Latin America

• Tuesday, September 10th 2013 - 01:11 UTC

  Brazil’s 124 billionaires own 12.3% of GDP and half the population lives on 130 dollars per month

  

  The 124 richest people in Brazil hold assets totalling 544 billion Reais equivalent to 238.6bn dollars or 12.3% of the country’s GDP, which is considered one of the most unequal in the world. The 124 are included in Forbes magazine latest publication that brings together all those Brazilians with fortunes over a billion Reais (approx 438 million dollars).

• Tuesday, September 10th 2013 - 00:37 UTC

  Paraguayan president Cartes visits Cristina Fernandez in Buenos Aires

  

  Paraguayan president Horacio Cartes is expected in Buenos Aires on Tuesday, following an invitation from his Argentine peer Cristina Fernandez, which will be his first overseas bilateral trip since taking office 15 August.

• Tuesday, September 10th 2013 - 00:29 UTC

  The figure of Pinochet forty years later still divides Chile

  

  Chile's conservative government and center-left opposition held separate events on Monday in the capital Santiago to mark the 40th anniversary of the bloody coup that ushered in 17 years of harsh military rule under the late Gen. Augusto Pinochet.

• Monday, September 9th 2013 - 02:42 UTC

  Does Cristina Fernandez have time to combat the scourges of insecurity and inflation?

  

  In 2006 a year before Cristina Fernandez took office as president for the first time, Argentine public opinion was concerned with unemployment (25%) and insecurity (25%) while corruption stood at 5% and inflation 1%. However seven years later insecurity and inflation are paramount with 34% and 13%, corruption 8% and employment concern is down to 7%.

• Monday, September 9th 2013 - 02:36 UTC

  Argentina, Uruguay and Venezuela fall dramatically in WEF Competitiveness ranking

  

  The World Economic Forum Competitiveness report published last week shows Latinamerica is loosing ground in the world economy and the three countries which most plunged in the ranking in the last twelve months were: Venezuela, Argentina and Uruguay.

• Sunday, September 8th 2013 - 00:42 UTC

  Round of protest against corruption on Brazil’s Independence Day celebrations

  

  Police in Brazil used tear gas, dogs and rubber bullets to scatter protesters against corruption who tried to interrupt Saturday’s Independence Day celebrations including military parades in Rio de Janeiro, Brasilia and in dozens of other cities which led to scuffles between marchers and police.

• Sunday, September 8th 2013 - 00:35 UTC

  Santos names new cabinet; says nothing about re-election bid and admits an ‘agrarian reform’ is needed

  

  Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos named this week five new ministers to his cabinet of ‘peace and unity’ strengthen his government ahead of presidential elections next year and after heavy criticism of his handling of a protest in the farming sector that turned violent last week.

• Sunday, September 8th 2013 - 00:29 UTC

  Paraguay insists it does recognize Venezuela as a full member of Mercosur

  

  Paraguay as full member and in full exercise of that condition does not recognize Venezuela as president or full member of the group, according to a communiqué sent to all of Paraguay’s ministries and overseas representations.

• Saturday, September 7th 2013 - 17:34 UTC

  Oxford Dean of School of Government on a recruiting tour in Chile

  

  As part of the policy looking to build closer links between the UK and Chile, particularly in education, the inaugural Dean of the Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford was involved in a round of conferences and contacts in the South American country.

• Friday, September 6th 2013 - 02:25 UTC

  Malvinas/Gibraltar has ‘enormous similarities’ and Spain could vote jointly with Argentina

  

  Spain could vote jointly with Argentina resolutions on Gibraltar and the Malvinas Islands in international forums, although with some reserves, admitted Spanish Foreign minister Jose Manuel Garcia Margallo during his visit to Uruguay.