The summit of G77 leaders plus China wrapped up Sunday with a call for an end to poverty by 2030, after a demand by Bolivia's President Evo Morales to eliminate the UN Security Council. It also marked the presence of Beijing which has become the leading trade partner of many Latam countries.
The G77 plus China extraordinary summit which took place in Bolivia over the weekend approved two statements in support of Argentina's position in the 'Malvinas Islands question' and a second referred to the current conflict with holdout hedge funds, a long running litigation that has reached the US Supreme Court. Argentine president Cristina Fernández attended the Santa Cruz de la Sierra event.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon got an unusual treat for his 70th birthday when the president of Bolivia, Evo Morales, presented him with a cake made with coca leaves. The UN chief was in Santa Cruz, Bolivia for a meeting this weekend of the G77 group of countries to discuss measures for reducing poverty.
Latin America has two open wounds, the Malvinas Islands and Bolivia's sovereign outlet to the Pacific, said Bolivian vice-president Alvaro Garcia Linera in Mendoza, Argentina where he was awarded an 'Honoris Causa” for his commitment to regional integration and inclusion.
Bolivia has agreed to pay 31.7 million dollars to British electric utility Rurelec as compensation for the 2010 nationalization of its controlling stake in power producer Empresa Electrica Guaracachi, 10 million less than the amount determined by an arbitration tribunal, the Attorney General's Office said.
Bolivian President Evo Morales revealed on Thursday that, with Argentina's help, his country was working to develop nuclear power. Morales had previously indicated that his country had plans to go nuclear with help from both Buenos Aires and France, but this is the first time that the news was confirmed.
Argentina's YPF CEO Miguel Galuccio proposed on Thursday in Bolivia a G10 of Latin American state owned oil corporations to strengthen their bargaining power based on their resources and development synergy.
The Bolivian Senate is expected to vote next month for the full incorporation of the country to Mercosur, thus complying with some of the last steps to join the group made up of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela.
Seven out of 19 Latin-American countries will be holding elections this year and in four of them, Brazil, Bolivia, El Salvador and Uruguay, left leaning catch-all coalitions will try to hold on to power. Likewise with two conservative governments, Colombia and Panama.
Increased production and consumption of quinoa, coupled with higher visibility of and greater scientific knowledge about the so-called Andean super crop is the legacy left to the world by the International Year of Quinoa 2013, the closing ceremonies of which were held in Bolivia and Peru.