Uruguay

• Tuesday, July 17th 2012 - 20:35 UTC

  Uruguay’s 2011/12 rice harvest reaches 1.4 million tons with 7.850 kilos/ha yields

  

  Uruguay’s area to be planted with rice in the coming 2012/13 season is estimated at 179.000 hectares, slightly down from the 181.400 of this year, according to the country’s Department of Agriculture Statistics (DIEA) and based on a poll following the 2011/12 harvest.

• Tuesday, July 17th 2012 - 01:38 UTC

  Top Uruguayan university dumps Dean on homosexual ‘anomaly’ controversy

  

  The University of Montevideo accepted the resignation of who had been nominated as Dean following the controversy triggered when in an interview she described homosexuality as an “anomaly” and added this condition “hampers” teaching staff contracting.

• Monday, July 16th 2012 - 07:24 UTC

  Uruguayan Central bank poll shows economy is expected to grow at slower pace

  

  The Uruguayan economy is set to grow 3.57% in 2012 which is below the government’s forecast according to the latest analysts and businesspeople poll published last Friday by the central bank.

• Monday, July 16th 2012 - 03:15 UTC

  Mujica back steps: cannabis legal only “if 60% of public opinion supports idea”

  

  Uruguayan president Jose Mujica has back stepped on his initiative to legalize marihuana conditioning it to an “ample support from public opinion”, at least 60%. The initiative was announced a few weeks ago during the Rio+20 summit and sent shockwaves in the region and worldwide.

• Monday, July 16th 2012 - 03:05 UTC

  Mercosur reduced to a group “of bear-hugging and kissing compañeros”

  

  The influential British business and politics magazine The Economist anticipates that following the latest decisions by Mercosur, the South American group has little if any future. The Economist argues that the mounting protectionism and the rule-breaking admission of Venezuela have fatally undermined a once-promising trade block.

• Wednesday, July 11th 2012 - 23:02 UTC

  Uruguay concerned with Argentine economy growing misbalances

  

  Uruguay’s Economy minister Fernando Lorenzo expressed concern about the deteriorating indicators from the Argentine economy which could have a negative impact on the country’s activity.

• Wednesday, July 11th 2012 - 06:23 UTC

  Uruguay dairy exports jump 20% in value in first half of 2012 and reach 346m

  

  Uruguayan dairy exports in the first half of this year increased 30% in volume and 20% in value over the same period a year ago totalling 346 million dollars, according to the latest release from the National Milk Institute, Inale.

• Wednesday, July 11th 2012 - 01:20 UTC

  Uruguay president and vice-president clash over Venezuela’s Mercosur admission

  

  Uruguayan Vice president Danilo Astori openly clashed with President Jose Mujica over the recent decision to incorporate Venezuela to Mercosur arguing it was “the deepest institutional injury” suffered by the block and questioned the concept that the juridical “has to be at the service of the political”.

• Monday, July 9th 2012 - 05:59 UTC

  Chavez announces trip to Brazil for Venezuela’s formal admission to Mercosur

  

  President Hugo Chavez said he will be attending at the end of July the coming Mercosur meeting in Brasil when Venezuela will officially become the group’s fifth full member, a decision that has proved controversial and exposed differences inside the Common Market of the South.

• Friday, July 6th 2012 - 16:14 UTC

  Mujica proposes to blend Mercosur and Unasur into an only `more flexible group

  

  Uruguayan president Jose Mujica proposed to its South American peers to blend Mercosur and Unasur into an only group, according to an interview with a Uruguayan weekly in which he also ratified his commitment with Venezuela (and its oil resources) to justify the incorporation of the fifth full member of Mercosur.