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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, May 9th 2025 - 09:13 UTC

Mercosur

  • Thursday, September 14th 2017 - 20:49 UTC

    Brazilian congress advances political reform to streamline parties; 28 have elected members

    Brazil currently has 35 political parties, 28 of which are represented in Congress. One of them, the Brazilian Women's Party, has only one federal lawmaker, a man

    Brazil's lower house of Congress has given initial approval to a bill to reduce the huge array of political parties that have made it hard to govern the country and contributed to corruption. The chamber voted 384-16 for the establishment of a minimum national vote threshold that parties must reach to get public funding and free radio and television time for their election campaigns. The requirement would be 1.5% of votes in 2018, rising to 3% in 2030.

  • Thursday, September 14th 2017 - 19:17 UTC

    Brazilian agriculture minister home raided by police on corruption probe

    The warrant, as described by the G1 news site, accuses Maggi, 61, of “crimes of obstruction of an investigation into a criminal organization” in his home state.

    Brazil's Police raided the home of a top government official Thursday seeking evidence in yet another corruption case involving a member of embattled President Michel Temer's Cabinet. The operation was authorized by Brazil's top court and is part of an investigation of Agriculture Minister Blairo Maggi, who is suspected of bribing state lawmakers during his 2003-2010 terms as governor of Mato Grosso.

  • Thursday, September 14th 2017 - 18:53 UTC

    Irish beef farmers warn that an EU/Mercosur deal is a “completely unacceptable”

    “As Ireland is the main exporter of beef to the rest of the EU market, the Irish cattle and beef sector would suffer the greatest consequences of this deal”

    Pushing the European Union Mercosur deal is a “completely unacceptable”, according to Meat Industry Ireland’s (MII) director Cormac Healy. In a statement, Healy said that any progression and completion of the Mercosur trade deal will have negative effects on the EU beef market.

  • Wednesday, September 13th 2017 - 18:01 UTC

    Mujica's wife Lucia Topolansky becomes Uruguay's vice-president

    The General assembly session convened at 10:00 in the morning and following a brief recess, at 10:40 Senator Lucia Topolansky took the oath of office.

    Uruguay has a new vice-president following the resignation of the questioned and discredited Raul Sendic. On Wednesday mid-morning, Lucia Topolansky, wife of ex president Jose Mujica received unanimous support from the General Assembly (123/123). Under the Uruguayan constitution the head of the most voted Senate group of the winning party in the last election, in this case the MPP (Popular Participation Movement), leads in the presidential succession line. She is the first woman to occupy such a post.

  • Saturday, September 9th 2017 - 20:04 UTC

    Uruguay's vice-president resigns; Mujica's wife expected to assume

    Sendic and his political mentor, Mujica, are considered responsible for the “technical bankruptcy” of Uruguay's fuels refining and pricing company ANCAP

    Uruguayan Vice president, and head of the Senate, Raul Sendic has stepped down after presenting his “indeclinable” resignation to the ruling coalition plenary and to president Tabare Vazquez, quelling what was becoming a major political and institutional situation given his long string of misconducts, some of them precisely questioned by an ethics tribunal from the coalition.

  • Saturday, September 9th 2017 - 19:57 UTC

    Argentine embassy disappointed with Falklands stand at the Prado show

    The Falklands stand promoting tourism, trade and links at the Great Britain pavilion

    The Argentine embassy met with officials from the Uruguayan Rural Association, ARU, to express their disappointment since the Falkland Islands have a stand at the Great Britain pavilion in the Prado agro-industry show in Montevideo, according to a report from Television Nacional, which belongs to the Uruguayan government media complex.

  • Saturday, September 9th 2017 - 19:54 UTC

    Brazil's central bank slashes rate one full percentage point to 8.25%

    The eighth consecutive cut was announced after the stats agency IBGE, reported that twelve-month inflation in August was 2.46%, lowest in almost two decades.

    Brazil's central bank slashed its key interest rate this week by a full percentage point to 8.25%, the eighth consecutive cut as the country slowly exits a painful recession. The one percentage point fall in the base Selic rate had been predicted by markets and matched a previous cut in July.

  • Thursday, August 24th 2017 - 10:07 UTC

    Venezuela ousted chief prosecutor says she has evidence of Maduro and allies corruption

    “I want to denounce, in front of the world, a grave situation in Venezuela: that of excessive corruption,” Ortega said.

    Venezuela's recently ousted chief prosecutor accused President Nicolas Maduro and several allies on Wednesday of participating in acts of corruption, saying she would turn over proof that would help other countries prosecute. Venezuela's government quickly fired back, accusing Luisa Ortega Diaz of “grave moral and ethical infractions.”

  • Wednesday, August 9th 2017 - 06:39 UTC

    Beef and ethanol back in the EU/Mercosur agenda in October meeting

    EU Agriculture commissioner Phil Hogan has warned Mercosur to “moderate their expectations” on beef, particularly after a 2016 EU impact assessment

    Beef will be back on the menu this October as the European Union seeks to finalise a trade deal with Mercosur. The European Commission will offer Mercosur new beef import quotas at reduced tariff rates during a formal round of trade talks in the first week of October in Brussels, EU sources confirmed.

  • Tuesday, August 8th 2017 - 15:41 UTC

    Markets (and investors) in Argentina waiting for Sunday primary results

    Esteban Bullrich is still climbing and has reached a technical tie with Cristina Fernandez. In the picture next to governor Maria Eugenia Vidal

    The technical tie for the Senate seat in the province of Buenos Aires is being closely followed by the business community and potential investors in Argentina, fearing that a victory by ex president Cristina Fernandez over the candidate sponsored by president Mauricio Macri, could be interpreted as a longing for the hand-out and subsidies policies of Kirchnerism and rejection of the current economic reforms which have yet to deliver enough jobs and stable prices.