By Ernesto Talvi (*) – In the 1980s, the Federal Reserve’s dramatic interest-rate hikes led to a lost decade of economic growth in highly indebted Latin American countries. Today, however, the US itself is highly leveraged, which will make the Fed hesitant to pursue measures that imply severe collateral damage elsewhere.
Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou Sunday announced he shall be appointing current National Meat Institute head Fernando Mattos as the country's new Minister of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries instead of Carlos María Uriarte.
Uruguay’s Foreign Minister, Ernesto Talvi, presented his definitive resignation on Wednesday, according to what he wrote on his Twitter account. In a letter addressed to President Luis Lacalle Pou that he published on the social network, Talvi explained that his intention was to remain in the Foreign Ministry until the end of the year, during the “pro tempore” presidency of Uruguay in Mercosur that the country assumes this week.
The Uruguayan chancellor would be the first cabinet minister chaired by Luis Lacalle Pou to leave office. Although he will not do so immediately, since he announced this Thursday that he has not yet submitted any resignation, Talvi met last Tuesday with the president to agree to his departure from the executive power.
A few months ago, Foreign Minister Ernesto Talvi, at his rallies as a candidate for the presidency of Uruguay, did not hesitate to describe the Venezuelan government as a dictatorship. However, in an interview this Saturday he affirmed that he “won't say in this role” that the regime of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is a dictatorship.
After the departure from Montevideo of the last medical flight with passengers of the stranded Antarctic cruise Greg Mortimer, the Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, sent a letter to Uruguay’s President, Luis Lacalle Pou, acknowledging the action of his government for its collaboration with Australian citizens.
The Uruguayan government announced on Tuesday that it will evacuate the remaining passengers on the Antarctic cruise ship Greg Mortimer through a second humanitarian corridor. There will be about 15 passengers who have remained in the ship anchored in front of the port of Montevideo, where there are people with the COVID-19 disease.
The last passengers residing on an Australian ocean liner, anchored off Montevideo for more than two weeks with cases of COVID-19 on board, will be evacuated to the United States by a medical chartered flight, announced on Tuesday the American embassy in Uruguay.
With a large improvised banner reading “Gracias Uruguay” (Thank you Uruguay) on starboard the COVID-19 infected “Greg Mortimer” finally docked in the port of Montevideo on Friday and at 22:00 Uruguay hour started the medical evacuation of over a hundred cruisers from Australia and New Zealand who are to be charter flown to Melbourne, and expected to arrive on Easter Sunday.
A charter flight is expected in Montevideo on Thursday, April 9 to pick up and fly home to Australia most of passengers and crew on the “Greg Mortimer”, the cruise vessel stranded off the coast of Uruguay for the last two weeks because 128 people on board have tested positive for Covid 19.