Latin America

• Saturday, November 3rd 2012 - 03:44 UTC

  Peru considers rescuing debt to cool inflow of capital and currency appreciation

  

  Peru is considering the anticipated cancelling of public debt to drain ‘dollars’ from the market and impede the sustained appreciation of the local currency, Sol, said Economy minister Luis Castilla. This would be the first step for a new liabilities management approach to extend in time the maturing of Peruvian bonds and other debt papers.

• Thursday, November 1st 2012 - 07:00 UTC

  Mexican president-elect pledges a tax reform bill in his first year in office

  

  Mexico's president-elect, Enrique Peña Nieto, will present a tax reform bill during his first year in office, his top aide said on Tuesday, without providing any details on the plan.

• Wednesday, October 31st 2012 - 20:12 UTC

  Mercosur members, except Paraguay, de-listed from EU import preference scheme

  

  The European Union issued on Wednesday its revised import preference scheme - known as the Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) - for developing countries most in need which will take effect from 1 January 2014, revealing that all Mercosur full members, except for Paraguay, will no longer benefit.

• Wednesday, October 31st 2012 - 18:12 UTC

  Council of Europe promotes personal data protection in Latin America

  

  The Council of Europe is promoting international co-operation in the field of personal data protection, in particular by encouraging non member states to ratify the Convention for the protection of individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data, also known as Convention 108. Uruguay has started the process for its ratification and therefore may become the first non-Council of Europe member state to accede to the convention.

• Wednesday, October 31st 2012 - 06:56 UTC

  Bolivia asks Sean Penn to help lobby in the dispute with Chile over a sea outlet

  

  Bolivia asked visiting Oscar-winner Sean Penn Tuesday to help lobby for La Paz to regain a bit of Pacific coast, and escape the ranks of landlocked states. Evo Morales, the populist president of the arid nation high in the Andes, asked the US actor to help its campaign to press Chile to overhaul treaties that ended a 19th-century war that cost Bolivia its coast and gave the land to Chile.

• Wednesday, October 31st 2012 - 04:38 UTC

  Chilean municipal elections are anticipating a return of the left-wing coalition

  

  Chilean voters punished the political system with a whooping 60% abstention, and President Sebastián Piñera’s conservative bloc, in municipal elections Sunday, which could be paving the way for the comeback of the left-wing coalition in next year’s presidential ballot.

• Monday, October 29th 2012 - 14:16 UTC

  Mercosur and EU committed to continue advancing in trade and political talks

  

  The Brazilian Foreign ministry revealed in a brief release that during October discussions between Mercosur and the European Union representatives both sides “confirmed their commitment to advance negotiations to achieve a wide ranging, balanced and ambitious agreement”.

• Monday, October 29th 2012 - 13:00 UTC

  Argentina and Iran meet in Geneva to discuss 1994 deadly bombing in Buenos Aires

  

  Argentine and Iranian representatives are meeting in Geneva on Monday to discuss a 1994 bombing of a Jewish aid association in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people and injured 300 others, the Argentine Foreign Ministry said Sunday.

• Monday, October 29th 2012 - 12:26 UTC

  With the charisma of Lula da Silva, Brazilian ruling party takes control of Sao Paulo city

  

  Fernando Haddad of Brazil’s ruling Workers Party, a protégé of ex-president Lula da Silva, won Sao Paulo’s mayoral runoff election, according to official results. With 92% of ballots counted, Haddad had secured 56% to defeat his opposition rival and former presidential candidate Jose Serra of the Brazilian Social Democratic Party who received 43.9%.

• Monday, October 29th 2012 - 12:14 UTC

  Piñera and Chilean political system shocked by 60% abstention in municipal elections

  

  Chilean President Sebastian Piñera says the decision by many Chileans not to vote in Sunday's local elections is a “warning sign” that should be heeded. The polls, the first to be held since voting was made voluntary, were marked by an abstention of 60%.