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[A port dispute in Montevideo blocks a second ferry operator on the Buenos Aires route]]> Port of Montevideo Uruguayan ferry company Colonia Express obtained authorisation from the Ministry of Transport and Public Works at the end of July to operate the passenger and vehicle route between Montevideo and Buenos Aires, but cannot begin the service because the only ramp at the Montevideo port suitable for unloading cars belongs to Buquebus, the company that currently runs the crossing alone.

]]> Mon, 07 Sep 2026 19:20:00 GMT <![CDATA[Lacalle Pou demands elections in Venezuela and reopens Uruguay's foreign policy debate]]> Former Uruguayan president Luis Lacalle Pou has called for a democratic transition in Venezuela and questioned the terms of the oil agreement reached between the United States and Delcy Rodríguez's government, in an intervention that has revived debate over Uruguay's international position.

]]> Sun, 06 Sep 2026 21:31:00 GMT <![CDATA[Uruguay and Argentina seek to stop the green hydrogen plant repeating the pulp mill conflict]]> Orsi said on Friday in Paysandú that Argentina had withdrawn “the criminal complaint” filed against the project The governments of Uruguay and Argentina are trying to contain tensions surrounding the green hydrogen and synthetic fuels plant that HIF Global plans to build in the Uruguayan department of Paysandú, on the Uruguay river, after a statement by President Yamandú Orsi drew three consecutive denials from the Argentine side.

]]> Tue, 01 Sep 2026 10:32:00 GMT <![CDATA[Uruguay's central bank marks five years without intervening in the currency market]]> Against that backdrop, banks will have to warn clients of the exchange rate risk attached to dollar accounts The Central Bank of Uruguay completed five years on Monday without intervening in the foreign exchange market. Its last operation was a purchase of 31.2 million dollars in 2021. Its president, Guillermo Tolosa, described the milestone as of "enormous" importance and said the country is going through a period of "absolutely free floating of the currency".

]]> Tue, 01 Sep 2026 09:49:00 GMT <![CDATA[The US waives beef tariffs for Brazil and Paraguay, but not for Argentina and Uruguay]]> For Brazil, the largest beef supplier to the US market, the measure removes for three months the out-of-quota duty of 26.4% it has paid since mid-January US President Donald Trump signed a proclamation on August 26 temporarily waiving tariffs on imports of up to 300,000 tonnes of lean beef trimmings, a measure that excludes countries already holding their own quotas in the US market, among them Argentina and Uruguay. The main beneficiaries will be Brazil and Paraguay.

]]> Fri, 28 Aug 2026 19:35:00 GMT <![CDATA[Drums in his neighbourhood and a wake in parliament: Uruguay bids farewell to Ruben Rada]]> The wake drew political figures from across the spectrum Uruguay bade farewell on Thursday to musician Ruben Rada with a wake open to the public at the Legislative Palace, the seat of parliament, after hundreds of people had gathered the previous night with drums in the neighbourhood where he grew up, with no official summons involved.

]]> Thu, 27 Aug 2026 21:43:00 GMT <![CDATA[Ruben Rada, who took Uruguayan candombe to international audiences, dies at 83]]> Rada built a career spanning more than six decades centred on candombe, the Afro-Uruguayan percussive tradition inscribed by UNESCO in 2009 on its list of intangible cultural heritage Uruguayan singer, composer and percussionist Ruben Rada died on Wednesday at the age of 83 in Montevideo. His family announced the death on the artist's social media accounts, specifying that it occurred at 3.30pm, "after fighting for a month against pneumonia and its complications."

]]> Wed, 26 Aug 2026 22:26:00 GMT <![CDATA[Argentine trips abroad fall 21.2% as Brazil and Uruguay lead arrivals]]> Among tourists arriving in Argentina, 36.1% came from Brazil and 16% from Uruguay The number of Argentine residents leaving the country in July fell 21.2% year on year, to 1.22 million people, according to the international tourism statistics report released on Tuesday by the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses. In the opposite direction, 830,200 foreign visitors entered the country, 17.9% more than a year earlier.

]]> Tue, 25 Aug 2026 21:39:00 GMT <![CDATA[The Pan-American Congress closes with a call for more equal north-south dialogue]]> “It is necessary to reframe the dialogue between the north and south of the Americas in more equal terms,” said the meeting's coordinator, David Adler, at the closing session held at the Teatro Solís The third Pan-American Congress concluded on Sunday in Montevideo with a call to reframe relations between the north and south of the Americas on more equal terms. The forum, which brought together some 150 lawmakers, governors and former heads of state from fifteen countries, will hold its next edition in Brazil in 2027.

]]> Mon, 24 Aug 2026 21:55:00 GMT <![CDATA[Progressive leaders gathered in Uruguay denounce US interference and acknowledge their own mistakes]]> Participants questioned Washington's conduct in the region, citing that intervention, strikes on vessels in the Caribbean and sanctions on Cuba, and called for greater regional autonomy The opening session of the third Pan-American Congress, held on Friday at the Legislative Palace in Montevideo, combined criticism of United States policy towards Latin America with calls for self-criticism within progressive forces. More than 150 lawmakers, former presidents, ministers and political figures from fifteen countries are taking part, according to organisers.

]]> Sat, 22 Aug 2026 08:28:00 GMT