Mercosur

• Friday, July 4th 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  Ex-generals acknowledge Pinochet-era exhumation

  Retired Chilean army generals, including members of ex-dictator Augusto Pinochet's junta, acknowledged for the first time yesterday that secret graves of people who “disappeared” under the 1973-1990 dictatorship were later dug up in order to hide the bodies again.

• Thursday, July 3rd 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  Brazil: Good and bad news.

  Brazil managed a 10,2 billion US dollars trade surplus during the first half of 2003, in line with the government's target of annual overseas sales of 68 billion US dollars for the twelve months.

• Thursday, July 3rd 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  Argentine oil industry requests stable rules

  The drop in Argentina's oil and natural gas reserves, and the need for “clear and stable rules of the game” was highlighted during the “Hydrocarbons Congress 2003” that is currently taking place in Buenos Aires.

• Thursday, July 3rd 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  Who's to blame?

  An in depth United States Congressional paper from the Joint Economic Committee argues that some of the main reasons for the Argentine political crisis and the collapse of the economy lie in the fact that the country faced adverse international circumstances and its governments failed in the measures to confront them, “making things even worse”.

• Thursday, July 3rd 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  Buenos Aires seat of Antartic Treaty Secretariat

  Buenos Aires was officially designated as the seat of the permanent Secretariat of the Antarctic Treaty during the XXVI Consulting Meeting held last June in Madrid, Spain.

• Wednesday, July 2nd 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  Mercosur cautious about CAP reforms.

  Mercosur countries reacted cautiously to the latest Common Agriculture Policy, CAP, agreement reached by the European Union after three weeks of hard bargaining. The gigantic sum of 43 billion Euros annually ploughed into EU farms will be substantially reduced and apparently reoriented as of 2005, towards a more environment friendly and quality agriculture.

• Wednesday, July 2nd 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  Uruguay supports “monetary convergence”

  Uruguay that is holding the Mercosur chair for the next six months will give priority to the creation of a monetary and exchange rate convergence on the lines described by Argentine Minister of Economy Roberto Lavagna.

• Tuesday, July 1st 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  Lula 's standing remains strong.

  With six months in office Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's support remains virtually unchanged in 42% according to a poll from Datafolha, aired this weekend in Sao Paulo.

• Tuesday, July 1st 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  A Lady for Peru.

  The first woman Primer Minister in the history of Peru was sworn in by President Alejandro Toledo ending a week long political crisis.

• Tuesday, July 1st 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  Well done for Kirchner and Lavagna

  An overwhelming majority of Argentines, 83,5%, believe the country's situation will improve and a similar percentage consider President Nestor Kirchner's is doing a “good or very good” job, according to the latest opinion poll published this Sunday in the Buenos Aires press.