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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, June 17th 2026 - 11:54 UTC

Politics

  • Wednesday, March 18th 2026 - 23:10 UTC

    Brazil promulgates Mercosur-EU deal, completing domestic ratification of trade pact

    During the formal session, Alcolumbre said trade “is the key to world peace” and argued that countries that do business with one another tend to have more to lose from war than to gain from it

    Brazil’s Congress on Tuesday promulgated the trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union, completing the final domestic step required for the treaty to take effect on the Brazilian side. The ceremony was led by Senate and Congress President Davi Alcolumbre, who framed the pact as a sign in favor of trade, stability and integration at a time of wars and commercial tensions.

  • Wednesday, March 18th 2026 - 22:44 UTC

    Brazil’s central bank starts easing cycle, cuts Selic rate to 14.75%

    The decision comes as Brazil combines softer inflation with signs of slower economic growth

    Brazil’s central bank on Wednesday cut the Selic benchmark rate from 15% to 14.75% a year, marking the first reduction since May 2024 and the formal start of an easing cycle that policymakers had already flagged. In its statement, the Monetary Policy Committee, or Copom, said the move was consistent with its strategy to bring inflation back to target and noted that the external environment had become “more uncertain” because of the intensification of geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East.

  • Wednesday, March 18th 2026 - 22:21 UTC

    Attack on world’s largest gas field raises tensions and jolts markets

    The market reaction was immediate. Brent crude rose to $110.94 a barrel, a daily gain of 7.28%, while Europe’s TTF gas benchmark climbed to 54.73 euros per megawatt hour, up 6.14% on the day

    The war involving Iran, Israel and the United States escalated sharply on Wednesday with a strike on South Pars, the Iranian side of the world’s largest natural gas field, which it shares with Qatar. Reuters reported that the hit on the site marked a new phase in the conflict by targeting major Iranian energy infrastructure for the first time in this war, and was followed by Iranian threats and attacks against energy targets across the Gulf.

  • Wednesday, March 18th 2026 - 21:00 UTC

    Venezuelan National Assembly speaker meets US Senate envoys

    The Venezuelan government framed the opening as part of a broader agenda of stabilization and gradual normalization of ties.

    Venezuelan National Assembly speaker Jorge Rodríguez said on Wednesday that he met in Caracas with representatives of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee and with U.S. Chargé d’Affaires Laura Dogu, in the latest sign of the bilateral opening that began after January’s political shift. Rodríguez said the agenda forms part of a dialogue “always based on mutual respect and cooperation between nations.”

  • Wednesday, March 18th 2026 - 11:12 UTC

    Government targets faster state processes with new economic reform package

    Oddone argued that the macroeconomic margin has already been largely exhausted and that the current bottlenecks lie in opaque price formation, slow procedures and overlapping controls

    Uruguayan President Yamandú Orsi and Economy Minister Gabriel Oddone said the government will send a competitiveness and innovation bill to Congress on May 31, focused on foreign trade, competition policy, innovation and administrative simplification. The initiative was launched alongside a call for unions, business chambers and academia to submit proposals by April 24.

  • Tuesday, March 17th 2026 - 23:24 UTC

    Kast launches border barriers in northern Chile and hardens migration agenda

    Photo: AP/Esteban Felix

    Chilean President José Antonio Kast on Monday launched the border control works he had promised during the campaign, starting in Chacalluta in the Arica and Parinacota region, in an early sign that migration and security will be among the defining priorities of his administration. According to Chile’s presidency, Kast inspected the works at the frontier and highlighted the Army’s deployment to secure the area.

  • Tuesday, March 17th 2026 - 23:16 UTC

    $LIBRA case forensic report points to payments from Novelli to Milei since 2021, La Nación says

    The newspaper also traced how Novelli and his circle allegedly sought to capitalize on their proximity to Milei

    A forensic report added to the judicial case around the $LIBRA scandal contains references to payments that businessman Mauricio Novelli allegedly made to Javier Milei from 2021, when he was still a congressman, for classes and promotional work tied to N&W Profesional Traders, according to La Nación. The report also points to indications of money transfers or cash deliveries even after Milei became president.

  • Tuesday, March 17th 2026 - 22:45 UTC

    Petro accuses Ecuador of bombing Colombian territory, deepening rift with Noboa

    Noboa responded quickly. Ecuador’s president called Petro’s statements “false” and said Ecuador was “acting in our territory, not in yours.”

    The crisis between Colombia and Ecuador escalated sharply on Tuesday after Colombian President Gustavo Petro said his country was being bombed from Ecuadorian territory, while his counterpart Daniel Noboa rejected the allegation and insisted military operations were taking place only on Ecuador’s side of the border.

  • Tuesday, March 17th 2026 - 22:31 UTC

    US counterterrorism chief resigns over Iran war

    Kent’s departure cuts at one of the White House’s core arguments for the strikes

    Joe Kent, director of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center, resigned on Tuesday with immediate effect, saying he could not support Washington’s war against Iran in what became the first high-level public break inside Donald Trump’s national security apparatus since the offensive began. Kent said Tehran had posed no “imminent threat” to the United States.

  • Tuesday, March 17th 2026 - 22:15 UTC

    Trump sharpens criticism of NATO after allies refuse to join Hormuz mission

    The refusals further exposed Washington’s diplomatic isolation in a war now entering its third week and already pushing oil above US$100 a barrel

    U.S. President Donald Trump escalated his criticism of NATO and other allies on Tuesday after most of them rejected his request to send ships to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, the key waterway for Gulf energy exports. Speaking alongside Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin, Trump called the refusal “a very foolish mistake” while also insisting Washington could proceed alone: “We don’t need help, actually.”