Miguel Díaz-Canel has been ratified on Thursday by the National Assembly of Cuba as the new president of the Council of State, the country's first leader in practice. The parliament ratified the former vice president with 99.83% of the votes of the deputies present. Diaz-Canel replaces the General Raúl Castro, who retires from power after 12 years at the head of the country. However, the new president clarified that Raúl Castro “will lead the most important decisions” for the country.
Brazilian president Michel Temer's latest cabinet reshuffle has not been very encouraging or in accordance with his survival abilities so far. In effect the candidate named as future minister of Labor had to reach a debt payment deal with a driver that provided services to the family, and the politician who will be replacing her in Congress was sentenced for raping minors.
Brazilian police raided the offices and homes of two members of Congress on Wednesday in the country’s latest corruption probe as the government makes a last-ditch effort to vote on an overhaul of the national pension system.
A majority of Uruguayans have little or no interest in politics according and most of them are young people, poorly educated and those who consider themselves as ‘centre or centre right’, according to the results of a public opinion poll released on Thursday.
By David Michaels (*) “Hoodwink” is John Perkins latest book and a blueprint for a new form of global economics, far from predatory capitalism that must put an end to the old formula of “the few benefiting at the expense of the many”.
Brazil’s main presidential candidates will be holding their first televised debate Thursday evening less than two months to voting day October 3. The debate has been organized by Bandeirantes Television and will also include two other candidates with lesser chance, so all eyes will be set on incumbent Dilma Rousseff and opposition leader Jose Serra
Brazil is seriously considering retaliation against Argentina for new rules restricting food imports which allegedly compete directly with Argentine production. EU ambassadors in Buenos Aires made a similar presentation before the Argentine congress earlier this week.
Gibraltar Chief Minister Peter Caruana gave the warmest welcome the Rock could give to a new Foreign Secretary as he described William Hague, former Tory leader, as a “safe pair of hands” from Gibraltar's perspective.
Buenos Aires City mayor Mauricio Macri and a former city Education Minister, Mariano Narodowski were prosecuted Friday on charges of illegal wiretappings. Federal Judge Norberto Oyarbide also seized 250,000 pesos from the mayor for considering the case a conspiracy.
Russia is planning to strengthen its relations with 61 countries worldwide, including Chile. It is exploring options in Latin America for the development of nuclear power and military sales, a document from its ministry of foreign affairs stated this week.