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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, May 6th 2026 - 10:24 UTC

Politics

  • Thursday, March 19th 2026 - 12:57 UTC

    Western Democracies backsliding, with U.S. decline “unprecedented”

    Professor Staffan Ingemar Lindberg, Department of Political Science, University of Gothenburg (Pic: Markus Marcetic)

    Democratic backsliding is now happening in well-established democracies. Democracy in the USA is deteriorating at unprecedented speed, and media and journalists are increasingly targeted across the world. This, and more, is reported in the latest Democracy Report from the V-Dem Institute at the University of Gothenburg.

  • Thursday, March 19th 2026 - 02:12 UTC

    Russian diesel shipment bound for Cuba challenges US blockade

    Although limited in scale, the cargo —estimated at around 200,000 barrels of diesel— could cover roughly 10 days of national consumption

    A Hong Kong-flagged tanker that could be carrying fuel to Cuba has resumed navigation in the Atlantic after remaining halted for several weeks, in a move that could offer limited relief to the island’s deepening energy crisis. According to ship-tracking available on Vessel Finder, the Sea Horse loaded fuel in a ship-to-ship operation earlier this year and then resumed course with Cuba as a possible destination. The Financial Times reported that the vessel was part of two Russian energy shipments headed to the island and could arrive within days.

  • Thursday, March 19th 2026 - 00:50 UTC

    UK reaffirms longstanding relation with Chile and continued partnership for the future

    Chilean president Kast with UK Foreign Office minister for Latin America and the Caribbean, Chris Elmore

    The United Kingdom reaffirmed its intention to deepen its relationship with Chile across trade, critical minerals, energy, shipbuilding and scientific cooperation, according to a statement released by the UK Foreign Office following the inauguration of President José Antonio Kast in Santiago.

  • Thursday, March 19th 2026 - 00:43 UTC

    New fees for UK passport applications effective next 8 April

    Postal applications will increase from £107 to £115.50 for adults and £74 to £80 for children 

    The UK government will introduce new fees for passport applications on 8 April 2026. The proposals, which are subject to approval by Parliament, will include the following: 

  • Wednesday, March 18th 2026 - 23:39 UTC

    Delcy Rodríguez removes Vladimir Padrino as Venezuela’s defense minister

    Padrino’s departure closes a chapter of more than a decade at the helm of the defense ministry

    Venezuela’s interim president Delcy Rodríguez on Wednesday removed Vladimir Padrino López as defense minister and appointed General Gustavo González López in his place, ending one of the longest and most politically sensitive tenures within the country’s ruling military hierarchy. Venezuelan media reported the move citing Rodríguez’s official message on X, in which she thanked Padrino for his “loyalty to the homeland” and said he would take on “new responsibilities.”

  • Wednesday, March 18th 2026 - 23:10 UTC

    Brazil promulgates Mercosur-EU deal, completing domestic ratification of trade pact

    During the formal session, Alcolumbre said trade “is the key to world peace” and argued that countries that do business with one another tend to have more to lose from war than to gain from it

    Brazil’s Congress on Tuesday promulgated the trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union, completing the final domestic step required for the treaty to take effect on the Brazilian side. The ceremony was led by Senate and Congress President Davi Alcolumbre, who framed the pact as a sign in favor of trade, stability and integration at a time of wars and commercial tensions.

  • Wednesday, March 18th 2026 - 22:44 UTC

    Brazil’s central bank starts easing cycle, cuts Selic rate to 14.75%

    The decision comes as Brazil combines softer inflation with signs of slower economic growth

    Brazil’s central bank on Wednesday cut the Selic benchmark rate from 15% to 14.75% a year, marking the first reduction since May 2024 and the formal start of an easing cycle that policymakers had already flagged. In its statement, the Monetary Policy Committee, or Copom, said the move was consistent with its strategy to bring inflation back to target and noted that the external environment had become “more uncertain” because of the intensification of geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East.

  • Wednesday, March 18th 2026 - 22:21 UTC

    Attack on world’s largest gas field raises tensions and jolts markets

    The market reaction was immediate. Brent crude rose to $110.94 a barrel, a daily gain of 7.28%, while Europe’s TTF gas benchmark climbed to 54.73 euros per megawatt hour, up 6.14% on the day

    The war involving Iran, Israel and the United States escalated sharply on Wednesday with a strike on South Pars, the Iranian side of the world’s largest natural gas field, which it shares with Qatar. Reuters reported that the hit on the site marked a new phase in the conflict by targeting major Iranian energy infrastructure for the first time in this war, and was followed by Iranian threats and attacks against energy targets across the Gulf.

  • Wednesday, March 18th 2026 - 21:00 UTC

    Venezuelan National Assembly speaker meets US Senate envoys

    The Venezuelan government framed the opening as part of a broader agenda of stabilization and gradual normalization of ties.

    Venezuelan National Assembly speaker Jorge Rodríguez said on Wednesday that he met in Caracas with representatives of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee and with U.S. Chargé d’Affaires Laura Dogu, in the latest sign of the bilateral opening that began after January’s political shift. Rodríguez said the agenda forms part of a dialogue “always based on mutual respect and cooperation between nations.”

  • Wednesday, March 18th 2026 - 11:12 UTC

    Government targets faster state processes with new economic reform package

    Oddone argued that the macroeconomic margin has already been largely exhausted and that the current bottlenecks lie in opaque price formation, slow procedures and overlapping controls

    Uruguayan President Yamandú Orsi and Economy Minister Gabriel Oddone said the government will send a competitiveness and innovation bill to Congress on May 31, focused on foreign trade, competition policy, innovation and administrative simplification. The initiative was launched alongside a call for unions, business chambers and academia to submit proposals by April 24.