Mercosur

• Wednesday, January 7th 2004 - 20:00 UTC

  US dollar February summit in Florida

  Finance Ministers and heads of Central Banks of the seven more industrialized countries of the world, G-7, will be meeting next 6/7 February in Boca Ratón, Florida, according to a release from the US Treasury Department.

• Wednesday, January 7th 2004 - 20:00 UTC

  Mexico still bans River Plate beef

  Mexico still discards the possibility of importing beef from countries such as Argentina and Uruguay in spite of the fact that it has closed borders with its main supplier the United States, after an outbreak of “mad cow” or Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, BSE, was confirmed in the state of Washington close to the Canadian border.

• Wednesday, January 7th 2004 - 20:00 UTC

  New US farm policy punishes Latinamerica

  The effects of the new United States 2002 farm policy will have a negative impact for Latinamerican exports, according to a report from the United Nations Economic Committer for Latinamerica and the Caribbean, Cepal with main offices in Santiago.

• Wednesday, January 7th 2004 - 20:00 UTC

  Record number of visitors to Torres del Paine

  The Chilean Torres del Paine National Park received a record number of foreign visitors during 2003 with a 22% increase over 2002.

• Tuesday, January 6th 2004 - 20:00 UTC

  Brazil invests 3,5 billion in upgrading Air Force.

  The Brazilian Air Force announced this week the refurbishing of its 53 AMX fighter bombers with the incorporation of state of the art intelligent bomb technology that will enable it to reach any target in Latinamerica. The operation is estimated will cost 1,5 billion out of a total 3,5 billion US dollars that will be invested in the upgrading of the force.

• Tuesday, January 6th 2004 - 20:00 UTC

  Argentina and Chile deny “spying” incident in Patagonia

  The Argentine Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Chilean Embassy in Buenos Aires denied this Monday an alleged “spying” incident involving Chileans nationals taking pictures of a military garrison in the south of Argentina.

• Tuesday, January 6th 2004 - 20:00 UTC

  Honours for Brazilian transition.

  Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva and his predecessor, former President Fernando Henrique Cardoso, have been selected co-recipients of the 2003 Notre Dame Prize for Distinguished Public Service in Latin America.

• Tuesday, January 6th 2004 - 20:00 UTC

  Bolivian gas referendum for March 28.

  Bolivian President Carlos Mesa has announced a referendum will be held on March 28 to decide the future of the country's vast natural gas reserves, an issue which led to the resignation of his predecessor, Gonzalo Sanchez de Losada.

• Monday, January 5th 2004 - 20:00 UTC

  Argentina to legalize undocumented aliens.

  The Argentine government plans to legalize the labor situation of some 700,000 illegal immigrants hailing from neighboring countries that belong to or are associated with Mercosur.

• Monday, January 5th 2004 - 20:00 UTC

  Thousands of Brazilian Indians invade ranches.

  Armed with shotguns and bows and arrows, thousands of Brazilian Indians invaded ranches near the border with Paraguay to claim what they say is ancestral land, state officials and police said on Sunday.