Néstor Kirchner Argentina’s late former president first became popular by pushing for the repeal of the amnesties and pardons that prior governments had granted to members of the country’s bloody 1976-83 dictatorship. Argentines cheered when the Supreme Court ruled the laws unconstitutional in 2005, and have supported the hundreds of prosecutions for human-rights abuses that have been launched since then.
Peru is the country with less citizen support for democracy in the Americas while in Uruguay, Costa Rica and Argentina the system enjoys massive approval.
Uruguay expects 200 cruise calls this 2010/2011 season totalling 300.000 visitors between passengers and crewmembers said the country’s Tourism and Sports minister Hector Lescano during the official launching of the cruise season.
Uruguayan authorities begun this week surprise and random safety inspections of fishing vessels docked in the port of Montevideo following a succession of fire incidents, mostly involving Korean flagged vessels which were described as “suspicious”.
Uruguayan president Jose Mujica underlined the strong common links going back to the birth of Argentina and Uruguay and called for an end to the “ports’ war” (Montevideo vs Buenos Aires) a rivalry born when the two countries were provinces of the colonial Spanish empire.
Uruguayan businessman Gaston Savoi long established in South Africa is facing corruption and tax evasion charges in association with top figures from the ruling African National Congress party belonging to the provincial governments of KwaZulu-Natal and Northern Cape.
Uruguay has ordered an in depth investigation to all fires in fishing vessels occurred in the port of Montevideo since 2008 following a second incident in two days, Monday and Wednesday early dawn, involving a Korean flagged trawler and a now jigger.
A fire which broke out in a Korean flagged fishing vessel docked in the port of Montevideo and which was still burning early Monday forced the suspension of the official launching of Uruguay’s cruise season.
Uruguay and Argentina announced they had reached a final “scientific” agreement for the joint environmental monitoring of the UPM-Botnia pulp mill in shared waters and which delaying the implementation of a bilateral agreement.
President Jose Mujica confirmed that Uruguay recognizes the Palestinian State and announced the establishment of a representation to begin bilateral relations. The announcement was done during the sixteenth congress of Ferab, Federation of Arab entities in Latinamerica which took place in Montevideo last week.