Mercosur

• 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.

• Thursday, November 22nd 2012 - 14:50 UTC

  Argentina’s outbursts backfire: Judge Griesa orders payment to holdout bond investors

  

  Argentina suffered a stinging blow late Wednesday when New York federal judge Thomas Griesa, citing threats by the country's leaders to defy his rulings in a decade-old dispute over defaulted sovereign bonds, ordered immediate payment.

• Thursday, November 22nd 2012 - 13:55 UTC

  Bolivia formally invited to join Mercosur as full member at December’s summit

  

  Bolivia was formally invited to join Mercosur as a full member for which negotiations can begin in the coming summit December 7 in Brasilia. The invitation was made official by Mercosur High Commissioner Ivan Ramalho during a visit to La Paz where the met with Foreign minister David Choquehuanca and Economy and Planning ministers Luis Arce and Viviana Caro.

• Tuesday, November 20th 2012 - 00:51 UTC

  Peruvian ambassador expected to return to Paraguay in near future

  

  Another gap is anticipated in the diplomatic isolation ring imposed on Paraguay by Unasur and Mercosur, when as happened with Chile and Colombia, the Peruvian ambassador also returns to his post in Asuncion after several months of consultations in Lima.

• Saturday, November 17th 2012 - 22:53 UTC

  Mercosur condemns “disproportionate use of force” in Gaza; calls for immediate cease fire

  

  Mercosur condemned the “disproportionate use of force” in Gaza and called on Israel and Palestinians for an immediate cease fire of the conflict that has already left al least forty people killed, mostly civilians.