Politics

• Tuesday, March 2nd 2010 - 02:24 UTC

  Hillary Clinton praises Uruguayan democratic system as “very strong”

  

  United States Secretary of States Hillary Clinton described the Uruguayan democracy as “very strong” and praised the solidity of its political system. Mrs. Clinton was in Montevideo on Monday, for a few hours, representing President Barack Obama in the inauguration ceremony of Uruguayan president Jose Mujica.

• Tuesday, March 2nd 2010 - 02:21 UTC

  Mrs. Kirchner ratified before Congress use of central bank reserves to pay debts

  

  President Cristina Fernandez revoked on Monday a controversial “necessity and urgency” decree to tap 6.6 billion US dollars in foreign reserves from the Central Bank to pay debt replacing it with two new decreed to tap about 4.38 billion USD and 2.18 billion USD to pay private and multilateral creditors (World Bank).

• Monday, March 1st 2010 - 06:00 UTC

  Uruguay aims to reduce debt load and boost trade in next five years

  

  Uruguay’s Vice President-elect Danilo Astori said the next government will reduce the country’s debt load and seek to boost trade with the rest of the world in a bid to bolster economic growth.

• Monday, March 1st 2010 - 05:56 UTC

  Hillary Clinton adds Buenos Aires to her Latinamerican tour

  

  United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will add Argentina to her Latinamerican tour which begins Monday at the inauguration of Uruguayan president elect Jose Mujica in Montevideo, U.S. officials said on Sunday.

• Monday, March 1st 2010 - 05:52 UTC

  Euro’s most crucial week since creation; Greece closer to an IMF rescue

  

  German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned Sunday that the Euro is facing its most serious crisis since its launch a decade ago. The comment comes as European Union officials prepare to visit Athens Monday amid reports of an EU bailout whose effects could lead to further debt crises in the continent's troubled south.

• Monday, March 1st 2010 - 05:39 UTC

  Chilean government admits tsunami-alert “diagnostic” system failed

  

  Chile's government conceded it made a mistake in initially playing down the risk of a tsunami from Saturday's massive earthquake. At a news conference in Santiago, Defence minister Francisco Vidal blamed the navy for what he called a “diagnostic error”.

• Monday, March 1st 2010 - 05:33 UTC

  Chile calls for aid and sends troops to prevent looting; body count reaches 710

  

  Chilean President Michelle Bachelet announced emergency measures to deal with the destruction caused by Saturday's massive earthquake. The 8.8 magnitude quake - one of the most powerful recorded - devastated central parts of the country, killing more than 710 people and leaving an estimated 2 million people out in the streets.

• Monday, March 1st 2010 - 05:24 UTC

  If Mercosur is failing, “we are doing something wrong”, said Mujica

  

  Uruguay’s president elect Jose Mujica who takes office Monday March first admitted that Mercosur is “failing” because “we are doing something wrong”, but was enthusiastic about Latinamerican integration and praised Argentina, a country where “Uruguayans are not foreigners”.

• Monday, March 1st 2010 - 01:39 UTC

  Argentina warns BHP Billiton about drilling in Falklands’ waters

  

  Argentina's ambassador to Australia says Melbourne based mining group BHP Billiton will face business sanctions if it pushes ahead with oil exploration in Falklands waters. BHP has a licence to explore off the Falkland Islands and is scheduled to start doing so in the next four months, reports Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

• Saturday, February 27th 2010 - 08:16 UTC

  Brazilian central bank prepares to withdraw stimulus measures and liquidity

  

  The Brazilian Central bank’s decision to raise reserve requirements this week will have an impact on monetary policy, admitted the bank’s governor Henrique Meirelles in an interview with the financial publication Valor Economico.