
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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

An international controversy has surfaced between President Hugo Chavez and Paraguayan senators as to who really tried to bribe whom regarding failed attempts to have Venezuela incorporated to Mercosur.

President Dilma Rousseff continues to enjoy high popularity as Brazilian consumers sound very optimistic about the future of their country and trust they can hold on to their jobs despite the recent economic slowdown.

Uruguay’s annual consumer-price inflation dropped in July to 0.27% the lowest in 58 years, accumulating 7.48% in the last twelve months (down from 8% in June), and 4.41% in the first seven months of 2012.

President Hugo Chavez said that the incorporation of Venezuela to Mercosur was “exemplary” because it never yielded to “blackmail” from the Paraguayan extreme right and revealed that he met with Paraguayan Senator Lino Oviedo, considered the mastermind behind those attempts.