Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra opened on Friday a subdued Summit of the Americas decrying widespread corruption and urging regional leaders to join forces in increasing transparency and boosting civil society. Addressing Western Hemisphere leaders in an auditorium where a number of seats were left notably empty, Peru's new president said that rather than accept corruption as a deep-seated scourge impossible to eliminate, governments should adopt concrete measures that prevent it from ever taking place.
Colombia’s highest court has told the government it must take urgent action to protect its Amazon rainforest and stem rising deforestation, in what campaigners said was an historic moment that should help conserve forests and counter climate change.
Brussels, 09 April 2018 - Three out of four Latin Americans today show little or no confidence in their national governments. Around 80% think corruption is widespread. These levels are both up from 55% and 67% respectively in 2010. Mistrust is rising as in most regions of the world and risks deepening the disconnect between people and public institutions, harming social cohesion and weakening the social contract. Reconnecting public institutions with citizens by better responding to their demands is thus critical for strengthening growth and sustainable development in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) and for the well-being of the region’s citizens, according to the Latin American Economic Outlook 2018, Rethinking Institutions for Development. The region needs more transparent, capable, credible and innovative institutions if it wants to put itself on a higher and more inclusive development trajectory.
68 inmates lost their lives and more than 30 were injured during a riot and a fire that occurred in an overpopulated police prison in Valencia, in central Venezuela.
After being the first continent in the world declared free of measles in 2016, nine countries in the region have registered cases last year. With almost 900 cases, Venezuela was the most affected. The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) warns that the countries of the region should intensify their efforts to immunize the population and stop the spread of the disease.
The wave of corruption that has spread throughout Latin America has shaken regional institutions, disillusioned populations and should define the electoral cycle that many Latin American nations are going through.
Brazil's economy grew by a percentage point in 2017 after two years of contraction, government figures showed Thursday, confirming the South American giant's recovery from one of the worst recessions in its history. The agro-industrial sector led the way with 13% growth last year, trailed by the service sector, which showed 0.3% growth. Industrial output remained stable.
A Peruvian court ordered former president Alberto Fujimori on Monday to stand trial for the 1992 killings of six farmers, arguing that he lacks immunity despite a recent pardon for a different crime. The National Criminal Court said the pardon granted to Fujimori in a human rights case for which he was serving a 25-year sentence did not apply to the murders of the group.
The government of Peru announced through its prime minister, Mercedes Aráoz, that it has withdrawn the invitation it sent to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in November to attend the eighth Summit of the Americas, to be held in Lima on the 13th and 14th. of April; a week of the criticized presidential elections decreed by the Constituent Assembly in Venezuela.
Venezuela's president, Nicolas Maduro, announced that he will attend the Summit of the Americas “at all costs” to bring “the truth of the country” at a press conference at the presidential palace in Caracas despite the Peruvian government reported that his presence would not be welcome in the Andean country.