Mercosur

• Tuesday, March 12th 2013 - 01:10 UTC

  Uruguayan political system coincide in their disappointment with Mercosur ‘in a state of lethargy’

  

  Uruguayan Vice president Danilo Astori and members of the opposition ratified the country’s increasing concern about Mercosur which is “full of obstacles and problems” and is described as “sleepy and in state of lethargy”.

• Monday, March 11th 2013 - 22:59 UTC

  “Chavism” (like Argentina’s Peronism) for a long time to come, forecasts Mujica

  

  Uruguayan president Jose Mujica compared the future of Chavism in Venezuela with that of the Argentine Justicialista Party, which had in Juan Domingo Peron and his wife Evita Peron their maximum leaders (and caudillos), and even today in the almost hegemonic political movement in Argentina.

• Monday, March 11th 2013 - 05:37 UTC

  Brazil pledges support for Venezuelan transition but takes distance from Chavez populism

  

  By leaving Venezuela before Friday’s funeral ceremony for leader Hugo Chávez, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff was once again trying to chart out a more moderate signal to investors and diplomats, plus probably avoiding Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whom contrary to her predecessor Lula da Silva, she has strongly criticized.

• Saturday, March 9th 2013 - 05:20 UTC

  Mujica tells Venezuelans that big contradictions in society are ‘not squashed but conducted’

  

  Uruguayan president Jose Mujica called for unity and responsibility in Venezuela, ‘to fight for freedom and peace’ and cautioned that big contradictions in a society are not squashed but conducted. He also called on Brazil to lead the region but warned: “not creating a new regional empire”.

• Wednesday, March 6th 2013 - 02:06 UTC

  Venezuela announces the death of President Hugo Chavez

  

  Venezuelan Vice-President Nicolás Maduro announced during a nation-wide transmission that President Hugo Chávez “has died today at 4:25pm.”

• Monday, March 4th 2013 - 05:20 UTC

  OAS mission praises Paraguay’s Electoral Court organizing 21 April elections

  

  Oscar Airas, chief of the OAS Electoral Observation and Political Accompaniment Mission in Paraguay completed his second visit to Asunción collecting information from different sources ahead of the coming general elections scheduled for April 21.

• Saturday, March 2nd 2013 - 08:36 UTC

  Mujica says Mercosur is a stalled pachyderm and needs trade accords with third parties

  

  Mercosur more than a common market is a “poor customs union” said Uruguayan president Jose Mujica adding that new discussions on the future of the group’s future should be considered but which imply the possibility of establishing new free trade agreements with third parties.

• Saturday, February 23rd 2013 - 06:31 UTC

  OAS mission promotes political dialogue in Paraguay ahead of the April 21 general election

  

  The head of the Electoral Observation and Political Accompaniment Mission of the Organization of American States (OAS) in Paraguay, the former President of Costa Rica and Nobel Peace Prize Winner, Óscar Arias begins this weekend a visit to Asuncion to promote dialogue between the different Paraguayan political and social actors, and to prepare the deployment of the Mission that will monitor the general elections of April 21.

• Thursday, February 21st 2013 - 05:27 UTC

  Mercosur begins technical meetings for new proposals on trade accord with EU

  

  Mercosur will retake next March technical discussions for a new proposal to be presented to the European Union for a trade and cooperation agreement, announced Argentine Foreign minister Hector Timerman next to his peer Antonio Patriota following bilateral talks on Wednesday in Rio do Janeiro.

• Thursday, February 21st 2013 - 04:45 UTC

  Brazilian soybean farmers oppose contract with Monsanto to end royalties’ dispute

  

  Brazilian farmer groups are opposing a contract that Monsanto the world’s biggest seed company is offering farmers to end a dispute over royalty payments on its genetically modified soybean seeds. Monsanto is trying to resolve uncertainty over its ability to collect fees on its new Intacta soybeans, which it is scheduled to start selling in Brazil during the next growing season.