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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, March 15th 2026 - 03:34 UTC

Politics

  • Sunday, March 27th 2016 - 12:52 UTC

    Argentina, on a UN decision expands continental shelf area by 35% to 350 miles

    “We're reaffirming our sovereignty rights over the resources from our continental shelf, minerals, hydrocarbons and sedentary species”, Ms Malcorra was quoted

    Foreign minister Susana Malcorra is scheduled to officially announce on Monday the external limit of Argentina's continental shelf based on a unanimous decision from the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, (dependent from the Oceans and Law of the Sea), which adds to Argentina's shelf 1.7 million square kilometers, apparently confirming areas surrounding the Falklands/Malvinas, other South Atlantic islands and the Antarctica Argentine sector.

  • Sunday, March 27th 2016 - 05:12 UTC

    “Times are changing” Rolling Stones play in Cuba to hundreds of thousands

    No more. “Years ago it was difficult to hear our music but here we are,” Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger told the crowd in Spanish. “The times are changing.”

    On Friday, the Rolling Stones became the first major international rock band to play in Cuba, drawing hundreds of thousands of people to a free concert at a decrepit sports complex on the road to the airport. For years, following the Cuban revolution, rock music was banned on Cuban state TV and radio. Cubans who wore long hair and beards faced harassment from officials, including Fidel Castro who told them to dress like men.

  • Sunday, March 27th 2016 - 05:07 UTC

    Rousseff “D Day”: on Tuesday main coalition ally decides if it continues support

    “On Tuesday we are going to clearly defend that PMDB must withdraw from support, hand in positions and serenely wait for events to evolve”, said Picciani

    The government of Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff, her mentor Lula da Silva and their Workers Party fear very much that next Tuesday could become “D Day”, since its main ally the PMDB, and with the largest representation in Congress, will be holding an extraordinary meeting of the national directory to decide whether to continue or step down from the ruling convention.

  • Saturday, March 26th 2016 - 07:33 UTC

    Rousseff blasts the opposition for their “fascist methods” in trying to illegally remove her from office

    Rousseff claimed she was being pressured to resign because rivals wanted “to avoid the task of removing, unduly, illegally and criminally, an elected president”.

    Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff condemned the “fascist methods” of opponents seeking her ouster and said the country's current political crisis would leave a “scar” if not resolved democratically. In an interview with several foreign media groups, Rousseff said she was being pressured to resign because her rivals wanted “to avoid the difficulty of removing -- unduly, illegally and criminally -- a legitimately elected president from power”.

  • Saturday, March 26th 2016 - 07:15 UTC

    Mercosur prepares to celebrate 25th anniversary hoping it can be 'reborn' under Argentine leadership

    The Asuncion Treaty, founding charter of Mercosur was passed on 26 March 1991, by the original founding members, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay

    On Saturday 26 March the Asuncion Treaty, which gave birth to Mercosur, the Common Market of the South, will be 25, and even with celebration plans the mood of its members is not enthusiastic following years of “too much ideology” and “too little trade and business”, distant from the original idea and purpose.

  • Saturday, March 26th 2016 - 07:03 UTC

    Mercosur and Unasur can't agree on a statement of support for Dilma Rousseff

    “We do not interfere in the internal affairs of countries” stated the Paraguayan foreign minister Eladio Loizaga

    The attempt by Uruguay to draft a strong Mercosur and Unasur resolution in support of embattled Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff has foundered. Argentina is only prepared to express support for Brazil's institutions while Chile and Paraguay have balked at the idea of personalizing the issue in Rousseff and her Workers Party.

  • Friday, March 25th 2016 - 05:57 UTC

    New Zealanders have voted in a referendum to keep their existing flag

    The existing design features the British Union Jack, a legacy of New Zealand's days as a British colony and the reason many wanted to change it.

    New Zealanders have voted to keep their existing flag after a national referendum, preliminary results show. The referendum asked whether the flag which includes the Union Jack should be replaced by a design called Silver Fern, which won an earlier ballot. The results show 56.6% voted for no change, while 43.1% opted for the new design. Just over 2.1m votes were cast.

  • Friday, March 25th 2016 - 05:20 UTC

    US government supports Argentine appeal to lift injunctions in its debt dispute

    The announcement was made on Thursday, as Barack Obama ends a two-day visit to Argentina during which he expressed his firm support to Macri's administration

    In another display of support for the Argentine administration of president Mauricio Macri, the government of the United States affirmed it has “significant foreign policy interests” in finding a “rapid” resolution to the long-standing dispute between Argentina and bondholders.

  • Thursday, March 24th 2016 - 19:34 UTC

    Obama pays homage to victims of Argentine dictatorship and admits “US was slow to speak out for human rights”

    US “has to examine its own policies as well, and its own past,” said Obama.“We've been slow to speak out for human rights, and that was the case here.”

    President Barack Obama paid homage on Thursday to victims of Argentina's former US-backed dictatorship, admitting the United States was “slow to speak out for human rights” in those dark days. Obama became the first US president to formally acknowledge the victims of the 1976-1983 military regime, which declassified documents have revealed was supported by top US officials.

  • Thursday, March 24th 2016 - 02:03 UTC

    Brazilian Supreme Court emerges with a decisive role in the institutional crisis

    “The goal of the falsity is clear: to prevent the carrying out of an arrest order,” against Lula that is under consideration by a lower court, wrote Gilmar Mendes

    The Brazilian government's efforts to have former president Lula da Silva into the cabinet of president Dilma Rousseff will have to wait until next 30 March when the Supreme Court is scheduled to hold its next full meeting. The political upheaval and simultaneous legal back-and forth has reached such a pitch that it inspired a bleakly funny website, lulaeministro.com, or “Is Lula a minister?” The site shows only the former president’s face and the words, “At this moment, No.” (Or yes, depending).