President Jose Mujica said the Wednesday night decision by Argentine activists to lift the (four year) blockade on a bridge leading to Uruguay was ‘our team’s fourth goal’ (in reference to that afternoon’s 3-0 victory over South Africa at the World Cup).
Argentine activists voted Wednesday night to temporarily lift the roadblock on a bridge leading to Uruguay which has been at the heart of a diplomatic dispute between the two countries regarding the construction of a pulp mill on the Uruguayan side which allegedly contaminates.
The Argentine Gendarmerie following instructions from a federal judge notified Monday an estimated twenty Gualeguaychú picketers that a civil and criminal case was filed against them by the Argentine government for the roadblock of a bridge linking with neighbouring Uruguay.
Argentine ministers went public again on Friday to insist that there are no excuses left for keeping a roadblock on a bridge leading to neighbouring Uruguay, a long standing protest since 2006 against the construction of the Botnia pulp mill.
Uruguay will take ‘all the necessary measures’ to target the US dollar at 21/22 Pesos, its equilibrium point to help boost exports, according to Deputy Minister of Economy Pedro Buonomo.
Argentina has filed criminal and civil charges against activists who have been blocking a bridge leading to Uruguay for over four years, announced on Wednesday cabinet chief Anibal Fernandez. The charges mark a sharp departure from the hands-off line taken up to now with the activists.
Figures published this week by the Global Peace Index, GPI, show homicide rates and violent crime had increased around the world, particularly in Latin America, where levels of peacefulness showed the biggest slip over the past 12 months. According to that criteria Uruguay (24) ranks as the most peaceful country of the region and Colombia (138) the most violent out of a world total of 149.
In the first four months of this year (high season in the southern hemisphere) Uruguay hosted 910.597 tourists who on average stayed nine days (spent over 800 USD per capita) totalling an estimated income of 744 million US dollars, according to Uruguay’s Deputy Secretary of Tourism and Sports Lilian Kechichian.
An Argentine federal Judge confirmed that the government should “guarantee the free circulation” of the bridge that links the Argentine city of Gualeguaychú with the Uruguayan city Fray Bentos.
The Uruguayan government plans a more active role in the foreign exchange market with the purpose of boosting exports competitiveness that have been suffering from the sliding depreciation of the US dollar.