Latin America

• Tuesday, March 12th 2013 - 00:04 UTC

  Chavez, the best friend of the Cuban people in their history, says Fidel Castro

  

  Cuba's Fidel Castro praised the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez as a champion of the poor and said Cubans had lost their best friend ever, in his first comments on the death last week of his socialist ally. Castro said the news, although not unexpected, had been a hard blow.

• Monday, March 11th 2013 - 22:59 UTC

  “Chavism” (like Argentina’s Peronism) for a long time to come, forecasts Mujica

  

  Uruguayan president Jose Mujica compared the future of Chavism in Venezuela with that of the Argentine Justicialista Party, which had in Juan Domingo Peron and his wife Evita Peron their maximum leaders (and caudillos), and even today in the almost hegemonic political movement in Argentina.

• Monday, March 11th 2013 - 21:26 UTC

  Praise for Falklands’ population tolerance and criticism for Argentina’s approach

  

  ”I came to meet a peaceful population of sheep farmers and fishing people and they were not waiting for me to support them” but they have very strong and historic links with Uruguay, said lawmaker Jose Cardoso, who is currently in the Falklands to observe the referendum on the Islanders political status and future.

• Monday, March 11th 2013 - 20:25 UTC

  Uruguayan observer in Falklands’ referendum: “voting is a human right that supports freedom of expression”

  

  “Voting is a human right and electoral observation does not validate a thing, it is a simple act of analyzing if those conditions people have proposed for the ballot event, are fully complied” said Uruguayan lawmaker Jaime Trobo currently in the Falklands for the referendum on the Islands political status and future.

• Monday, March 11th 2013 - 05:37 UTC

  Brazil pledges support for Venezuelan transition but takes distance from Chavez populism

  

  By leaving Venezuela before Friday’s funeral ceremony for leader Hugo Chávez, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff was once again trying to chart out a more moderate signal to investors and diplomats, plus probably avoiding Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whom contrary to her predecessor Lula da Silva, she has strongly criticized.

• Monday, March 11th 2013 - 05:06 UTC

  Uruguay defence minister blasts Uruguayan observers at Falklands referendum

  

  Uruguay Minister of Defence Eleuterio Fernandez Huidobro described as an “enormous shame” for the country the fact that two lawmakers from the leading opposition National party travelled to the Falklands/Malvinas to participate as observers of the Sunday/Monday referendum on the Islands political status and future.

• Sunday, March 10th 2013 - 01:52 UTC

  Venezuela announces snap presidential election for April 14

  

  Venezuela announced Saturday that it will hold a presidential election to succeed late leader Hugo Chavez on April 14 after his political heir took office. The national electoral council set the date one day after Nicolas Maduro, Chavez's handpicked successor, was sworn in as acting president in a ceremony largely boycotted by the opposition, which slammed it as unconstitutional.

• Saturday, March 9th 2013 - 05:57 UTC

  Maduro takes the oath as acting president and candidate for the coming elections

  

  Vice-President Nicolas Maduro was sworn in Friday as acting president of Venezuela in a ceremony held in the National Assembly in Caracas, three days after the death of President Hugo Chavez. He immediately asked the Electoral branch to decide on an election date.

• Saturday, March 9th 2013 - 05:30 UTC

  Iran’s Ahmadinejad received a standing ovation at Chavez emotional funeral

  

  Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Cuba's Raul Castro joined on Friday about thirty other heads of state at Hugo Chávez's funeral in an emotional farewell to the charismatic Venezuelan leader who during his fourteen years in office had a major impact on South American politics.

• Saturday, March 9th 2013 - 05:20 UTC

  Mujica tells Venezuelans that big contradictions in society are ‘not squashed but conducted’

  

  Uruguayan president Jose Mujica called for unity and responsibility in Venezuela, ‘to fight for freedom and peace’ and cautioned that big contradictions in a society are not squashed but conducted. He also called on Brazil to lead the region but warned: “not creating a new regional empire”.