Renowned Brazilian singer Caetano Veloso gave his full support to Green party presidential hopeful Marina Silva that he expects will show more elegance and pragmatism than President Lula da Silva, whom he described as “illiterate” and a “coarse speaker”.
United States will recognize the Honduran elections results regardless of whether former President Manuel Zelaya is returned to office and regardless of whether the vote on reinstatement takes place before or after November 29th, according to Republican Senator Jim DeMint who claims he was given guarantees to that effect by the US State Department.
In related news the Brazilian Senate postponed for a week a full house vote on the incorporation of Venezuela to Mercosur which is pending since March 2007 when the administration of President Lula da Silva sent the request.
Brazil is demanding that ousted Honduran president Manuel Zelaya be reinstated before the scheduled presidential election of November 29th, according to government sources quoted in the Sao Paulo and Brasilia press.
Brazil’s all powerful Sao Paulo Federation of Industries, FIESP, said it is willing to yield positions so a free trade agreement can be reached with the European Union but also suggested Brazil should leave Mercosur aside.
Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo put an end Wednesday to rumors circulating the capital Asuncion about a possible coup by replacing all top military commanders. The announcement came from the armed forces themselves, not the president's office.
Colombian opposition groups have reacted angrily after details of a controversial military deal with the US were made public.
Argentina’s Economy Minister Amado Boudou travels to Scotland Thursday where he will participate in a meeting with his G-20 counterparts. Boudou is also scheduled to meet with International Monetary Fund (IMF) head Dominique Strauss-Kahn.
Argentina has accused Brazil of not keeping to agreed “self regulated” bilateral trade understandings originally destined as an umbrella for Argentine industry, and instead has resorted to customs barriers which are delaying or impeding exports.
The Federal Reserve Open Market Committee kept US interest rates on hold at between 0% and 0.25%, as had been widely expected. Despite the US economy growing 3.5% in July to September - its first expansion since June 2008 - rates were left unchanged on Wednesday to further aid the recovery.