Latin America

• Monday, March 23rd 2020 - 07:49 UTC

  Cristina Fernandez is back in Buenos Aires from Cuba with her daughter

  

  Argentine vice president Cristina Fernandez is back in Buenos Aires from Cuba with her daughter who has been under medical treatment in Havana for a year. The two immediately left for their home where they will comply with the mandatory fourteen day self isolation for any passengers arriving in Argentina from overseas because of the coronavirus pandemic.

• Saturday, March 21st 2020 - 09:30 UTC

  OAS General Assembly re-elects Luis Almagro as Secretary General

  

  The 54th Special General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS) on Friday re-elected Luis Almagro as Secretary-General and Nestor Mendez as Assistant Secretary-General of the Organization.

• Friday, March 20th 2020 - 09:47 UTC

  Brazil closing all land borders except with Uruguay, and banning entry from EU and Pacific countries

  

  Brazil on Thursday announced it was closing land borders and prohibiting entry to people from European and many Pacific Asian countries to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, as Mexico and Peru reported their first virus deaths.

• Thursday, March 19th 2020 - 08:58 UTC

  Coronavirus: Mercosur members coordinate actions and frontier movements

  

  Mercosur country members agreed on Wednesday to share information and statistics on the coronavirus evolution as part of a common strategy destined to combat the pandemic, which included facilitating the return of ex-pats and ensuring the movement of goods among the block.

• Wednesday, March 18th 2020 - 08:58 UTC

  Covid 19: Mercosur countries isolated from the world and among themselves

  

  The number of Coronavirus cases tested positive are increasing significantly, in the exponential leg of the process, in Mercosur country members and in Chile. Brazil reported the first death, a 62 year old man in Sao Paulo with a medical record of high pressure and diabetes.

• Wednesday, March 18th 2020 - 07:30 UTC

  Bolsonaro asks Congress to declare state of emergency to free federal funds from spending caps

  

  Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro said on Tuesday his second coronavirus test was negative and his government asked Congress to authorize a state of emergency that would allow it to scrap fiscal targets and free up funds to combat the virus’ spread.

• Wednesday, March 18th 2020 - 07:24 UTC

  IMF rejects Maduro's request for coronavirus aid loan: who runs Venezuela?

  

  The International Monetary Fund has quickly rejected a surprise request on Tuesday by Venezuela for an emergency US$ 5 billion loan to fight the new coronavirus, which threatens to push its already battered economy over the edge.

• Wednesday, March 18th 2020 - 06:14 UTC

  Meatpacker Marfrig has a new CEO; plans to buy back shares

  

  Brazilian meatpacker Marfrig has elected a new chief executive officer and plans to buy back up to 5.91 million of its own shares, it said in two separate securities filings.

• Tuesday, March 17th 2020 - 08:20 UTC

  Beijing furious with Vargas Llosa for saying combating the coronavirus outbreak would be different if China was a democracy

  

  China hit out on Monday at Peru's Nobel literature laureate Mario Vargas Llosa for allegedly expressing “irresponsible and prejudiced opinions” over the origins of the coronavirus pandemic.

• Tuesday, March 17th 2020 - 08:10 UTC

  Dispatch from Uruguay: “Democracy or Bureaucracy & Mediocrity”

  

  By David P. Michaels (*) - Luis-Alberto Lacalle Pou, Uruguay’s recently inaugurated President, faces one of the most significant challenges in Uruguay’s recent history.