Uruguay

• Friday, August 2nd 2013 - 04:17 UTC

  Argentines capable of ‘eluding the Pope and the UN in getting dollars out of their country’

  

  Uruguay president José 'Pepe' Mujica was again ironic in praising Argentines when he stated that the Argentine population “is capable of eluding the Pope and even the United Nations” in their quest to buy US dollars and get them out of the country, in spite of current exchange controls.

• Friday, August 2nd 2013 - 03:20 UTC

  UN narcotics board says Uruguay’s marijuana bill is contrary to international treaties

  

  A United Nations narcotics body on Thursday expressed alarm about a bill passed by Uruguay’s Lower House that would legalize marijuana.

• Friday, August 2nd 2013 - 02:56 UTC

  Overall feeling that corruption in the Americas in the rise, says watchdog group

  

  From the US capital Washington D.C. to Caracas, people throughout the Americas feel that corruption in sectors of society is on the rise, according to a survey from the watchdog group, Transparency International.

• Friday, August 2nd 2013 - 02:29 UTC

  Uruguay extends another 12 months VAT benefits for foreign tourists

  

  Uruguay extended for another twelve months the VAT bonus for those tourists who pay for purchases, lodging and rents with debit cards. The measure was announced this week by Deputy cabinet chief Diego Canepa following a full ministerial meeting and in anticipation of the coming 2013/14 summer season.

• Thursday, August 1st 2013 - 04:09 UTC

  “Not even the Pope could bring Brazil and Paraguay together”, said O’Globo

  

  Influential Latin American newspapers have been extremely critical of Brazilian diplomacy in its unsuccessful attempts to ‘subdue Paraguay’, while at the same praising the landlocked country’s dignity in demanding from Mercosur respect and compliance with the rule of the law.

• Thursday, August 1st 2013 - 03:56 UTC

  Uruguay passes bill legalizing marijuana split on party lines; Senate discussion next October

  

  Uruguay's lower house passed a marijuana legalization bill on Wednesday which now must be discussed by the Senate, most probably in October. The vote brings Uruguay one step closer to becoming the first country to legally regulate production, distribution and sale of the drug.

• Wednesday, July 31st 2013 - 06:31 UTC

  Paraguay downplays Mujica’s warning calling for a ‘pragmatic’ return to Mercosur

  

  Paraguay’s incoming government foreign policy advisor Eladio Loizaga downplayed Mercosur veiled warning calling for a quick return of the country to the block because ‘Paraguay is landlocked and needs the Parana River and the River Plate to reach the sea’.

• Wednesday, July 31st 2013 - 06:23 UTC

  Paraguay president Franco congratulates Mujica on his knowledge of geography

  

  Paraguayan president Federico Franco replied to his Uruguayan peer Jose Mujica ironic remarks saying that ‘evidently he’s good at geography; I guess he passed with the highest grades’ since he is aware that Paraguay is a landlocked ‘Mediterranean’ country.

• Tuesday, July 30th 2013 - 03:54 UTC

  Mujica in veiled message tells Paraguay to return to Mercosur and remember it’s a landlocked country

  

  Uruguayan president Jose Mujica was ironic about the conditions Paraguayan president elect Horacio Cartes demanded for his country’s return to Mercosur, but also in a veiled message called for ‘intelligence and pragmatism’ recalling that Paraguay is a landlocked country.

• Tuesday, July 30th 2013 - 03:07 UTC

  Uruguay needs ‘a dollar at 25 Pesos’ if it wants to remain competitive warn economists

  

  Uruguay is too expensive in dollar terms and needs to adapt quickly because the adjustment will come anyway ‘and will be painful’ unless inflation is brought under control and costs equilibrium is reached with Brazil with a competitive dollar at 25 Pesos.