.2 billion dollars to fund tuition-free public universities, a demand that fueled massive student protests under Bachelet's conservative predecessor Sebastian Piñera.

• Monday, March 31st 2014 - 23:20 UTC

  Brazil remembers the 50th anniversary of the coup that led to 21 years of military rule

  

  President Dilma Rousseff remembered on Monday, 31 March, those who died or disappeared fighting for the return of democracy in Brazil on the fifitieth anniversary of the miltiary coup of 1964, which lasted until 1985 and had full political support from the United States, at the time under president Lyndon Johnson.

• Monday, March 31st 2014 - 19:42 UTC

  Uruguay and Peru in line for a possible upgrading, according to Moody's

  

  Uruguay and Peru are the first Latin American countries in line for a possible credit rating hike by Moody's Investors Service, at a moment when sovereign upgrades are expected to become more scarce in the region, a senior analyst with the ratings firm said.