Politics

• Friday, June 22nd 2012 - 07:46 UTC

  Credit Suisse’s Brazil growth forecast of 1.5% this year “a joke” said Mantega

  

  Finance minister Guido Mantega said the latest release from investment bank Credit Suisse forecasting Brazil’s 2012 GDP growth at 1.5%, was “a joke”.

• Friday, June 22nd 2012 - 07:39 UTC

  Political deal in Germany on the ESM; mini summit in Rome to rescue Spain

  

  The German government and opposition reached on Thursday a deal that will allow parliament to approve the European Stability Mechanism, ESM, next week, but Germany's top court may delay the rescue fund's start date, saying it needed time to study the treaty.

• Friday, June 22nd 2012 - 07:36 UTC

  Spanish banks need 62bn Euros; full bail-out of the country in the drawing board

  

  Spain's medium-term borrowing costs spiralled to a Euro-era record on Thursday and independent auditors said Spanish banks may need up to 62 billion Euros in extra capital, to be filled mostly by a Euro zone bailout.

• Thursday, June 21st 2012 - 23:32 UTC

  Unasur delegation travels to Paraguay to ensure “democratic system integrity”

  

  A delegation of Foreign Affairs ministers should be arriving late Thursday to Asunción where the Paraguayan president Fernando Lugo is facing political impeachment that could have him out of office.

• Thursday, June 21st 2012 - 23:25 UTC

  Paraguayan Senate prepares to oust President Lugo on Friday appealing to an impeachment process

  

  The Paraguayan Senate has summoned President Fernando Lugo for Friday midday to commence the political impeachment process which was voted almost unanimously in the Lower House (76 to 1) and will decide on his future.

• Thursday, June 21st 2012 - 20:26 UTC

  Teamsters return to work in Argentina, but new national strike programmed for next week

  

  Argentina’s head of organized labour confederation CGT, Hugo Moyano came on stage Thursday afternoon to announce the end of the national strike led by the Teamsters’ union.

• Thursday, June 21st 2012 - 18:12 UTC

  Uruguayan minister admits deep concern about events in the Euro zone

  

  Uruguayan Minister of Economy Fernando Lorenzo expressed deep concern regarding events in Europe and warned that “the longer the delay in effectively analyzing the cost of the crisis” then everything will work out “much costlier”.

• Thursday, June 21st 2012 - 17:52 UTC

  UK to reopen embassy in Paraguay and new embassy in Haiti

  

  Following on the UK policy to establish closer ties with Latin America, Foreign Secretary William Hague has announced plans to re-open the British Embassy in Paraguay and a new British Embassy in Haiti.

• Thursday, June 21st 2012 - 16:35 UTC

  Urgent meeting of Unasur leaders to address the Paraguayan situation

  

  Unasur presidents attending the Rio+20 summit met urgently on Thursday to analyze the current political situation in Paraguay where President Fernando Lugo is facing political impeachment following a land eviction incident that killed 17 peasants and policemen.

• Thursday, June 21st 2012 - 15:56 UTC

  Paraguayan president faces impeachment following 17 killings in land eviction incident

  

  Paraguay's opposition-controlled lower house of Congress voted today to start impeachment proceedings against President Fernando Lugo following a land eviction in which 17 police and peasant farmers were killed last week.