Uruguay

• Tuesday, August 7th 2012 - 20:14 UTC

  Mercosur has only benefited Brazil in the last ten years with a surplus of 36.8bn

  

  Brazil is the only country that in the last ten years has benefited from Mercosur with an intra-zone trade surplus of 36.8 billion dollars while the other three full members, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay have accumulated huge deficits in the same period, according to Argentine economist Orlando Ferreres a regular columnist from La Nacion with graduate studies in Harvard.

• Tuesday, August 7th 2012 - 08:33 UTC

  Uruguay reacts with silence to repeated Argentine provocations

  

  The Uruguayan government said on Monday there will be no public statements on the latest “situations” with Argentina, and Uruguay will keep to what was agreed at presidential level during the last (31 July) Mercosur extraordinary meeting in Brasilia.

• Monday, August 6th 2012 - 23:24 UTC

  Poor ranking for Uruguay’s main university; Brazil and Chile top of Latam list

  

  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.

• Monday, August 6th 2012 - 08:07 UTC

  Ex-president says inclusion of Venezuela in Mercosur is “favourable for Uruguay”

  

  Former president Jorge Batlle (2000/2005) said that the inclusion of Venezuela in Mercosur “is favourable for Uruguay” but at the same time insisted it was “wrongly done” for not having taken into account Paraguay’s opposition currently suspended as member of the regional block.

• Saturday, August 4th 2012 - 22:29 UTC

  Chile expects a 30% increase in cruise vessel calls this 2012/13 season

  

  Chile is expecting an increase of 30% in the number of cruise vessels calls this coming season with Puerto Montt and Punta Arenas receiving the most, said the country’s Under Secretary for Tourism Jacqueline Plass.

• Saturday, August 4th 2012 - 03:14 UTC

  Venezuela accession to Mercosur “by the back door”, according to The Economist

  

  Under the heading of “In by the back door” referred to the expansion of Mercosur, The Economist says “bringing Venezuela certainly was smart, in the sense of cunning rather than wise”, but it was done ignoring the block’s rules which call for unanimity in admitting new members.

• Saturday, August 4th 2012 - 02:18 UTC

  Paraguayan senators challenge Chavez version of attempted bribes to favour Venezuela

  

  An international controversy has surfaced between President Hugo Chavez and Paraguayan senators as to who really tried to bribe whom regarding failed attempts to have Venezuela incorporated to Mercosur.

• Friday, August 3rd 2012 - 22:11 UTC

  Uruguay’s July inflation record low on government successful electricity saving campaign

  

  Uruguay’s annual consumer-price inflation dropped in July to 0.27% the lowest in 58 years, accumulating 7.48% in the last twelve months (down from 8% in June), and 4.41% in the first seven months of 2012.

• Thursday, August 2nd 2012 - 06:25 UTC

  Uruguay industries lobby questions the growing “political” predominance in Mercosur

  

  The ‘new’ Mercosur with Venezuela as a full member reinforces the regional block as a forum of ‘political understanding’ and no longer as an integration process ruled by international law.

• Wednesday, August 1st 2012 - 08:08 UTC

  Dilma welcomes President Chavez to the world’s fifth economy

  

  Brazilian president DIlma Rousseff said that with the incorporation of Venezuela, Mercosur has become a global power in food and energy and becomes the fifth world economy with a GDP of 3.3tn dollars.