Latin America

• Monday, January 7th 2013 - 13:03 UTC

  Piñera after political consensus to declare state of emergency in Mapuche territory

  

  President Sebastián Piñera is considering declaring the state of emergency in the Araucanía region, in southern Chile, where six arson attacks which cost the lives of two people took place since Friday, Interior Minister Andrés Chadwick said.

• Saturday, January 5th 2013 - 05:59 UTC

  Lowering the price of power, Uruguay ends 2012 with an inflation of 7.48%

  

  Consumer prices in Uruguay ended the year at 7.48% after recording the lowest December percentage in forty years: a negative 0.73%. However analysts and consultants anticipate that inflation in the first quarter of 2013 will remain above an annualized 8%.

• Saturday, January 5th 2013 - 05:41 UTC

  Blackouts and agriculture collapse forecasted in drought stricken north-east Brazil

  

  North-east Brazil is suffering its worst drought in decades, threatening hydro-power supplies in an area prone to blackouts and potentially slowing economic growth in one of the country's emerging agricultural frontiers.

• Saturday, January 5th 2013 - 05:35 UTC

  Maduro practically admits Chavez won’t be in Caracas for the January 10 oath

  

  Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez' formal swearing-in for a new six-year term scheduled for January 10 can be postponed if he is unable to attend due to his struggle to recover from cancer surgery, his vice-president said on Friday.

• Friday, January 4th 2013 - 23:23 UTC

  Pure adrenaline: world’s most extreme 15-day competition takes off in Lima

  

  Competitors are putting the final touches to their motorcycles, quad bikes, cars and trucks ahead of the start of one of the world’s most extreme races. The Dakar Rally returns once again to South America, beginning in Lima, capital of Peru on Saturday January 5, before making its way to Santiago de Chile for a grand finale outside La Moneda on January 20.

• Friday, January 4th 2013 - 22:15 UTC

  EU expects to advance trade talks with Mercosur late this month in Chile

  

  The European Union expects to advance cooperation and trade discussions with Mercosur late this month in Chile in the sidelines of the EU/Celac (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States), said EU ambassador in Chile, Rafael Dochao Moreno.

• Thursday, January 3rd 2013 - 21:40 UTC

  Swiss organization says 141 journalists were killed in 2012

  

  A record number of journalists, 141 in 29 different countries, were killed globally in 2012, according to data of the Swiss-based Press Emblem Campaign (PEC), which fights for the protection of journalists. At least 28 of them were killed in Latinamerica.

• Thursday, January 3rd 2013 - 21:34 UTC

  German Bolivarian ideologue anticipates ‘dual succession’ in Venezuela

  

  German sociologist Heinz Dietrich considered one of the ideologues of “XXI century Socialism” which was adopted by the Bolivarian movement, said in an interview with the Brazilian newspaper O Estado de Sao Paulo that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is not returning to office

• Thursday, January 3rd 2013 - 20:24 UTC

  Opinion polls anticipate a windfall re-election vote for Correa in Ecuador

  

  President Rafael Correa has 60.6% of vote intention ahead of the February Executive and Legislative elections, which virtually ensures his re-election. He is followed by runner up and banker Guillermo Lasso with only 11.2% according to the latest public opinion poll release from Perfiles de Opinion.

• Thursday, January 3rd 2013 - 20:18 UTC

  Unprecedented: Ecuador’s Correa on a month’s leave to campaign for re-election

  

  Ecuador's Congress voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to grant President Rafael Correa a month-long leave of absence while he campaigns to be the first Ecuadorean leader in more than a century to hold the presidency for more than a single term.