Politics

• Monday, March 7th 2011 - 00:30 UTC

  Sustaining Latin America’s Transformation

  

  By Nicolás Eyzaguirre (*) Building on recent successes, Latin America now has a chance to raise its profile in the global marketplace. “There is nothing so joyous as a Mexican fiesta, but there is also nothing so sorrowful,” wrote Nobel-Prize-winning poet Octavio Paz, in The Labyrinth of Solitude. “Our fiestas are explosions. Life and death, joy and sorrow, music and mere noise are united.

• Saturday, March 5th 2011 - 07:12 UTC

  Argentina soy export terminals resume full activities

  

  Argentine dock workers reached a wage deal on Friday and called off a three-day-old protest that paralyzed two major soy export terminals and stopped 20 grains ships from loading, a union leader said.

• Saturday, March 5th 2011 - 06:55 UTC

  Chinese congress targets social stability; admits inflation and corruption

  

  China must ensure social stability by reducing inflation and corruption, Premier Wen Jiabao has told the parliament's annual session. Mr Wen has been addressing about 3,000 delegates to open the National People's Congress in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

• Saturday, March 5th 2011 - 05:40 UTC

  Busy agenda for Chile’s Piñera in Europe and Israel and Palestine

  

  Chilean President Sebastián Piñera arrived in Italy this week for a three-day visit to Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and the Vatican. It comes at a difficult time for Berlusconi, who is in the middle of a scandal and allegations of tax fraud and consorting with under-age prostitutes.

• Saturday, March 5th 2011 - 05:20 UTC

  Unexpected slowdown of Brazilian inflation during February: 0.8%

  

  Retail prices in Brazil, as measured by the benchmark IPCA index, rose 0.8% in February, down from 0.83% January, the national statistics agency said in a report distributed in Rio de Janeiro Friday.

• Saturday, March 5th 2011 - 01:48 UTC

  Sales, Especially by Russia and China, Continue to Penetrate Latin America

  

  Russian military sales have become so frequent in recent years that they no longer make for major headlines. However, as Washington policymakers continue to voice concern about Iran’s growing influence in Latin America, some alarmists argue that Russia’s eagerness to supply the region with weapons is likely to trigger a “soft arms race” and present itself as a threat to the United State’s historic hegemony in the Western Hemisphere.

• Friday, March 4th 2011 - 23:04 UTC

  Argentina waging a ‘vicious war’ against the Falkland Islands

  

  Falkland Islands Legislative Assembly member Bill Luxton aimed a fierce broadside against Argentine government propaganda and pressure on the Falklands. He was supported by several colleagues from the Legislative Assembly.

• Friday, March 4th 2011 - 22:55 UTC

  Socialist candidate, if elected, promises improved relations and dialogue with Gibraltar

  

  Spain’s ruling Socialist (PSOE) coalition candidate for mayor in La Linea, neighbouring with Gibraltar, promised to rebuild relations with the British Overseas Territory if she wins the forthcoming municipal election.

• Friday, March 4th 2011 - 22:29 UTC

  Argentina pays international debts with Central bank ‘free and available’ reserves

  

  Argentina's federal government on Friday said it will pay 2.17 billion US dollars owed to international financial organizations this year with central bank reserves and funds held in the treasury.

• Friday, March 4th 2011 - 06:19 UTC

  Strauss-Khan describes IMF/Argentina relation as ‘romance” with love-hate periods

  

  The IMF relation with Argentina is like romance with its ups and downs, said IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Khan who added he trusted that the IMF technical mission that will be visiting Argentina to help elaborate a new retail prices index would achieve “significant advances”.