Latin America

• Tuesday, April 19th 2011 - 04:57 UTC

  Private property returns after 50 years: Cubans allowed to buy and sell their homes

  

  Cuba says it will allow people to buy and sell their homes for the first time since the communist revolution in 1959. For the past 50 years, Cubans have only been allowed to pass on their homes to their children, or to swap them through a complicated and often corrupt system.

• Tuesday, April 19th 2011 - 01:30 UTC

  US concern over growing Chile-China links, revealed by Wikileaks

  

  In 2005, with Chile negotiating a Free Trade Agreement with China, the United States became increasingly worried over China’s influence in the area, according to a confidential cable released last week by Wikileaks.

• Monday, April 18th 2011 - 07:14 UTC

  Investigation on Allende’s death gives hope to relatives of former Brazilian leader

  

  Relatives of former Brazilian president Joao Goulart who have long argued that he was the victim of the Southern Cone military government’s ‘terrorist’ operations in the seventies are encouraged by the Chilean justice decision to exhume and analyze the remains of former president Salvador Allende.

• Monday, April 18th 2011 - 06:38 UTC

  Cuba’s geriatric leadership admits it lacks a reserve of well-trained replacement

  

  Cuba will consider placing term limits on its leaders to assure new blood in the government, President Raul Castro said in a speech kicking off a Communist Party congress on the island he and his brother have led for more than five decades.

• Saturday, April 16th 2011 - 09:41 UTC

  Cuba admits food imports bill is up 25% and “miracles are running out”

  

  Cuba announced Friday that it will have to spend 25% more than its original estimates to pay the cost of food imports due to the international surge in commodity prices.

• Saturday, April 16th 2011 - 00:13 UTC

  Argentine economy forecasted to expand 8% in 2011 with inflation ranging 25%

  

  Argentina’s 2011 economic growth forecast was raised to 8% from 5% by Nomura Securities International based on a strong surge from domestic demand and rising commodity prices. Government primary spending is expected to continue since 2011 is electoral year.

• Thursday, April 14th 2011 - 19:43 UTC

  Venezuela and Argentina have the highest inflation rates in South America

  

  Venezuela and Argentina recorded the highest rates of inflation in South America during the first quarter of 2011 according to the latest data available.

• Wednesday, April 13th 2011 - 23:04 UTC

  EU, Colombia, Peru sign ambitious trade agreement; saves half a billion Euros in tariffs

  

  EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gutch together with Colombian Minister for Trade Sergio Diaz-Granados Guida and Peruvian Deputy Minister for Foreign Trade Carlos Posada Ugaz, celebrated Wednesday in Brussels the initialling of an ambitious trade agreement between the EU, Colombia and Peru.

• Wednesday, April 13th 2011 - 17:06 UTC

  Chile raises basic rate to 4.5%, but more on the pipeline says Capital Economics

  

  The Central Bank of Chile (CBC) hiked interest rates by 50bps to 4.5% on Wednesday but with the near-term outlook for growth very good and inflation likely to top 5% in Q4, further policy tightening is on the way, reports Capital Economics that estimates rates to reach 6% by year-end.

• Wednesday, April 13th 2011 - 05:06 UTC

  Arms sales down in Chile but the wealthy guard their homes with guns

  

  The number of gun owners has decreased over the past year in Chile from 5.3% to 4.9%. Yet one economic sector—the wealthiest Chileans from the socioeconomic level ABC1—continue to buy firearms at an escalating rate.