Latin America

• Monday, August 8th 2011 - 20:45 UTC

  Chile’s protests for education reform trigger acrimonious political debate

  

  Following one of the most violent marches yet in the citizens’ movement for education reform, Chilean former and current government officials are sounding off against President Sebastián Piñera’s administration and its handling of the ongoing demands for national education reform.

• Monday, August 8th 2011 - 20:10 UTC

  Colombia forces change strategy and will attack terrorists with small scale units

  

  Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos vowed to develop better strategies in the war on the Marxist oriented drugs funded guerrillas who still manage regular small attacks despite being at their weakest in decades.

• Monday, August 8th 2011 - 04:48 UTC

  Chilean Patagonia districts in ‘agriculture emergency’ because of snow storms

  

  Four districts in the Chilean extreme south region of Magallanes were declared in “agricultural emergency” given the harmful effects of snow storms in the area.

• Saturday, August 6th 2011 - 08:47 UTC

  Unasur central bankers anticipate moderation in the region’s growth

  

  Unasur (Union of South American Nations) central bankers meeting on Friday to discuss global financial turbulence saw heightened risks and a moderation in the region's growth, they said in a joint statement published by Chile's central bank.

• Saturday, August 6th 2011 - 08:41 UTC

  Canadian PM will visit Brazil, Colombia and Central America

  

  Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper will visit Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica and Honduras from August 8 to 12 to promote trade and investments, reinforce democratic governance and advance common security, according to a release from the PM’s office.

• Saturday, August 6th 2011 - 08:21 UTC

  Unasur ready for potential balance of payments deficit caused by the North’s crisis

  

  The Union of South American nations (Unasur), meeting in Peru Friday the region is well-positioned to withstand a sharper global downturn but want to insulate their economies further from a crisis of confidence they blame on Europe and the United States.

• Friday, August 5th 2011 - 08:14 UTC

  Unasur Finance ministers meet in Peru to address the glut of US dollars

  

  Unasur Finance ministers struggling to stop economic harm from several years of US dollar decline will seek to agree on a coordinated response when they meet Friday in Lima.

• Friday, August 5th 2011 - 08:01 UTC

  Chaos in Chile’s main cities as police clash with protesting students: 550 arrests

  

  More than 550 people were arrested and 31 wounded in cities across Chile Thursday when police fired water cannons and tear gas to disperse student protesters calling for education reforms.

• Friday, August 5th 2011 - 07:39 UTC

  Latam markets suffer some of their worst losses since 2009

  

  Latin America’s main stock exchanges suffered strong losses on Thursday much in line with plunging world markets and reflecting contagion of growing uncertainties that the fragile global recovery is again on the verge of a recession.

• Thursday, August 4th 2011 - 19:48 UTC

  Chilean students and teachers defy ban and take to the streets to protest

  

  Protests carried out by students and teachers were suppressed Thursday by the Chilean police as over a dozen of roadblocks were set across Chile’s capital Santiago defying the government’s prohibition. Police suppressed demonstrators with tear gas and water.