Latin America

• Thursday, February 25th 2010 - 04:56 UTC

  “Political intolerance” and “citizen insecurity” rampant in Venezuela says OAS

  

  Venezuela routinely violates the rights of its citizens, using the “punitive power of the state” to intimidate and punish people for their political opinions, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) said Wednesday.

• Thursday, February 25th 2010 - 01:25 UTC

  EU ready to reach trade agreements with Latinamerica by next May

  

  Spanish president Jose Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and European Commission president Jose Manuel Durao Barroso said they were confident of a successful conclusion of trade and cooperation agreements the EU is currently in the process of negotiations with Latinamerica.

• Thursday, February 25th 2010 - 01:16 UTC

  Good prospects in 2010 for Latam commodities and energy exporters

  

  A report released this week in Mexico by the inter American Development Bank, (IDB) forecasts a good year for Latinamerican countries exports of commodities and energy but a slower recovery for Central America and the Caribbean more dependent on tourism and remittances.

• Thursday, February 25th 2010 - 00:54 UTC

  Round up of Cuban dissidents following the death of political prisoner

  

  Cuban security agents detained dissidents across the country to prevent protests at the funeral of a leading dissident who died on a prison hunger strike and which has sparked international indignation. Cuban president Raul Castro said he regrets the death of Orlando Zapata and denies the rights activist had been tortured.

• Wednesday, February 24th 2010 - 07:00 UTC

  Latinamerica Economic Climate on the rise: Brazil, Uruguay, Peru lead

  

  Latinamerica’s Economic Climate Index (ECI), --developed between the German Ifo Institute from the University of Munich and Brazil’s Getulio Vargas Foundation, FGV-- increased to 5.6 points from 5.2 between October 2009 and January 2010, consolidating the trend of economic recovery in the region.

• Wednesday, February 24th 2010 - 06:49 UTC

  Venezuela facilitates travel to Mercosur and associate members’ citizens

  

  Citizens from Mercosur full members and some associate countries will be allowed to travel to Venezuela with no need of a passport, simply with their national ID, as of next Thursday announced Venezuela’s Identification and Foreigners office.

• Wednesday, February 24th 2010 - 06:46 UTC

  Officially recession is over but Mexico’s economy contracted 6.5% in 2009

  

  Mexico’s GDP shrank by 6.5% last year amid the global recession, greater than the 6.2% of 1995 but the less severe end of the range of 6.5 percent to 7.5% decline forecast by the Mexican central bank.

• Wednesday, February 24th 2010 - 06:30 UTC

  Mexico gives birth to the Community of Latinamerican and Caribbean States

  

  Latinamerican and Caribbean nations are to set up a new regional bloc of all the countries in the Americas, with the exception of the United States and Canada. The decision was formalized Tuesday at a regional summit of the so called Rio Group in the Mexican resort of Cancun.

• Wednesday, February 24th 2010 - 06:22 UTC

  New Latam block “consistent with US goals for the hemisphere”

  

  The new Latin American and Caribbean bloc planned without regional neighbours Canada and the United States are consistent with US goals for the region, a State Department spokesman said Tuesday

• Wednesday, February 24th 2010 - 06:10 UTC

  Group of Rio members to help Colombia/Venezuela diffuse tensions

  

  Latin American leaders will work to diffuse tensions between Colombia and Venezuela after presidents Alvaro Uribe and Hugo Chavez, got into a shouting match and exchange of insults at the Rio Group summit in Mexico.