By Nathan Gill and Sebastian Boyd Oct. 6 (Bloomberg) — Chile’s Finance Ministry deposited $1.05 billion in local banks last week, Minister Andres Velasco told reporters today. The ministry was taking advantage of interest rates offered locally, Velasco said. Chilean banks raised interest rates on term deposits as they sought to overcome a… Read More Chilean Government Deposited $1.05 Billion in Banks on Interest Rates
By Sebastian Boyd and Nathan Gill Oct. 3, 2008 (Bloomberg) — Chilean consumer prices rose more than forecast by economists last month, led by electricity and food, boosting expectations that the central bank will raise interest rates for a fifth month next week. Inflation accelerated 1.1 percent in September, compared with 0.9 percent… Read More Chile Inflation Accelerates on Food, Transportation
By Nathan Gill and Sebastian Boyd Sept. 29, 2008 (Bloomberg) — Chile, the world’s biggest copper producer, expects to post a budget surplus equivalent to 3.7 percent of its gross domestic product next year, the lowest since 2003, as economic growth slows to 4 percent. Copper may average $2.90 per pound in 2009,… Read More Chile Budget Surplus to Shrink in 2009 on Slow Growth
By James Attwood and Nathan Gill Sept. 23, 2008 (Bloomberg) — Chile, the best-performing Latin American stock market this year, probably will remain a relative safe haven and may benefit from easing inflation, JPMorgan Chase & Co. said. Chile’s Ipsa index has fallen 10 percent this year, about half the decline of Brazil’s… Read More Chile Stocks May Gain on Slower Inflation: JPMorgan
By James Attwood and Nathan Gill Aug. 14, 2008 (Bloomberg) — Cap SA, Chile’s biggest iron-ore and steel producer, rose for the first time in six days in Santiago trading after analysts said the stock was undervalued and that rising metal prices may keep boosting earnings. Cap climbed 1.9 percent to 18,270 pesos… Read More Chile’s Cap Rebounds as Analysts Cite Inexpensive Stock, Profit
By Nathan Gill Sept. 10, 2008 (Bloomberg) — Embotelladora Andina SA, which distributes Coca-Cola products in Chile, Brazil and Argentina, gained the most in two months in Santiago trading on prospects of increased sales of its soft drinks, after Brazil said its economy is expanding faster than economists estimated. Andina rose 3.5 percent… Read More Andina Rises as Brazil Growth Signals Increased Sales
By Nathan Gill and Sebastian Boyd Sept. 5, 2008 (Bloomberg) — Chilean President Michelle Bachelet authorized the use of emergency funds to shore up Santiago’s public transport system after a loan to the system of buses and subway lines was declared unconstitutional. This is the first time since Chile returned to democracy in… Read More Bachelet Authorizes Emergency Funds for Transantiago
By Nathan Gill and Sebastian Boyd Sept. 2, 2008 (Bloomberg) — Chile’s government pledged to fund Santiago’s public transportation system after a newspaper reported that a loan made to develop the capital’s transit network was unconstitutional. President Michelle Bachelet will ask the country’s Constitutional Tribunal to clarify its decision on the $400 million… Read More Chile’s Government Pledges Support for Transantiago
Citation Bakker, Johan, Marcela Moscol Olivera, and Henry Hooghiemstra. “Holocene Environmental Change at the Upper Forest Line in Northern Ecuador.” The Holocene 18, no. 6 (September 1, 2008): 877–93.
