Politics

• Tuesday, May 10th 2016 - 06:03 UTC

  Lawmakers planning to remove House acting speaker who annulled Rousseff's impeachment process

  

  Waldir Maranaho's acting speaker post in Brazil's Lower House and his decision to annul the April 17 impeachment procedure vote against Dilma Rousseff, could be on the fire line, and even the countdown, following on fourteen parties decision to impede him from acting, according to Veja, Brazil's leading magazine.

• Monday, May 9th 2016 - 11:29 UTC

  Fitch downgrades Brazil's sovereign debt into junk territory, as political crisis deepens

  

  Fitch Ratings downgraded Brazil's sovereign debt further into junk territory on Thursday, citing a deeper-than-expected economic contraction and changing fiscal targets that have undermined credibility. The agency downgraded Brazil to BB from BB+ with a negative outlook a week before a Senate vote that is expected to lead to the suspension of unpopular leftist President Dilma Rousseff.

• Monday, May 9th 2016 - 11:20 UTC

  JBS denies making illegal payments for Rousseff's campaign in 2014

  

  JBS SA, the world's largest beef producer, denied a Saturday newspaper report that it had made illegal payments for President Dilma Rousseff's 2014 reelection campaign. O Globo newspaper, citing leaked testimony given to federal investigators by Monica Moura, the wife of Rousseff's campaign chief Joao Santana, earlier reported that JBS paid the Rousseff campaign's debt to Focal, a Sao Paulo-based visual communications firm.

• Monday, May 9th 2016 - 11:13 UTC

  Brazilian deputy asks the Supreme Court to block Rousseff's impeachment

  

  The deputy from the ruling Workers’ Party has appealed to Brazil’s Supreme Court in an effort to block the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff ahead of Wednesday’s Senate vote.

• Monday, May 9th 2016 - 11:04 UTC

  Former first lady of East Germany, nicknamed the Purple Witch, dies in Chile

  

  A small funeral was held in Chile Saturday for Margot Honecker, the widow of former East German leader Erich Honecker. A steely politician in her own right, the 89-year-old died of cancer in the capital Santiago on Friday.

• Monday, May 9th 2016 - 09:17 UTC

  S&P raises Argentina's credit rating, but warns about the 40% inflation

  

  Argentina’s credit rating was raised to B- from selective default by S&P Global Ratings, which cited the country’s payment last Thursday of $2.7 billion of past-due interest on bonds in default since July 2014.

• Monday, May 9th 2016 - 09:04 UTC

  Brazilian prosecutors after another can of worms: the huge development bank

  

  A former Brazilian finance minister and the current head of the nation's state economic and social development bank allegedly pressured big construction firms into making campaign donations for President Dilma Rousseff, a newspaper reported on Sunday. If it proves correct it would be the first concrete lead linking the Petrobras corruption with BNDES, long suspected by Brazilian prosecution.

• Monday, May 9th 2016 - 07:33 UTC

  Massive protest in Comodoro Rivadavia against the oil industry weak activity

  

  More than 50,000 workers blocked the centre of Comodoro Rivadavia, in Argentina's Patagonia main oil-producing region in a protest against layoffs. Striking oil workers were joined by teachers, truck drivers, builders and other sectors in the demonstration.

• Monday, May 9th 2016 - 07:14 UTC

  Jobs, layoffs and severance payment at the heart of Argentina's public debate

  

  Unemployment and jobs are in the heart of public debate in Argentina. A public opinion poll released last week revealed that 48.3% of Argentines fear he/she or a relative might lose their jobs in the next six months.

• Saturday, May 7th 2016 - 13:22 UTC

  Venezuela accuses Washington and the opposition of plotting to overthrow Maduro

  

  Venezuela's foreign minister accused the United States of conspiring to topple President Nicolás Maduro's government in conjunction with Venezuela's opposition. Minister Delcy Rodríguez says the plot includes attempting to remove Maduro's government from the Organization of American States in conjunction with the organization's secretary-general, Luis Almagro.