Brazilian Foreign minister Antonio Patriota arrives Thursday in Ecuador for bilateral talks on trade, investment and immigration, and to attend a day later the Amazon group summit of ministers, reports Itamaraty palace.
Brazil posted a budget primary surplus of 3.5 billion Reais (1.75bn dollars) in March, recovering after a deficit in February, but still the worst performance in the first quarter of the last four years, according to central bank data released this week.
The Organization of American States (OAS) expressed concern over the acts of violence that took place on Tuesday in the National Assembly of Venezuela and noted that this reflects, in a dramatic way, the absence of a political dialogue that could reassure the public and the branches of government, in order to resolve the outstanding issues in this country in a climate of peace between all Venezuelans.
President Evo Morales expelled a US development agency from Bolivia, marking the latest confrontation between Washington and a bloc of populist governments in Latin America.
Argentina's natural gas imports rose 74% to 28.4 million cubic meters/d in March, compared with 16.3 million cu m/d in the year-earlier period, the country’s Energy Secretariat said Monday. Imports were up 16% compared with 24.5 million cu m/d in February, according to a monthly data report.
Brazil’s Petrobras is selling its 20% stake in the Gila prospect in the US Gulf of Mexico as part of its ongoing divestment program. The state-owned company said it had signed a sale and purchase agreement for the sale of its equity in exploration blocks KC 49, 50, 92, 93, 94 and 138, which make up the BP-operated asset.
Argentina expressed on Tuesday its discomfort over the unheard of attitude displayed by the UN Special Rapporteur, Gabriela Knaul, who urged the Cristina Fernández administration to reconsider the Council of Magistrates reform and injunction regulation bills.
Political tensions over Venezuela’s disputed presidential election boiled over Tuesday in the National Assembly as government and opposition lawmakers said they physically clashed.
The Chilean ruling conservative coalition finally patched up differences and decided to hold primaries for the November presidential vote next June 30. UDI, Independent Democratic Union and Chile’s largest party will support former Economy minister Pablo Longueira and RN, National Renovation, former Defence minister Andrés Allamand.
“Under the corrupt populist government of President Cristina Fernandez Argentina is back on the road to ruin” is the kick off for an extremely critical report to be discussed by the US Congress and which was drafted by Douglas Farah, senior research fellow at the International Assessment and Strategy Centre under the heading of “Back to the future”.