Tierra del Fuego provincial authorities in the extreme south of Argentina confirmed they would not be participating Sunday in Chile’s 201 independence anniversary in protest over statements from a local mayor who referred to the Malvinas Islands as Falkland Islands.
Chile’s central bank kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged this week for the third straight month and indicated that a tight labor market may prevent it from following Brazil and cutting rates next month.
Foreign Minister Trinidad Jimenez emphasized this week the growing relevance of Spain in Latin America, where Spanish firms have made 130 billion Euros worth of investments.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said this week that he will probably have to undergo a fourth cycle of chemotherapy for cancer, but insisted that he will campaign for re-election next year “with the energy that circumstances require”.
US president Barack Obama defended his Latin American policy, praised Mexico’s resilience in the drugs war, criticized Cuban reforms as insufficient and emphasized the ‘equals-relation’ between countries in the region and Washington.
US bank JPMorgan lowered Latin America’s growth estimate for 2012 from 3.9% to 3.5% mainly because of the impact of the slower EU and US economies, even when the Latam reduction is less than in other regions of the world.
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) names Chile the most socio-economically segregated country regarding education opportunities. The annual report released this week shows that private schools receive the most funding from the government and these schools have the least socioeconomic integration.
Chilean health authorities have reported the existence of several cases of typhoid fever in western metropolitan Santiago and called on the population to adopt strict hygiene measures.
Venezuela's elections board announced the 2012 presidential vote for October 7, moving the contest up from its traditional December time frame, which some critics say gives President Hugo Chavez an edge by shortening the campaign of potential challengers.
A right-wing retired General promising a crackdown on rampant crime leads Guatemala's Sunday presidential election although he fell short of the votes needed to avoid a run-off in November.