Latin America

• Saturday, November 24th 2012 - 15:42 UTC

  Unasur envoy leaves with “a good impression” of the Paraguay electoral process

  

  Unasur special envoy Salomon Lerner said he returns to Peru with “a good impression” of the Paraguayan electoral process and the overall situation of the country.

• Friday, November 23rd 2012 - 23:41 UTC

  ‘Business climate’ up in Latam; lack of competitiveness and skilled labour remain challenges

  

  Brazil, Bolivia and Chile had the best ‘business climate’ in Latin America during October according to the Economic Climate Index, ICE from the Brazilian think-tank Getulio Vargas Foundation, FGV.

• Friday, November 23rd 2012 - 23:20 UTC

  Mujica calls for prudence with salaries: “look at what is happening on the other side (Argentina)”

  

  Uruguayan president Jose Mujica appealed to workers and entrepreneurs to avoid an escalation of salaries and prices which leads “to all sort of fiddling” as is happening in Argentina.

• Thursday, November 22nd 2012 - 14:50 UTC

  Argentina’s outbursts backfire: Judge Griesa orders payment to holdout bond investors

  

  Argentina suffered a stinging blow late Wednesday when New York federal judge Thomas Griesa, citing threats by the country's leaders to defy his rulings in a decade-old dispute over defaulted sovereign bonds, ordered immediate payment.

• Thursday, November 22nd 2012 - 13:55 UTC

  Bolivia formally invited to join Mercosur as full member at December’s summit

  

  Bolivia was formally invited to join Mercosur as a full member for which negotiations can begin in the coming summit December 7 in Brasilia. The invitation was made official by Mercosur High Commissioner Ivan Ramalho during a visit to La Paz where the met with Foreign minister David Choquehuanca and Economy and Planning ministers Luis Arce and Viviana Caro.

• Wednesday, November 21st 2012 - 08:03 UTC

  Chile reopens market for Paraguayan beef after a twelve-month ban

  

  Chile has re-opened its market to Paraguayan beef announced on Tuesday to his peers Sixto Miranda, head of the country’s Rural Society, following a meeting with Foreign Minister Jose Fernandez Estigarribia.

• Wednesday, November 21st 2012 - 06:01 UTC

  Colombia rejects Court of Justice ruling on Caribbean islands disputed with Nicaragua

  

  Colombia rejected the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) decision on the dispute with Nicaragua which recognized Colombian sovereignty over the disputed San Andrés islands but extended Nicaragua’s maritime space surrounding the islands.

• Tuesday, November 20th 2012 - 00:51 UTC

  Peruvian ambassador expected to return to Paraguay in near future

  

  Another gap is anticipated in the diplomatic isolation ring imposed on Paraguay by Unasur and Mercosur, when as happened with Chile and Colombia, the Peruvian ambassador also returns to his post in Asuncion after several months of consultations in Lima.

• Monday, November 19th 2012 - 23:40 UTC

  Colombia forces to continue military operations despite FARC unilateral cease fire

  

  Colombian Minister of Defence Juan Carlos Pinzón said that security forces will continue with military operations in the country despite the unilateral two-month cease fire declared by the guerrilla group FARC, which becomes effective Monday 24:00 hours.

• Monday, November 19th 2012 - 12:22 UTC

  Latin America pledges support for Spain but warns austerity only deepens the crisis

  

  Latin America pledged investment opportunities for recession-hit Spanish and Portuguese companies but warned its former colonial masters drastic cost cutting would only deepen their misery.