Latin America

• Friday, March 23rd 2012 - 02:18 UTC

  Canada in exploratory talks with Mercosur for a trade agreement

  

  Canadian Minister of International Trade Ed Fast has concluded a two-day trade visit to Argentina, to promote the conclusion of exploratory talks towards a possible free trade agreement (FTA) with the Mercosur trade bloc.

• Friday, March 23rd 2012 - 00:41 UTC

  Dakar rally confirms next edition along the Pacific, Chile and Peru

  

  Dakar Rally’s organization confirmed that next year’s 35th edition of the world’s most famous race will also be the 5th to take place on the South American continent, which has hosted the event since 2009.

• Friday, March 23rd 2012 - 00:34 UTC

  Populism very much alive in Latam subtly converted to ‘delegative’ democracy

  

  Populism in Latinamerica has moved from the dictatorships of past decades to the so called “delegative” democracies such as those of Venezuela and Argentina, according to a group of Latam intellectuals meeting in Peru in an international seminar, “Latin America: opportunities and challenges”.

• Thursday, March 22nd 2012 - 21:23 UTC

  Peru ministers disagree and public opinion divided on HMS Montrose incident

  

  Peruvian ministers openly disagreed over the recent decision to turn back the Royal Navy’s HMS Montrose, in solidarity with Argentina and its sovereignty claims over the Falklands/Malvinas Islands.

• Wednesday, March 21st 2012 - 06:29 UTC

  Latam and Caribbean with the highest rate of homicides in the world, says IDB

  

  President of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Luis Alberto Moreno urged Latin America and Caribbean governments to learn from and replicate successful experiences in the prevention of crime and violence in the region.

• Wednesday, March 21st 2012 - 06:16 UTC

  HMS Montrose: Argentina thanks Humala; Peruvian opposition calls minister “incompetent and foolish”

  

  During a live press conference on Tuesday, Argentine President Cristina Fernández thanked “the Peruvian government and population” for their decision to leave without effect the scheduled, but controversial, visit of a British frigate “in support of the Argentine sovereignty claim over the Malvinas Islands.”

• Tuesday, March 20th 2012 - 21:51 UTC

  Peru denies President Humala coming UK visit; confirms May trip to Argentina

  

  Peruvian Foreign Affairs minister Rafael Roncagliolo denied President Ollanta Humala had accepted an invitation to visit London next month, Lima’s El Comercio reported Tuesday in the front page.

• Tuesday, March 20th 2012 - 05:05 UTC

  Mujica promises to “fight to the death” for the future of Mercosur

  

  Uruguayan president Jose Mujica promised on Monday to ‘fight to the death’ for the future of Mercosur in spite of the fact that the group’s junior members Uruguay and Paraguay are suffering the most as Argentina and Brazil implement growing hurdles to trade.

• Tuesday, March 20th 2012 - 05:02 UTC

  WB backs selective use of capital controls when faced with massive inflows

  

  The World Bank’s new Latin America chief backed selective use of capital controls when inflows were creating asset bubbles or distorting foreign exchange markets. Hasan Tuluy, the Bank’s new vice-president for Latin America and the Caribbean, said while trade protectionism should be avoided, there was space for macro prudential measures.

• Tuesday, March 20th 2012 - 04:55 UTC

  Brazil is fastest growing travel and tourism economy in Latam; 7.8% in 2012

  

  Brazil is Latin America’s fastest-growing travel and tourism economy and direct contribution to GDP is forecast to grow at 7.8% in 2012.