Uruguay’s Vice-president Danilo Astori blasted Argentina’s protectionist and foreign exchange policies because they damage Mercosur, which is currently living its “worst possible moment”.
Uruguay’s Vice president Danilo Astori downplayed the effects of Argentina’s restrictive measures for the purchase of dollars and forecasted an excellent summer season with hundreds of thousands of Argentines tourists visiting Uruguay.
The Uruguayan government will concentrate efforts in promoting economic growth, (debilitated in the second quarter), plus reducing domestic debt, even to the expense of “weakening the credibility of the inflation target”, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit, EIU, from The Economist magazine.
“I have no doubts we are before the most significant financial crisis capitalism has faced in contemporary history”, said Uruguay’s Vice-president Danilo Astori when asked about the possible consequences for the region if the lack of confidence in the US dollar and Euro extends.
A controversy over land taxes inside the Uruguayan government exposed claims from President Jose Mujica that “meetings are taking place to debilitate his administration and even possibly remove him”
The Uruguayan government is trying to decide how to implement a controversial new tax on land holdings involving approximately 60 million dollars per annum and which has exposed deep differences in the ruling coalition, is rejected by farmers and feared by investors.
China’s Vice-president Xi Jinping and tipped as a leading candidate to succeed President Hu Jintao will be visiting Uruguay June 7 to 9 as part of a tour that includes Italy, Cuba and Chile.
The administration of Uruguayan president Jose Mujica suffered a major setback over the weekend and could experience a further showdown on Thursday when members of the ruling coalition vote in Parliament the annulment of an Amnesty or Crimes expiration law which impedes the investigation of human rights violations committed during the country’s military dictatorship (1973/1985).
Uruguay’s April consumer inflation, 0.34%, the lowest since last November came as a relief for government authorities, but the accumulated rate of the last twelve months was 8.34%, well above the Central bank 4% to 6% target. Furthermore compared to April 2010 inflation was almost double: 0.18% vs 0.34%, according to the country’s Statistics Institute, INE.
Uruguayan Vice-president Danilo Astori acknowledged that overturning the “Expired Crimes” or amnesty bill for human rights violators during the military dictatorship (1973/1985) could cost the ruling coalition ‘dearly’ and said he voted following ‘party discipline’.