Latin America

• Thursday, May 21st 2009 - 11:24 UTC

  Mexican economy contracts 8.2% in first quarter

  

  Mexico’s economy shrank a record 8.2% in the first quarter, --the most since the 1995 Tequila Crisis--, battered by the global financial crisis and the outbreak of swine flu. Mexican Finance minister Agustin Carstens admitted GDP may shrink as much as 5.5% this year.

• Thursday, May 21st 2009 - 11:14 UTC

  Oil-export fuelled Venezuela feeling the shortage of hard currency

  

  Venezuela's economy grew at its slowest rate in five years during the first quarter, 0.3% (year to year) and the slowest since 2003 reported the Central Bank. Compared with the previous quarter the contraction was 16.4%.

• Wednesday, May 20th 2009 - 14:55 UTC

  Soy prices set to increase because of poor crops in South America

  

  World stocks of soybeans are set to decline steeply to a five year low of around 50 million tons at the end of the season (10 million tons less than a year ago), mainly because of smaller crops in the leading exporting countries of South America, according to Oil World.

• Tuesday, May 19th 2009 - 14:44 UTC

  Re-election, “bad symptom” for democracy in Latinamerica

  

  Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez intention to hold on to office is a “bad symptom” which is spreading to the rest of Latinamerica claimed Cesar Perez Vivas, opposition governor from the Venezuelan state of Tachira.

• Tuesday, May 19th 2009 - 14:42 UTC

  IMF anticipates Latinamerica will recover before developed countries

  

  Although Latinamerica is well prepared to confront the international economic crisis, the economies of the region will suffer on average a contraction of 1.5% this year, said the International Monetary Fund main advisor for the hemisphere Miguela Sabastano.

• Tuesday, May 19th 2009 - 08:26 UTC

  Colombian Defence minister ready to run for presidency, if Uribe quits

  

  Juan Manuel Santos resigned Monday from his position as Colombian Defence minister, a move aimed at insuring the presidency will remain in the hands of the government of President Alvaro Uribe.

• Monday, May 18th 2009 - 08:30 UTC

  Thousands of Guatemalans demand resignation of President Colom

  

  Thousands of Guatemalans have marched through the capital to demand the resignation of President Alvaro Colom over the killing of a lawyer. Before his death lawyer Rodrigo Rosenberg recorded a video saying that if he was found dead the President and his aides would be responsible.

• Sunday, May 17th 2009 - 13:26 UTC

  Peru army to quell Amazon protests

  

  The government “authorises for 30 days the intervention of the armed forces to ensure the continued functioning of essential services in select districts” of the Amazon rainforest region, a statement from the ministry of defence said on Saturday.

• Sunday, May 17th 2009 - 13:06 UTC

  Chavez promises to combat the “terrorist” press of Venezuela

  

  Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez anticipated that the “terrorist” media of his country will face the full consequences of the law for their insistence in allegedly manipulating, misleading or fabricating the president’s statements.

• Sunday, May 17th 2009 - 12:58 UTC

  To school for reading classes with Karl Marx and Che Guevara

  

  Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez approved last week a list of books for schools to educate young people on Socialist ideology and the Bolivarian revolution, reported the Caracas press.