Mercosur

• Monday, May 6th 2013 - 07:36 UTC

  Paraguay supports Mexican candidate for WTO; ignores Brazilian hopeful

  

  Paraguay made public in Geneva its support for Mexico’s candidate Herminio Blanco as the next Director General of the World Trade Organization. The other hopeful who reached the final round is from Brazil, Roberto Azevedo. On Tuesday it should be known who will succeed the current head Pascal Lamy as of next September.

• Monday, May 6th 2013 - 05:30 UTC

  Ecuador to begin negotiations to join Mercosur, after reaching accord with the EU

  

  Ecuador will notify its intention of beginning negotiation to join Mercosur, while at the same time closing a trade agreement with the European Union. The announcement was made by President Rafael Correa during his regular weekly reports on radio and television.

• Monday, May 6th 2013 - 05:18 UTC

  Bolivia full incorporation to Mercosur now rests on legislative approval from other members

  

  Bolivia has completed the presentation of its Mercosur incorporation protocol, which opens the way for the parliaments of the different member-countries to begin considering and ratifying her full membership. Once completed Bolivia becomes the sixth full member next to Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela.

• Monday, May 6th 2013 - 01:49 UTC

  EU confident trade accord with Mercosur will be signed at the beginning of 2014

  

  The chairman of the European Parliament Delegation for relations with Mercosur, MEP Luis Yañez Barnuevo currently visiting Argentina and Uruguay said he was “confident the trade agreement between the Mercosur bloc and the EU will be signed at the beginning of 2014”.

• Monday, May 6th 2013 - 00:28 UTC

  Maduro visits Uruguay on his first overseas trip since becoming elected president

  

  Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro begins next Tuesday an official one visit to Uruguay when he will be meeting with head of state Jose Mujica and former president Tabare Vazquez.On Wednesday he plans to fly to Argentina and the following day, Brazil.

• Saturday, May 4th 2013 - 10:08 UTC

  Brazil furious with Cristina Fernandez non-kept promises freezes relation

  

  Brazil has virtually frozen political and economic relations with Argentina following serious discrepancies that were confirmed during the recent summit of presidents Cristina Fernandez with Dilma Rousseff who cut short the originally scheduled two-day visit to Buenos Aires.

• Saturday, May 4th 2013 - 10:03 UTC

  Uruguay admits trade and economic relations with Argentina ‘couldn’t be worse’

  

  Vice-president Danilo Astori admitted on Friday that economic-trade relations with Argentina continue to deteriorate and seriously question Mercosur and Uruguay must therefore speed the search for other alternatives.

• Wednesday, April 24th 2013 - 06:47 UTC

  Venezuela’s Maduro talks to Cartes and calls for re-establishment of relations

  

  In a surprise move Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro talked on Tuesday to Paraguay’s president-elect Horacio Cartes to congratulate him on Sunday’s election and express interest in retaking the “rhythm of bilateral relations”, which were interrupted when the removal of Fernando Lugo.

• Tuesday, April 23rd 2013 - 21:17 UTC

  Will Cartes fall prey to the past or make Paraguay part of an emerging new Latinamerica?

  

  By R. Viswanathan (*) - Horacio Cartes of the Colorado party won the presidential elections held last Sunday in Paraguay. The Colorados had ruled the country continuously for 61 years in a one-party dictatorship until 2008 when Fernando Lugo, the leftist “Bishop of the Poor” defeated the Colorado candidate and made history.

• Tuesday, April 23rd 2013 - 02:23 UTC

  Cartes pledges allegiance to Mercosur: abandoning it ‘would be utterly nonsense’

  

  President-elect Horacio Cartes said that even when some aspects of Mercosur can be improved it “would be utterly nonsense” to abandon the block since it generates many jobs in the country, attracts investment and is an opportunity to open markets.