Latin America

• Wednesday, September 15th 2010 - 00:27 UTC

  Ending the commodities ‘curse’

  

  By Augusto de la Torre (*) - In 1672, Potosí, Bolivia, was one of the largest and richest cities in the world. Located at the base of Cerro Rico, Potosi was a hotbed of Spanish silver mining, the operations of which were so prolific; a Potosi became synonymous for great riches.

• Tuesday, September 14th 2010 - 23:37 UTC

  Former Chilean leader Bachelet named to top UN job for gender equality

  

  United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced Tuesday the appointment of Chilean former president Michelle Bachelet as the Under-Secretary-General for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women).

• Tuesday, September 14th 2010 - 23:22 UTC

  Chile’s Bicentennial naval review to be the largest in the country’s history

  

  Many of the celebrations planned for Chile’s bicentennial are meant to mimic the centennial celebrations, such as President Sebastián Pinera’s recreation of a dinner with foreign ambassadors in Chile.

• Tuesday, September 14th 2010 - 00:46 UTC

  Cuba with unions support announces elimination of 500.000 jobs to boost economy

  

  The Cuban government will cut more than 500,000 state jobs by March as part of a plan to reduce inefficiencies, the country’s largest union said in a statement. The reductions are part of President Raúl Castro’s goal of eliminating 1 million state jobs by 2015, according to the statement.

• Monday, September 13th 2010 - 18:26 UTC

  Protest intensifies in support of Mapuches held under law from Pinochet time

  

  Four Chilean deputies were forcefully removed last week from a jail where hunger striking indigenous Mapuche prisoners are being held. The deputies had announced they too would join the strike.

• Monday, September 13th 2010 - 04:11 UTC

  New Colombian president to redouble military offensive against guerrillas

  

  Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos announced he would “redouble” the military's offensive against Marxist-inspired, drugs financed FARC guerrillas after several attacks killed 40 police and military officers.

• Monday, September 13th 2010 - 03:47 UTC

  Goldberg ratifies Fidel: “The Cuban model doesn't even work for us anymore”

  

  The US journalist Jeffrey Goldberg from The Atlantic magazine ratified his version of the interview with Fidel Castro, when he confessed that the Cuban model is no longer working, not even in the island, in spite of the Cuban leader attempt to amend his words.

• Sunday, September 12th 2010 - 07:29 UTC

  A view from The Economist: ‘US and Latin America, nobody’s backyard’

  

  Under the heading of “The United States and Latin America: Nobody’s backyard”, The Economist publishes one of its leading articles, supported by special pieces dedicated to the region’s potentialities, recent successes and shortcomings, mainly triumphalism and complacency.

• Sunday, September 12th 2010 - 07:12 UTC

  Two million people have visited Chile’s pavilion at the Shanghai Expo

  

  Lu Hongxiang from Xin Xiang, China was recently the 2 millionth visitor at the Chilean pavilion at the Shanghai Expo that runs from May 1 to Oct 31, 2010.

• Sunday, September 12th 2010 - 07:06 UTC

  Salmon industry in Magallanes planning to boost output to 80.000 tons by 2020

  

  Magallanes region in the extreme south of Chile should see farmed-salmon production jump from 6.000 tons to 80.000 tons in a decade, according to Drago Covacich, general manager of Nova Austral.