Politics

• Monday, April 27th 2009 - 13:47 UTC

  Brazilian private sector divided over Venezuela and Mercosur

  

  The congressional controversy in Brazil over the incorporation of Venezuela has moved to the business sector. A group of Brazilian businessmen have begun lobbying strongly for Venezuela’s full membership but the process has been stalled by Brazilian and Paraguayan law makers.

• Monday, April 27th 2009 - 12:01 UTC

  Ecuador’s Correa re-elected; US dollar to remain as currency

  

  President Rafael Correa of Ecuador claimed re-election victory Sunday minutes after the polls closed on Sunday, calling his apparent win “a day of joy” in which “we have made history”. He was quoted saying he would keep the US dollar as the country’s currency.

• Saturday, April 25th 2009 - 11:00 UTC

  Voting before the going gets tough. The president of Argentina brings forward mid-term elections

  

  A piece from The Economist Intelligence Unite Views Wire on Argentina’s coming mid term elections sets out the scenario of the day after, and its consequences for the ruling Kirchner couple and obviously Argentine stability.
  An issue too sensitive to be openly addressed in Argentina, the article basically states the election has turned into a referendum on the still powerful Kirchners.
  “A heavy defeat for the candidates and allies of the governing Frente para la Victoria (FV, a faction of the Peronist party) could well hasten the end of their power, increasing the risk that the president will not see out her term (due to expire in January 2012) and presaging a bumpy political transition”.

• Saturday, April 25th 2009 - 07:40 UTC

  Black population becomes the majority in Brazil

  

  Brazil and its almost 200 million population is no longer a country of white majority. The credit now belongs to the 49.6% black or mulatto population compared to the 49.4% defined as white and this is set to increase in coming years with that percentage increasing to 54, according to a recent report from the Rio do Janeiro Federal University.

• Saturday, April 25th 2009 - 07:12 UTC

  Campaigners call new UK migration rules for Ghurka soldiers a “betrayal”

  

  Campaigners for Gurkha soldiers who want to settle in Britain have branded new rules on who could stay a “betrayal”. Immigration Minister Phil Woolas said the changes would allow around 4.300 more former Gurkhas to settle in the country out of the 36,000 who served in the British Army before July 1997.

• Friday, April 24th 2009 - 10:45 UTC

  United States and Latin America

  

  The Economist under the heading “The charming neighbour” says President Barack Obama’s incursion into Latinamerica at the recent summit in Trinidad Tobago was “overall a success”. But is also asks whether the new mood will survive the worsening recession in Latin America is unclear. And is spite all the discussion about Cuba, The Economist believes that in practice, “drugs and security are likely to overshadow all other issues in the Obama administration relation with Latinamerica. Furthermore “trade and immigration”, particularly with Mexico, have become dividing issues.

• Friday, April 24th 2009 - 10:26 UTC

  Argentina, Brazil agree to disagree …more discreetly

  

  Argentina and Brazil confirmed on Thursday their strategic alliance particularly in the face of the current global crisis challenge and also tried to bridge their differences regarding bilateral trade and claims of protectionism.

• Friday, April 24th 2009 - 09:59 UTC

  Weekly Penguin News Update - Falkland Islands

  

  Headlines: Saluting Her Majesty the Queen on her birthday; Dr Doyle’s visit to bring hope for greater certainty in relations between FIG and C&W; Weighty Argentine seabed claim; Ilex still absent; Action on dead pigs at dairy not in the public interest; New advice for use of Bonjela.

• Friday, April 24th 2009 - 06:50 UTC

  Captain of Falklands’ war cruiser “General Belgrano” dies in Argentina

  

  The commander of the Argentine cruiser General Belgrano sunk by a British nuclear submarine during the Falkland Islands conflict 1982, Hector Bonzo died this week in Buenos Aires at the age of 76.

• Friday, April 24th 2009 - 04:56 UTC

  UNITAS Gold celebrates 50th anniversary of multilateral maritime exercise

  

  Representatives from eleven countries participated in the opening ceremony of UNITAS Gold on the 50th iteration of the annual multinational maritime exercise which takes place off the coast of Florida until May 5.