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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, January 4th 2025 - 08:08 UTC

Mercosur

  • Monday, April 30th 2018 - 09:04 UTC

    Last round of EU/Mercosur “useful”, but key issues remain to be resolved

    Talks ended earlier than expected, with Argentina and Uruguay leaving the table due to what they saw as a lack of decisiveness from Brazil and the EU.

    The European Union and Mercosur have made some progress on how to open their markets to cars, but ended free trade talks in Brussels on Friday with finger-pointing about who was holding up a deal. The EU and the Mercosur bloc of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay began on-off negotiations towards a trade alliance in 1999, with a fresh impetus since 2016.

  • Sunday, April 29th 2018 - 05:22 UTC

    Argentina increases basic rate 300 points to 30.25% to combat inflation

    “The decision was made with the aim of guaranteeing the disinflation process and the central bank is ready to act again if necessary,” the bank's statement said.

    Argentina's central bank surprised markets at the end of the week by jolting its key interest rate up to 30.25% from 27.25%, citing weakness of the local peso against the US dollar and vowing to act again if high inflation persists.

  • Friday, April 27th 2018 - 10:47 UTC

    Mujica supports the FTA with Chile: Piñera begins his commercial tour avoiding Uruguay

    Mujica said that before “a weakened Mercosur”, Uruguay has to look for alternative incentives to improve trade stability.

    While Chilean President Sebastián Piñera started a commercial tour in Brazil last Thursday, in which he avoids Uruguay because the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Chile is blocked in the Uruguayan Parliament since 2016, ex-president José Mujica explained that he supports the FTA with Chile in order to look for “the best incentives to ensure commercial stability.” The bench of former president Mujica and the communist party refuse to approve the commercial agreement.

  • Thursday, April 26th 2018 - 09:18 UTC

    EU insists in good sanitary standards for Mercosur produce, if a deal is to be reached

    “No deal on Mercosur unless we are satisfied there will be good standards and that we will have a good sanitary and phytosanitary agreement,” said Hogan

    European Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan insisted there would be “no deal” with Mercosur unless negotiators are fully satisfied strong standards will apply to all produce. It comes as another round of the negotiations on Mercosur got under way in Brussels this week.

  • Tuesday, April 24th 2018 - 23:21 UTC

    Falklands: “Commercial and cultural office” in Stanley to promote Argentina, suggests ex diplomat

    Jorge Lidio Viñuela during a visit to the Falkland Islands, pictured at an iconic signboard at the entrance of Stanley

    The Falklands population is crucial for any solution to the Argentine claim over the Islands given their overwhelming support from British public opinion (and political system), and its full integration with the 53-nation Commonwealth, according to Argentine ex diplomat Jorge Lidio Viñuela, considered an expert and militant on the issue of South Atlantic insular claims.

  • Monday, April 23rd 2018 - 09:52 UTC

    Ruling party wins election in Paraguay, but with surprise performance of the opposition

    Mario Abdo Benitez won slightly more than 46% of the vote, with his centrist opponent Efrain Alegre taking almost 43% in a race that was far closer than expected.(Pic AFP)

    Paraguay's Mario Abdo Benitez, “Marito”, who represents the country's long-dominant Colorado Party, was elected as president on Sunday, landing the top job in the country with the smallest economy in Mercosur. The US-educated son of a senior aide to the country's late dictator, Abdo Benitez won slightly more than 46% of the vote, with his centrist opponent Efrain Alegre taking almost 43% in a race that was far closer than expected.

  • Monday, April 23rd 2018 - 09:22 UTC

    China and South Korea seek trade agreements with Mercosur

    South Korean PM Lee Nak-yon in March agreed with Brazilian President Michel Temer to start formal negotiations for a SK/Mercosur free trade deal by June

    China and South Korea are seeking to establish free trade agreements with Mercosur in a strategic response to Washington's increasingly protectionist stance. The East Asian initiatives have resonated well in a region where Washington is keeping its distance. U.S. President Donald Trump has not visited a single Latin American country since taking office in January 2017, and chose not to attend the Summit of the Americas, which recently concluded in Peru.

  • Thursday, April 19th 2018 - 19:16 UTC

    International coffee house and Mexican partner open first store in Montevideo

    Ricardo Rico, Starbucks general manager for Latin America; Natalia Lapaz, manager of the Montevideo Shopping store; Pablo Jaratz, Starbucks Uruguay General Manager and Pablo de los Heros, head of Als

    Starbucks has opened with great success its first store in Uruguay at the Montevideo Shopping mall in the capital city Montevideo. The store has a unique design and offers a wide range of Starbucks beverages and food, including Starbucks 100% arabica coffees from Latin America and around the world.

  • Wednesday, April 18th 2018 - 18:16 UTC

    Brazilian ex presidential candidate charged with passive corruption and obstruction of justice

    Aecio Neves ran for president and was defeated in the run-off in 2014 by ex president Dilma Rousseff. He was also the national president of his party, PSDB

    Justices from the First Panel of the Brazilian Supreme Federal Court (STF) voted, on Tuesday (17), accepting the charges filed by the Prosecutor General's Office against senator Aécio Neves (PSDB-MG), and former presidential candidate, accused of passive corruption and obstruction of justice.

  • Monday, April 16th 2018 - 02:10 UTC

    The Economist on Uruguay: some serious shortfalls

    Economist Carlos Steneri,

    The Economist recently published an extremely laudatory article on the performance of the Uruguayan economy in the last fifteen years, much of which can be supported but even more needs to be rectified, quite a surprise coming from a publication known for its research rigor. The piece was titled “Uruguay’s record-setting economic growth streak; How a small country outperforms its neighbors” and was published in the March 28th edition.