MercoPress https://en.mercopress.com/ South Atlantic News Agency en Copyright 2026, MercoPress. https://en.mercopress.com/web/img/en/mercopress-logo.gif MercoPress http://en.mercopress.com/ <![CDATA[Trump declines to back Lula or Flávio Bolsonaro as Brazil votes]]> Trump gave vague answers. “I'm following it very closely. It's a very important country. The people of Brazil are fantastic. It's a very important election” US President Donald Trump has not endorsed either of the two leading candidates in Brazil's presidential election on Sunday, unlike in recent elections in Honduras, Colombia, Chile, Argentina and Costa Rica.

]]> Sun, 04 Oct 2026 08:57:00 GMT <![CDATA[Latin American airports will need US$178 billion to nearly double their traffic]]> The organisation also argued that airport charges, set by each country's regulators rather than by the airports themselves, account for a small share of airline costs Airports in Latin America and the Caribbean will require investment of around US$178 billion over the next thirty years to handle demand that would rise from 809 million passengers this year to around 1.5 billion in 2045, according to projections presented in Lima at the annual assembly of Airports Council International.

]]> Tue, 29 Sep 2026 07:30:00 GMT <![CDATA[“The UN has more reason to exist every day”, Uruguay's president said two days after Milei]]> “The UN has more reason to exist every day,” Orsi said, while calling for multilateral institutions that are “more effective, more representative” and closer to people's needs Uruguayan President Yamandú Orsi defended the United Nations' relevance and condemned the economic embargo on Cuba before the General Assembly on Thursday, in an address of just under twenty minutes that contrasted with that of his Argentine counterpart, Javier Milei, two days earlier from the same podium.

]]> Fri, 25 Sep 2026 10:41:00 GMT <![CDATA[US removes Venezuela and Bolivia from list of countries failing on drugs]]> The United States government removed Venezuela and Bolivia from the category of countries that Washington says have failed to demonstrably combat international drug trafficking, while keeping Colombia, Afghanistan and Myanmar on that list. The determination, sent to Congress on Tuesday and released by the State Department on Wednesday, is part of the annual assessment of the 23 countries deemed major drug transit or producing states, five of which had been designated last year as having "failed demonstrably."

]]> Thu, 17 Sep 2026 08:35:00 GMT <![CDATA[Uruguay issues Swiss franc bonds for the first time]]> This placement “reflects the confidence of investors in the institutional soundness of the country,” Oddone argued Uruguay issued sovereign bonds in Swiss francs for the first time Thursday, totaling 320 million (about US$400 million) to help finance a US$6 billion fiscal deficit in 2025. The bonds, with five- and ten-year terms, carry an average annual interest rate of 1.33%. Economy Minister Gabriel Oddone highlighted the favorable interest rates and noted that Uruguay was the only Latin American country currently issuing bonds in this currency, tapping into a market of high-quality investors.

]]> Fri, 27 Jun 2025 08:40:00 GMT <![CDATA[Noboa wants foreign military bases back in Ecuador but needs Constitutional reform for that]]> Noboa intends to reform Article 5 of the Ecuadorean Constitution so as to allow foreign military bases or installations in the country to fight organized crime Ecuadorean President Daniel Noboa has submitted before the Constitutional Court (CC) a projected amendment whereby foreign military bases might be admitted in the South American country. "The present request seeks that this magistracy carries out the prior control at a first moment of the project of partial reform to the Constitution that is presented, and that, through an opinion, pronounces itself regarding the way by which it should be processed," read the document signed by the head of state.

]]> Tue, 17 Sep 2024 12:50:00 GMT <![CDATA[Joint statement issued against the arrest of Venezuelan opposition activist]]> San Miguel has been accused of plotting to kill President Nicolás Maduro Given the arrest in Venezuela of opposition activist Rocío San Miguel last week, the governments of Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Paraguay, and Uruguay issued a joint statement Thursday calling for her release.

]]> Fri, 16 Feb 2024 11:14:00 GMT <![CDATA[Disqualification of María Corina Machado shadows Venezuela's path to reconciliation]]> The government's suspension of Machado's candidacy, citing corruption allegations, echoes previous disqualifications in 2021 and 2014. The disqualification of Venezuelan opposition figure María Corina Machado from the Supreme Court Justice (TSJ) threatens the international aperture the South American country has experienced. The United States Government has issued a two-month ultimatum to the Maduro government, demanding the inclusion of barred opposition candidates in the upcoming presidential elections.

]]> Tue, 30 Jan 2024 11:01:00 GMT <![CDATA[Paraná Waterway conflict: Paraguayan barge released after paying toll]]> Paraguayan President Santiago Peña announced measures against Argentina, including a lawsuit before the Mercosur Tribunal for violations of the Treaty of Asunción A Paraguayan barge with fuel seized by Argentine authorities for failure to pay the toll on the Paraguay-Paraná River Waterway has been released after posting nearly US$ 30,000, it was reported.

]]> Tue, 12 Sep 2023 08:40:00 GMT <![CDATA[Lula rebuts comments from Boric and Lacalle]]> “No one needs to agree with anyone. This is how we do it”, said Lula in response to Lacalle's and Boric's criticism. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva stated on Tuesday that the meeting of 11 South American presidents at the Itamaraty Palace was not a group of friends, but of presidents seeking regional coordination, reported Agência Brasil.

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