Politics

• Friday, May 20th 2016 - 11:16 UTC

  Brazil's economic interests will prevail over ideological goals, says new foreign minister

  

  The foreign minister for Brazil's new government following the suspension of president Dilma Rousseff said that Brasilia will now pursue economic interests over ideological goals. Jose Serra, nominated by acting president Michel Temer in the wake of Rousseff's suspension for an impeachment trial, signaled that Brazil would no longer be part of the loose left/leaning alliance that exists across several Latin American countries.

• Friday, May 20th 2016 - 11:05 UTC

  Petrobras new CEO is a former energy minister and chief of staff

  

  Former Brazilian energy minister Pedro Parente has been named by acting President Michel Temer as the new CEO of state-run oil giant Petrobras. Parente was picked Thursday to replace Aldemir Bendine, an appointee of now suspended President Dilma Rousseff. The new Petrobras CEO was working as chairman of Sao Paulo-based financial bourse BM&FBovespa.

• Friday, May 20th 2016 - 10:57 UTC

  Temer promises to appoint women to the government “a little further ahead”

  

  Acting President Michel Temer promised on Thursday that he will at some point have women in his currently all white-male Cabinet. Federal lawmaker Josi Nunes told journalists in Brasilia that Temer pledged at a meeting with congresswomen that he would be bringing females into his government “a little further ahead.”

• Friday, May 20th 2016 - 10:40 UTC

  India planning to swap medicines for Venezuelan crude oil to recoup losses of drugs sector

  

  Indian drug companies could recoup some of the financial losses incurred as Venezuela struggles to make foreign-currency payments and the value of its currency plummets--by participating in a barter plan that would swap medicines for crude oil.

• Friday, May 20th 2016 - 10:17 UTC

  Trump ahead of Hillary in new polls, but both candidates have record negatives

  

  Donald Trump has pulled ahead of Hillary Clinton in two new polls, as Republicans begin to coalesce around him while Bernie Sanders keeps hammering fellow Democrat Clinton. The real-estate tycoon leads the former secretary of state, 42% to 37%, in a general-election presidential match-up, according to a Rasmussen poll released Thursday.

• Friday, May 20th 2016 - 10:05 UTC

  Macri in the threshold of a major political storm over a possible veto of a labor bill

  

  Argentine president Mauricio Macri is expected to veto a controversial labor bill which was approved early Thursday after a marathon session in the Lower House of Congress. The bill passed with 147 votes in favor, 3 votes against it and 88 abstentions includes the declaration of the employment emergency during 180 days and a double compensation in the event of layoffs, for a period of six months.

• Friday, May 20th 2016 - 06:48 UTC

  Argentina reassures China bilateral cooperation remains a priority for the Macri administration

  

  Argentina on Thursday sought to reassure China that bilateral cooperation remained a priority for its new government amid growing concerns over political changes in the South American country. After a meeting with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, Argentine Foreign Minister Susana Malcorra said investment projects with China would go ahead.

• Thursday, May 19th 2016 - 12:07 UTC

  Brazilian Justice gives Rousseff ten days to reply the claims of “a coup”

  

  Brazils Supreme Tribunal (STF) Justice Rosa Weber has given suspended president Dilma Rousseff ten days to explain her repeated statements that the impeachment process started against her is a “coup”. Rousseff is not obliged to respond. The STF decision follows a request from a group of lawmakers via the House's prosecution office.

• Thursday, May 19th 2016 - 11:57 UTC

  Meirelles unveils a dark picture of Brazil's finances and insists of pensions reform

  

  Brazil's fiscal deficit prior to debt interest payments could reach 150 billion Reais (US$42.10 billion) this year as revenues collapse amid a crippling recession economy, Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles warned on Wednesday. The deficit includes eventual losses from state electricity holding Eletrobras.

• Thursday, May 19th 2016 - 08:32 UTC

  Mujica says Maduro is “mad as a hatter” and everybody in Venezuela “have gone nuts”

  

  Uruguayan ex president Jose Mujica said on Wednesday that in Venezuela “everybody has gone nuts” and president Nicolas Maduro is “mad as a hatter”. The former leader was reacting to the controversy between his former foreign minister and now OAS secretary general, Luis Almagro and Maduro.