
The Chilean Executive secretary general Andres Chadwick gave full support on Monday to Foreign Affairs minister Alfredo Moreno decision of not attending the Sunday session at the OAS General Assembly in Cochabamba where Bolivian president Evo Morales called for a sovereign sea outlet for his land-locked country.

Argentine scientists developed bricks and are analyzing the possibility of making natural insecticides with the ashes from the Chilean Puyehue volcano eruption which this month a year ago covered several cities in Patagonia and caused millions of dollars losses, sources of the University that coordinates the studies announced.

Chile and Peru are best positioned in Latin America to withstand a downturn in the global economy and a drop in commodity prices, while Argentina and Venezuela are the most vulnerable to any turmoil, according to a senior official from Fitch Ratings.

Latin America is one of the few regions of the world where agriculture production can expand since it holds 42% of that potential globally, said Victor M. Villalobos Director General of the Inter American Institute for the Cooperation on Agriculture, IICA.

As anticipated in the opening speech of the 42 OAS General Assembly hosted by landlocked Bolivia, President Evo Morales put on the discussion table his country’ aspiration for an outlet to the Pacific Ocean linking it to Argentina’s sovereignty dispute with the UK over the Falklands/Malvinas Islands.

Chile’s biggest dam project involving 7 billion dollars and already delayed by protests over plans to flood 14,000 acres of Patagonia wilderness, suffered a fresh setback after one of its investors said the venture lacks political support to proceed.

Self-determination is the only solution that will lead to a permanent, peaceful solution to the Falklands’ sovereignty dispute with Argentina said Falkland Islands lawmaker Roger Edwards addressing a regional seminar of the UN Decolonization Committee in Ecuador.

OAS Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza said he expects a consensus is reached on the Falklands/Malvinas issue next week when the Organization of American States general assembly, following the lack of agreement at the last Summit of the Americas in Colombia.

Defence Minister Celso Amorim said on Wednesday Brazil’s growing need to protect its borders, the Amazon rainforest, and massive offshore oil discoveries would lead it to gradually increase defence spending by a quarter to reach roughly 2% of the country’s GDP.

Ecuadorean Minister of Foreign Affairs Ricardo Patiño called on Wednesday for an end to the remains of colonialism and specifically mentioned the Falklands/Malvinas, Puerto Rico and the US Guantanamo base in Cuba.