Mercosur

• Tuesday, August 7th 2012 - 20:14 UTC

  Mercosur has only benefited Brazil in the last ten years with a surplus of 36.8bn

  

  Brazil is the only country that in the last ten years has benefited from Mercosur with an intra-zone trade surplus of 36.8 billion dollars while the other three full members, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay have accumulated huge deficits in the same period, according to Argentine economist Orlando Ferreres a regular columnist from La Nacion with graduate studies in Harvard.

• Tuesday, August 7th 2012 - 08:33 UTC

  Uruguay reacts with silence to repeated Argentine provocations

  

  The Uruguayan government said on Monday there will be no public statements on the latest “situations” with Argentina, and Uruguay will keep to what was agreed at presidential level during the last (31 July) Mercosur extraordinary meeting in Brasilia.

• Monday, August 6th 2012 - 08:23 UTC

  Mercosur economic performance expected to lag behind Andean countries in 2012

  

  Argentina and Brazil will experience an economic slowdown this year compared to 2011, while Paraguay, punished by drought and an outbreak of foot and mouth disease, will have the worst performance in Latin America, and Peru the best, according to the Argentine consultants Ecolatina

• Monday, August 6th 2012 - 08:14 UTC

  Lugo going to appeal before the Inter American Court his removal from office

  

  Fernando Lugo said he would appeal to the Inter American Court the whole political impeachment process in the Senate that ended with his removal from the Paraguayan presidency in less than 48 hours and with little chance of a defence.

• Monday, August 6th 2012 - 08:07 UTC

  Ex-president says inclusion of Venezuela in Mercosur is “favourable for Uruguay”

  

  Former president Jorge Batlle (2000/2005) said that the inclusion of Venezuela in Mercosur “is favourable for Uruguay” but at the same time insisted it was “wrongly done” for not having taken into account Paraguay’s opposition currently suspended as member of the regional block.

• Monday, August 6th 2012 - 07:56 UTC

  Ecuador negotiation to join Mercosur as full member begin next month

  

  Mercosur will officially begin negotiation with Mercosur for its inclusion as full member in September announced the Brazilian news agency, ABR on Sunday. The meeting is scheduled for September 15 when the incorporation preliminaries will be addressed.

• Saturday, August 4th 2012 - 22:29 UTC

  Chile expects a 30% increase in cruise vessel calls this 2012/13 season

  

  Chile is expecting an increase of 30% in the number of cruise vessels calls this coming season with Puerto Montt and Punta Arenas receiving the most, said the country’s Under Secretary for Tourism Jacqueline Plass.

• Saturday, August 4th 2012 - 19:24 UTC

  Falkland Islands’ assessing options for the expansion of port facilities

  

  Falkland Islands port facilities are under assessment given the prospects of oil industry activities in the near future and two options are being considered by the local government: a new port project, and an interim development of the current facilities at FIPASS.

• Saturday, August 4th 2012 - 05:00 UTC

  YPF and PDVSA advance in the energy strategic alliance; next meeting in Caracas

  

  Argentina and Venezuela gave their first step in the creation of an energy strategic alliance between oil companies YPF and PDVSA, after the agreement signed by President Cristina Fernández and her Venezuelan counterpart, Hugo Chávez, in Brasilia last Tuesday.

• Saturday, August 4th 2012 - 03:14 UTC

  Venezuela accession to Mercosur “by the back door”, according to The Economist

  

  Under the heading of “In by the back door” referred to the expansion of Mercosur, The Economist says “bringing Venezuela certainly was smart, in the sense of cunning rather than wise”, but it was done ignoring the block’s rules which call for unanimity in admitting new members.