At least two Uruguayan lawmakers have confirmed to the British embassy in Montevideo that they will be travelling to the Falkland Islands next March for the referendum on the Islands political status and future. The trips are financed by the embassy and according to parliament sources in Montevideo the list could become longer.The news was published in a Montevideo weekly.
Uruguay seems to be recovering its air connectivity after a rough year that saw the closing down of its flag air carrier Pluna, and the announcement by Spanish airline Iberia that it will cease flights between Montevideo and Madrid as of next April. Iberia is the only European airline currently calling in Uruguay.
This Friday the Malvinas Forum, chapter Uruguay will be celebrating its first anniversary and is expected to announce a statement strongly rejecting the coming referendum in the Falklands on the Islands political status which is scheduled for March 10/11. The meeting will be held in Maldonado where it was originally launched.
Foreign minister Luis Almagro announced that Uruguay will work for a free trade agreement between Mercosur and Canada during the first half of the year when Uruguay holds the chair of the South American group that also includes Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Venezuela.
Inflation in Uruguay climbed 1.9% in January totalling 8.72% in the last twelve months, according to the latest release from the government’s stats office, INE. Last year twelve month inflation reached 7.48% and for this year the government established a target of 4% to 6%.
Uruguay’s budget fiscal deficit soared to 1.35 billion dollars or 2.8% of GDP last year, the highest since 2003, propped by energy costs, extraordinary one time payments and support for the recently implemented national health scheme, according to a release from the Ministry of Economy.
The outlook for Southern Cone Banks is mixed in 2013, with a stable outlook for Chile and Uruguay, while Argentina faces a negative outlook and the potential for downgrades, according to a new Fitch Ratings report.
The cost of crimes against property and people in Uruguay in 2010 totaled at least 1.2 billion dollars, which was equivalent to 3.1% of the country’s GDP. This was the conclusion of a new study carried out at the country’s Economic Research Center by researchers Aboal Diego, Jorge Campanella, and Bibiana Lanzilotta, with the collaboration of Magdalena Dominguez and Maren Vairo.
The number of tourists arriving to Uruguay in the first weeks of this summer season has dropped 14% compared to the same period a year ago, which represents 20.600 less, mostly Argentines and Brazilians, according to Benjamin Liberoff, Director of Tourism.
A summer brawl has surfaced in Buenos Aires between the car washers’ industry and the Argentine Meteorological service that are blamed for their poor forecasts which scares customers from the outlets.