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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, April 16th 2025 - 02:37 UTC

Politics

  • Friday, February 21st 2025 - 09:45 UTC

    Paraguayan President celebrates drop in unemployment

    “In one year and 4 months of management we created in Paraguay 100,000 new jobs,” Peña underlined

    Paraguayan President Santiago Peña Thursday celebrated the creation of over 96,000 new jobs since the start of his administration, according to a study from the National Institute of Statistics (INE) released in Asunción which showed a significant increase from the third quarter of 2023 to the fourth quarter of 2024, with major growth in commerce, restaurants, hotels, community services, and construction sectors.

  • Friday, February 21st 2025 - 09:43 UTC

    No signs of imminent IMF disbursement after Milei meets with Georgieva

    The IMF told Milei it was concerned about certain policies undertaken by the Argentine government

    Argentine President Javier Milei met Thursday with International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva in Washington, D.C., to discuss the South American country's stabilization and growth plan and advance negotiations for a new loan.

  • Friday, February 21st 2025 - 09:38 UTC

    Argentine Senate okays no PASO elections and in absentia trials

    Both bills are now up to the Executive to be signed into law

    Argentina's Senate Thursday passed a bill suspending the Primary, Open, Simultaneous, and Mandatory (PASO) elections for 2025 with 43 affirmative votes, 20 against, and six abstentions. The initiative simplifies the electoral process and leaves it up to each political force to appoint its candidates in the manner they see fit. In addition, the Upper House approved the Trial in Absentia bill, which among other things would allow the Iranians accused of the 1994 AMIA bombing to be tried. Thursday's session also highlighted internal parliamentary divisions among the various legislative blocs.

  • Thursday, February 20th 2025 - 19:58 UTC

    Spanish Labor Minister announces tour of Argentina and Uruguay

    Díaz will seek to spread a progressive international agenda during her trip

    Spain's Labor Minister and Second Deputy Prime Minister Yolanda Díaz will be touring Argentina and Uruguay later this month to attend Yamandú Orsi's inauguration in Montevideo on March 1, among other engagements, her office in Madrid announced Thursday.

  • Thursday, February 20th 2025 - 18:03 UTC

    Bolivian official warns against disinformation regarding lithium contracts

    “There is disinformation with political intentions, without any doubt,” Alcón argued

    Bolivia's Vice Minister of Communication Gabriela Alcón said this week that spreading misinformation about lithium contracts would result in delays to the mineral's industrialization in her country. She also underlined the importance of transparent communication about the documents currently being negotiated, which are beneficial for the state and involve a small portion of the nation's salt flats. Contracts with Russia's Uranium One Group and China's CBC from Hong Kong are expected to yield significant amounts of lithium carbonate, with investments totaling over US$ 2 billion.

  • Thursday, February 20th 2025 - 17:31 UTC

    Hamas hands over bodies of Argentine national and her two children

    The Bibas family became a symbol of what Hamas terrorists are capable of

    Israeli authorities confirmed Thursday that the four bodies handed over by the pro-Palestine terrorist organization Hamas to the Red Cross belonged to Argentine national Shiri Bibas (née Silberman) and her two children, Ariel and Kafir, who were 9 months and 4 years old at the time of their abduction on Oct. 7, 2023. Yarden Bibas, Shiri’s husband and the children’s father, was released on February 1, 2025, as part of the ceasefire. The fourth victim was Oded Lifshitz, an 84-year-old Israeli who had long fought for an understanding between the two peoples but was eventually “betrayed” by the Palestinians, according to his wife, who was released by Hamas 16 days after the incursion. All five had been kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz.

  • Thursday, February 20th 2025 - 10:53 UTC

    Milei turns Banco Nación into a corporation

    It was Milei's last measure before departing for the United States

    Argentine President Javier Milei signed a decree transforming Banco de la Nación Argentina into a corporation in a move to facilitate its future privatization or allow private investors to join its capital. The bank currently has assets of US$ 48 billion, deposits of US$ 33 billion, and a net worth of US$ 15 billion.

  • Thursday, February 20th 2025 - 10:46 UTC

    Milei’s crypto scandal deepens, now involving his sister 'The Boss'

    Hayden Davis, a key figure in the Libra project, boasted in a text message that he had paid Karina Milei to influence the president’s actions

    The fallout from Argentine President Javier Milei’s involvement in a crypto scandal has expanded, now implicating his sister and closest adviser, Karina Milei. Allegations have surfaced that she was directly approached by those behind the controversial Libra memecoin, which skyrocketed and then collapsed after Milei endorsed it on social media.

  • Thursday, February 20th 2025 - 10:29 UTC

    Argentina settles scores with Paraguayan side of Yacyretá

    It was a requirement from the IMF, Benítez explained

    The Paraguayan side of the Yacyretá Binational Entity (EBY) admitted Wednesday that Argentina now owed nothing after paying US$ 23 million earlier this week, although certain arrangements concerning US$ 50 million were still pending. Paraguay's EBY General Manager Luis Benítez also pointed out that a financial agreement would be signed next week to set the entity's accounts straight.

  • Thursday, February 20th 2025 - 09:37 UTC

    Lula highlights Brazil's economic improvements

    Lula also underscored the nation's continued growth, controlled inflation, and living standards improvements

    Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva highlighted Wednesday that his country's economy has outperformed expectations in the past two years when it reached 3.2% in 2023 and 3.8% in 2024 amid projections of +0.8% and +2.5% respectively.