Latin America

• Wednesday, October 31st 2012 - 18:12 UTC

  Council of Europe promotes personal data protection in Latin America

  

  The Council of Europe is promoting international co-operation in the field of personal data protection, in particular by encouraging non member states to ratify the Convention for the protection of individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data, also known as Convention 108. Uruguay has started the process for its ratification and therefore may become the first non-Council of Europe member state to accede to the convention.

• Wednesday, October 31st 2012 - 06:56 UTC

  Bolivia asks Sean Penn to help lobby in the dispute with Chile over a sea outlet

  

  Bolivia asked visiting Oscar-winner Sean Penn Tuesday to help lobby for La Paz to regain a bit of Pacific coast, and escape the ranks of landlocked states. Evo Morales, the populist president of the arid nation high in the Andes, asked the US actor to help its campaign to press Chile to overhaul treaties that ended a 19th-century war that cost Bolivia its coast and gave the land to Chile.

• Wednesday, October 31st 2012 - 04:38 UTC

  Chilean municipal elections are anticipating a return of the left-wing coalition

  

  Chilean voters punished the political system with a whooping 60% abstention, and President Sebastián Piñera’s conservative bloc, in municipal elections Sunday, which could be paving the way for the comeback of the left-wing coalition in next year’s presidential ballot.

• Monday, October 29th 2012 - 14:16 UTC

  Mercosur and EU committed to continue advancing in trade and political talks

  

  The Brazilian Foreign ministry revealed in a brief release that during October discussions between Mercosur and the European Union representatives both sides “confirmed their commitment to advance negotiations to achieve a wide ranging, balanced and ambitious agreement”.

• Monday, October 29th 2012 - 13:00 UTC

  Argentina and Iran meet in Geneva to discuss 1994 deadly bombing in Buenos Aires

  

  Argentine and Iranian representatives are meeting in Geneva on Monday to discuss a 1994 bombing of a Jewish aid association in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people and injured 300 others, the Argentine Foreign Ministry said Sunday.

• Monday, October 29th 2012 - 12:26 UTC

  With the charisma of Lula da Silva, Brazilian ruling party takes control of Sao Paulo city

  

  Fernando Haddad of Brazil’s ruling Workers Party, a protégé of ex-president Lula da Silva, won Sao Paulo’s mayoral runoff election, according to official results. With 92% of ballots counted, Haddad had secured 56% to defeat his opposition rival and former presidential candidate Jose Serra of the Brazilian Social Democratic Party who received 43.9%.

• Monday, October 29th 2012 - 12:14 UTC

  Piñera and Chilean political system shocked by 60% abstention in municipal elections

  

  Chilean President Sebastian Piñera says the decision by many Chileans not to vote in Sunday's local elections is a “warning sign” that should be heeded. The polls, the first to be held since voting was made voluntary, were marked by an abstention of 60%.

• Friday, October 26th 2012 - 21:15 UTC

  Chile places 1.5bn dollar-bonds at lowest financing cost of any emerging country

  

  Chile placed 1.5 billion in dollar-denominated bonds on international markets at historic yields, giving the country the lowest borrowing cost of any emerging country, Finance Minister Felipe Larrain said on Thursday.

• Friday, October 26th 2012 - 06:48 UTC

  First voluntary vote at municipal elections in Chile; fears of a low turnout

  

  The Chilean municipal elections scheduled for Sunday 28 October are considered ‘important’ by 55% of interviews according to the primary result of a joint public opinion poll done by Mori and the Chilean Association of municipalities.

• Thursday, October 25th 2012 - 17:51 UTC

  Reflections from our visit to the Falkland Islands

  

  A group of Central American journalists recently visited the Falkland Islands for a week as guests of the Foreign Office together with Bruce Callow from the UK Costa Rica embassy. The following is a first reflection just back from the Islands in Bruce’s blog.