Mercosur

• Friday, November 30th 2012 - 22:32 UTC

  Solid Latam support for Palestine ‘observer status’ vote at the UN

  

  Latinamerican countries most of which recognize Palestine as a free and sovereign state, helped this week with their votes to elevate the status of the Palestine Authority to “non member observer” which was approved this week by an overwhelming majority of the UN General Assembly.

• Thursday, November 29th 2012 - 18:09 UTC

  OAS sends top envoy to Paraguay to prepare for April elections

  

  The Organization of American States, OAS, is sending a top electoral observation official to Paraguay to sponsor national political dialogue and make preparations for the OAS mission that will be following the electoral process leading to elections.

• Wednesday, November 28th 2012 - 16:03 UTC

  Brazil contrary to lifting suspension of Paraguay from Unasur until April

  

  Brazilian Executive special advisor on International Affairs, Marco Aurelio Garcia anticipated that at the coming summit in Lima, the Union of South American Nations, Unasur, would not lift the suspension on Paraguay which will hold until April’s election.

• Monday, November 26th 2012 - 22:57 UTC

  Bolivian plans to belong to CAN and Mercosur face several hurdles

  

  Foreign minister David Choquehuanca argued that Bolivia can become a full member of Mercosur and continue with the Community of Andean Nations, CAN, and can’t be forced to abandon a block to join another.

• Saturday, November 24th 2012 - 15:42 UTC

  Unasur envoy leaves with “a good impression” of the Paraguay electoral process

  

  Unasur special envoy Salomon Lerner said he returns to Peru with “a good impression” of the Paraguayan electoral process and the overall situation of the country.

• Saturday, November 24th 2012 - 04:25 UTC

  OAS will send more than 50 international observers to Paraguay’s election

  

  The Organization of American States (OAS) and Paraguay signed an agreement this week to send observers to the April 2013 elections. OAS contrary to Unasur and Mercosur did not describe Paraguay political events of last June as “a rupture of the democratic process” or a congressional coup and has been supportive of the country.

• Friday, November 23rd 2012 - 23:41 UTC

  ‘Business climate’ up in Latam; lack of competitiveness and skilled labour remain challenges

  

  Brazil, Bolivia and Chile had the best ‘business climate’ in Latin America during October according to the Economic Climate Index, ICE from the Brazilian think-tank Getulio Vargas Foundation, FGV.

• Friday, November 23rd 2012 - 23:20 UTC

  Mujica calls for prudence with salaries: “look at what is happening on the other side (Argentina)”

  

  Uruguayan president Jose Mujica appealed to workers and entrepreneurs to avoid an escalation of salaries and prices which leads “to all sort of fiddling” as is happening in Argentina.

• Friday, November 23rd 2012 - 13:06 UTC

  Bolivia accepts invitation to become a full member of Mercosur

  

  Bolivia accepted the official invitation to become full member of Mercosur and hopes to sign the first accords during the coming summit of the block in early December in Brasilia, said President Evo Morales.

• Friday, November 23rd 2012 - 09:27 UTC

  Unasur delegate in non-official fact finding mission in Paraguay

  

  The head of the Unasur High Level Group for Paraguay, former Peruvian Prime Minister Salomon Lerner is currently in the country where he arrived as a simple tourist with plans to meet local political leaders, members of the country’s Electoral Tribunal and get a feeling of the atmosphere in the run to presidential elections next April 2013.