US President Barack Obama denied on Thursday contrary to what many of his critics contend that he has neglected Latin America and said that his administration has been “very aggressive” in trying to broaden relations with the region.
Democracy is in retreat in some Latinamerican countries warned the Mexican president Felipe Calderon in the Russian city of Vladivostok where he attended the APEC summit forum, (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation).
After UK government cabinet reshuffle which confirmed Foreign Secretary William Hague and Secretary of Defence, Philip Hammond, the Falkland Islands and Latin America become the responsibility of Minister of State Hugo Swire MP until now Minister of State for the Northern Ireland Office. The new ministerial teams and their portfolios are as follows.
The Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), José Miguel Insulza offered a positive balance of governance in Latinamerica and the performance of the region’s economy, in general, during the last twelve months.
“Who else but us can decide on our future” said Falkland Islands representatives currently visiting several Latin American countries, who anticipated that next year’s referendum on the Islands political status will send the world a clear forceful message on “our right to self determination”.
The gap is widening between the rich and poor in much of Latin America which is the world’s most economically unequal and its most urbanized region, the UN said Tuesday. The richest 20% of the population now earn on average nearly 20 times more than the 20% poorest, a study by the UN Human Settlements Program (UN-HABITAT) found.
Buenos Aires is the most liveable city of Latinamerica followed closely by Santiago de Chile and Montevideo, according to the 2012 report form the Economist Intelligence Unit which ranks the degree of satisfaction and comfort of residents in 140 cities from all over the world based on several factors.
Latinamerica business climate dropped to its lowest level in nine months with “risk of recession” according to the index elaborated by the Economics Department from the prestigious Brazilian Getulio Vargas Foundation, FGV.
Uruguay’s government-financed national university came up in position 79 in the QS academic quality international ranking of the top 100 Latinamerican universities. Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia were far better ranked than Uruguay’s Universidad de la Republica, Udelar, which has caused deep concern among government officials.
The slowdown in Latin America’s once booming economies could take a heavy toll on profits for Spanish and Portuguese companies whose two-decade investment spree abroad has provided a lifeline during a deepening crisis at home.