Politics

• Sunday, March 27th 2016 - 05:07 UTC

  Rousseff “D Day”: on Tuesday main coalition ally decides if it continues support

  

  The government of Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff, her mentor Lula da Silva and their Workers Party fear very much that next Tuesday could become “D Day”, since its main ally the PMDB, and with the largest representation in Congress, will be holding an extraordinary meeting of the national directory to decide whether to continue or step down from the ruling convention.

• Saturday, March 26th 2016 - 07:33 UTC

  Rousseff blasts the opposition for their “fascist methods” in trying to illegally remove her from office

  

  Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff condemned the “fascist methods” of opponents seeking her ouster and said the country's current political crisis would leave a “scar” if not resolved democratically. In an interview with several foreign media groups, Rousseff said she was being pressured to resign because her rivals wanted “to avoid the difficulty of removing -- unduly, illegally and criminally -- a legitimately elected president from power”.

• Saturday, March 26th 2016 - 07:15 UTC

  Mercosur prepares to celebrate 25th anniversary hoping it can be 'reborn' under Argentine leadership

  

  On Saturday 26 March the Asuncion Treaty, which gave birth to Mercosur, the Common Market of the South, will be 25, and even with celebration plans the mood of its members is not enthusiastic following years of “too much ideology” and “too little trade and business”, distant from the original idea and purpose.

• Saturday, March 26th 2016 - 07:03 UTC

  Mercosur and Unasur can't agree on a statement of support for Dilma Rousseff

  

  The attempt by Uruguay to draft a strong Mercosur and Unasur resolution in support of embattled Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff has foundered. Argentina is only prepared to express support for Brazil's institutions while Chile and Paraguay have balked at the idea of personalizing the issue in Rousseff and her Workers Party.

• Friday, March 25th 2016 - 05:57 UTC

  New Zealanders have voted in a referendum to keep their existing flag

  

  New Zealanders have voted to keep their existing flag after a national referendum, preliminary results show. The referendum asked whether the flag which includes the Union Jack should be replaced by a design called Silver Fern, which won an earlier ballot. The results show 56.6% voted for no change, while 43.1% opted for the new design. Just over 2.1m votes were cast.

• Friday, March 25th 2016 - 05:20 UTC

  US government supports Argentine appeal to lift injunctions in its debt dispute

  

  In another display of support for the Argentine administration of president Mauricio Macri, the government of the United States affirmed it has “significant foreign policy interests” in finding a “rapid” resolution to the long-standing dispute between Argentina and bondholders.

• Thursday, March 24th 2016 - 19:34 UTC

  Obama pays homage to victims of Argentine dictatorship and admits “US was slow to speak out for human rights”

  

  President Barack Obama paid homage on Thursday to victims of Argentina's former US-backed dictatorship, admitting the United States was “slow to speak out for human rights” in those dark days. Obama became the first US president to formally acknowledge the victims of the 1976-1983 military regime, which declassified documents have revealed was supported by top US officials.

• Thursday, March 24th 2016 - 02:03 UTC

  Brazilian Supreme Court emerges with a decisive role in the institutional crisis

  

  The Brazilian government's efforts to have former president Lula da Silva into the cabinet of president Dilma Rousseff will have to wait until next 30 March when the Supreme Court is scheduled to hold its next full meeting. The political upheaval and simultaneous legal back-and forth has reached such a pitch that it inspired a bleakly funny website, lulaeministro.com, or “Is Lula a minister?” The site shows only the former president’s face and the words, “At this moment, No.” (Or yes, depending).

• Thursday, March 24th 2016 - 01:16 UTC

  Time bomb in Brazil: list of 200 names of politicians from 18 parties who received illegal funds for elections

  

  Odebrecht, the engineering firm at the heart of Brazil's biggest ever graft probe, on Tuesday agreed to cooperate with prosecutors, in a move likely to send shockwaves across political parties that for years illegally siphoned money from state contracts. Federal police found an office to pay bribes and it surfaced that since February it has a list of 200 politicians who benefited from siphoned funds for election campaigns.

• Thursday, March 24th 2016 - 01:10 UTC

  Brazil's chief of staff warns about the “dangerous precedent” of ousting an unpopular government

  

  Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff's chief of staff on Wednesday said ousting her would set a “dangerous” precedent for unpopular governments to be toppled in the future. On Tuesday Rousseff said that ongoing impeachment proceedings against her in Congress constituted a “plot” against Brazil's institutions and the nation's stability.