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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, June 18th 2026 - 17:48 UTC

Politics

  • Thursday, June 11th 2026 - 08:32 UTC

    Brazil's lower-house committee approves lowering the age of criminal responsibility to 16

    The initiative resurfaces in an election year, with general elections in October. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva opposes the measure, while the right is championing it

    The Constitution, Justice and Citizenship Committee (CCJ) of Brazil's Chamber of Deputies approved on Wednesday, by 44 votes to 18, the constitutional amendment proposal seeking to reduce the age of criminal responsibility from 18 to 16. The approval, however, is only the first step in a long process before the measure could become law.

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  • Thursday, June 11th 2026 - 08:13 UTC

    Argentina's Adorni declares $513,000 in Bitcoin to explain his wealth amid an enrichment case

    According to the reconstruction presented by the Cabinet Office, the cryptocurrency investments were made between 2013 and 2018 through eight virtual wallets

    Argentina's Cabinet Chief, Manuel Adorni, filed a series of rectified sworn declarations on Wednesday night before the Anti-Corruption Office and the Revenue and Customs Control Agency (ARCA) that substantially modify his assets and those of his wife, Bettina Angeletti. The main new element is the inclusion of about $513,000 attributed to Bitcoin investments, in a filing that comes as he faces a judicial investigation for alleged illicit enrichment.

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  • Thursday, June 11th 2026 - 08:12 UTC

    US and Iran trade fire for a second night as Tehran says it has closed Hormuz

    Iran's General Staff declared Hormuz “closed” to all traffic and warned it would fire on any vessel, while the United States maintained that transit continues

    The United States and Iran traded fire for a second consecutive night, in what amounts to a more dangerous phase of the war in the Persian Gulf and raises the prospect of a return to open hostilities. As US forces again struck Iranian targets, the Revolutionary Guard said it had hit bases with a US presence in the region, and Iran's General Staff announced the “absolute” closure of the Strait of Hormuz. President Donald Trump threatened new strikes on Thursday if Tehran does not accept his conditions for peace.

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  • Wednesday, June 10th 2026 - 14:51 UTC

    Argentina: A year after Kirchner's final conviction, a possible pardon splits Peronism before 2027

    Part of Peronism considers a pardon for the leader who has most polarized Argentine society over the past two decades could mobilize anti-Kirchnerist voters

    A year has passed since Argentina's Supreme Court made final the corruption conviction against former President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner —six years in prison and a lifetime political ban— and the possibility of pardoning her if Peronism returns to power is dividing the movement, as it searches for a candidate for the late-2027 presidential elections. Kirchner is under house arrest in a Buenos Aires apartment, in the Constitución neighborhood, where her supporters will again gather on Wednesday to demand her release.

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  • Wednesday, June 10th 2026 - 13:52 UTC

    US launches strikes against Iran in retaliation for the downing of an Apache helicopter

    The strikes come amid a week of heightened regional tension

    The United States launched a series of strikes against Iran on Tuesday in retaliation for the downing of a US Apache helicopter over the Strait of Hormuz, Central Command (Centcom) said. The action marks a sharp escalation that deepens doubts over the ceasefire in place since April 8 and over the peace negotiations that President Donald Trump says are within reach.

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  • Tuesday, June 9th 2026 - 21:58 UTC

    EU mission praises transparency in Peru's runoff but criticizes the slow count

    The mission nonetheless noted delays of up to an hour in the opening of polling tables in Lima, mainly due to the absence of their members

    The European Union (EU) election observation mission in Peru highlighted the order and transparency of Sunday's presidential runoff, though it criticized the slowness in proclaiming the results and warned of episodes of racism and discrimination during the campaign. The head of the mission, Italian MEP Annalisa Corrado, asked Peruvians to wait patiently, at a time when, with about 96% of the count completed, conservative Keiko Fujimori and leftist Roberto Sánchez remain in a technical tie.

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  • Tuesday, June 9th 2026 - 21:36 UTC

    FIG appoints Steve Dent as new Director of Development & Commercial Services

    Steve is currently a director of FIMCo and Stanley Growers, and was formerly on the board of the Falkland Islands Chamber of Commerce.

    The Falkland Islands Government has announced the appointment of Steve Dent as the next Director of Development & Commercial Services. Steve joined FIG in 2023, and for the last three years has been Deputy Director of DCS, with direct line-management responsibility for a number of key FIG sections as well as commercial contracts within the directorate’s remit.

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  • Tuesday, June 9th 2026 - 09:51 UTC

    Sánchez overtakes Fujimori in Peru count with 95% tallied; overseas vote still to come

    Fujimori lost ground decimal by decimal as tally sheets arrived from rural and Andean areas, where Sánchez performs best

    Leftist Roberto Sánchez moved ahead in the count of Peru's presidential runoff, in an election being decided vote by vote. With about 95% of the tally sheets processed by the National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE), Sánchez had around 50.1% of the vote, against 49.9% for conservative Keiko Fujimori, a lead of some 41,000 ballots. The result, however, is not final: the votes of Peruvians abroad, historically favorable to the right, have yet to be counted.

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  • Tuesday, June 9th 2026 - 07:44 UTC

    Colombia's runoff: a united right behind De la Espriella faces a divided left

    The left, which had made unity the axis of its campaign in 2025, went through the week with internal tensions

    The first of the three campaign weeks ahead of Colombia's presidential runoff, set for June 21, has been marked by a contrast: a right that had failed to unite for the first round ended up aligned behind far-right candidate Abelardo de la Espriella, while the left of Senator Iván Cepeda and President Gustavo Petro has struggled to coordinate its effort. De la Espriella was the most-voted candidate on May 31, with 43.74% against Cepeda's 40.90%.

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  • Tuesday, June 9th 2026 - 07:07 UTC

    Uruguay's Orsi slips to 12th in a regional presidential ranking; Bukele leads

    According to the poll's breakdown, 19.8% of those surveyed said they had a “very good” image of the president and 19.0% a “good” one; at the other end, 33.5% rated it “very bad” and 22.2% “bad”

    Uruguay's President Yamandú Orsi fell to 12th among the 18 leaders in the June ranking of best-rated Latin American presidents compiled by the Argentine consultancy CB. With a 38.8% positive image, Orsi dropped one spot from May and remains in the survey's “regular” band.

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