Politics

• Friday, October 30th 2009 - 21:56 UTC

  Ecuador signs arms and energy deals with Russia: “just the beginning”

  

  President Dmitry Medvedev called new arms and energy deals between Russia and Ecuador just a beginning as Moscow strives to deepen ties in Latin America. Medvedev and Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa announced a 22 million US dollars deal for Russia to provide Ecuador with two Mi-17 transport helicopters.

• Friday, October 30th 2009 - 21:51 UTC

  Ecuador to pay royalties on pharmaceutical patents

  

  Ecuador is to pay royalties to the holders of international pharmaceutical patents, basing the payments on the sale price of locally produced medicines, the Ecuadorian Institute of Intellectual Property, or IEPI, said this week.

• Friday, October 30th 2009 - 11:10 UTC

  Argentina Chile plan to bore two integration tunnels under the Andes

  

  Relations between Argentina and Chile are going through an optimum moment and once we drill through the Andes, “ghosts of the past will definitively have gone”, said Argentine president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner during the first of her two day visit to Chile.

• Friday, October 30th 2009 - 07:27 UTC

  Lula da Silva relishes in Caracas approval of Venezuela’s Mercosur entry bid

  

  Brazil's Senate foreign relations committee approved on Thursday in a divided vote Venezuela's request to join Mercosur despite concerns over President Hugo Chavez's authoritarian style of government. The vote comes when President Lula da Silva flies to Caracas to sign huge contracts for Brazilian corporations.

• Friday, October 30th 2009 - 06:38 UTC

  NYT praises Chile’s Bachelet handling of the crisis and her style of government

  

  The New York Times dedicated an article to Chilean President Michelle Bachelet whom she describes as among a handful of Latin American leaders, including President Lula da Silva of Brazil, whose handling of the crisis has strengthened their popularity.

• Friday, October 30th 2009 - 04:29 UTC

  Uruguay’s Colorados recommend voting for conservative Lacalle

  

  Uruguay’s junior opposition Colorado party has recommended its followers to support Conservative presidential candidate Luis Alberto Lacalle for the November 29th run-off with the ruling coalition’s Jose Mujica.

• Friday, October 30th 2009 - 03:05 UTC

  Argentina/Brazil clash over trade restrictions: what restrictions?

  

  Brazilian Minister of Development Industry and Trade, Miguel Jorge confirmed Thursday that the Brazilian government is requesting non automatic licenses for some imports from Argentina, but denied it was a reprisal because of similar measures imposed by Argentina.

• Friday, October 30th 2009 - 01:47 UTC

  Zelaya still president for 46% of Hondurans according to poll

  

  A relative majority of Hondurans consider ousted Manuel Zelaya as their president compared to the head of de facto government Roberto Micheletti, according to the latest public opinion poll from CID-Gallup released this week in Tegucigalpa.

• Thursday, October 29th 2009 - 13:31 UTC

  Argentina/Chile seal “historic” integration and cooperation agreement

  

  Argentina and Chile will sign Friday an integration and cooperation agreement which is an update of the Peace and Friendship treaty of 1984 which paved the way for a close relation and dependency between the neighbouring countries that only a few years before had been on the verge of war.

• Thursday, October 29th 2009 - 10:11 UTC

  Brazilian Senate ready to approve Venezuela’s inclusion in Mercosur

  

  Strong lobbying from business interests in Brazil and Venezuela apparently will have tipped the balance and open the way for the Brazilian Congress to include Venezuela in South America’s largest trade block, Mercosur when it takes a vote on Thursday.