By Nathan Gill and James Attwood Aug. 20 (Bloomberg) — Cia. Sudamericana de Vapores SA, Latin America’s biggest container ship company, fell to the lowest in a month in Santiago trading on speculation that rising costs and falling demand will reduce earnings. Vapores declined 2 percent to 705 pesos, the lowest since July… Read More Vapores Falls on Concern Costs Will Rise, Demand Slip
By Nathan Gill and James Attwood Aug. 18, 2008 (Bloomberg) — Sigdo Koppers SA, which controls Chile’s largest explosives maker, rose to the highest in two months in Santiago trading after announcing a $23.2 million pretax gain from the sale of assets in Peru. Sigdo Koppers climbed 2.6 percent to 390.1 pesos, the… Read More Sigdo Koppers Rises After Disclosing Peru Sale Profit
By Nathan Gill Aug. 12, 2008 (Bloomberg) — President Michelle Bachelet will keep the 2009 budget “as tight as possible” to help slow the rising cost of living, Economy Minister Hugo Lavados said. While saying higher public spending isn’t the leading cause of the fastest inflation in 13 years, Lavados told reporters today in… Read More Bachelet to Keep Budget `Tight’ in 2009, Economy Minister Says
By Nathan Gill Aug. 11, 2008 (Bloomberg) — Tenaris SA fell the most since April 2003 in Buenos Aires on speculation a stronger U.S. dollar will hurt commodity prices and curb demand for its products. The world’s biggest supplier of seamless pipes used by oil and gas producers retreated 8.2 percent to 78… Read More Tenaris Falls Most Since 2003 as Commodities Decline
By Sebastian Boyd and Nathan Gill Aug. 7, 2008 (Bloomberg) — Chile’s central bank policy makers considered a 0.75 percentage point rate increase at their July meeting, before voting unanimously to raise interest rates by half a point, the bank said on its Web site. The bank raised the rate to 7.25 percent… Read More Chile’s Bank Considered Bigger Rate Increase in July
By Nathan Gill and Sebastian Boyd Aug. 5, 2008 (Bloomberg) — Chile’s economic growth will accelerate in the second half of the year, Finance Minister Andres Velasco said. “The economy is taking off and we are going to have a second half that will be better than the first,” Velasco told reporters today… Read More Chile Second-Half Growth Will Be Better, Velasco Says
Citation Caillavet, Chantal. “A Native American System of Wetland Agriculture in Different Ecosystems in the Ecuadorian Andes (15th-18th Centuries).” Environment and History 14, no. 3 (August 1, 2008): 331–53.
June 27, 2008 (Southern Affairs) — One month ago the presidents of South America formally created the Union of South American Nations. While no one was fooled by the momentary goodwill for very long, the proposal to create a South American Defense Council did raise heads. Well, those heads can go back to whatever it… Read More Unasur Defense Summit Unable To Reach Consensus
The resignation of the president of Ecuador’s Constitutional Assembly, Alberto Acosta, on June 23 is the latest in a series of setbacks for Latin America’s 21st century socialists. With political conditions deteriorating in Venezuela, Bolivia, and Ecuador, it makes sense to ask – what happened to Latin America’s socialist revolution? Where is the change their… Read More Democracy Strikes Again: The End Of 21st-Century Socialism?
June 12 , 2008 (Southern Affairs) — This is a link to a radio show about Unasur and the state of US-South American relations called Unsure about Unasur. The show’s guests are Larry Birns, founder of the Council on Hemispheric Affairs, and Nathan Gill, publisher of this page. It was produced by Your Call KALW… Read More Interview About Unasur With KALW 91.7FM San Francisco
June 9, 2008 (Southern Affairs) — Peru’s Transportation and Communications Minister Verónica Zavala announced May 27th that Unasur’s highest profile project, an inter-oceanic highway connecting the Brazilian Atlantic with the Peruvian Pacific, was being investigated after discovering that it did not have a budget or engineering plans. The minister told a Congressional Committee that while… Read More Peru’s Halts Jungle Highway Construction After Investigation Shows Design Wasn’t Done
June 7, 2008 (Southern Affairs) — It is unclear what the recent Unasur summit in Brasilia actually accomplished. Six months late and set against the backdrop of the worst regional conflict since the 1990s, the 12 presidents of South America tried hard to hide the growing divisions between their governments with lofty rhetoric of fraternity… Read More Unasur 2008 Summit: All Circus No Bread
Citation Milton, Cynthia E. The Many Meanings of Poverty: Colonialism, Social Compacts, and Assistance in Eighteenth-Century Ecuador. Stanford, Calif: Stanford University Press, 2007.
May 28, 2008 (Southern Affairs) — Ecuadorian foreign policy is caught in a puzzling Catch 22. According to the Constitution of 1998, “The Foreign Service is in charge of conducting the international affairs of the Republic, pursuant to the Political Constitution of the State…”[1] but, as of September 30, 2007 this constitution was dissolved by… Read More Ecuadorian Foreign Policy 2008
What are the relevant historic issues in Ecuador’s foreign policy? Ecuador’s diplomatic history has focused strategically on the preservation of sovereign territory and resources; politically on the amplification of its national prestige and influence through multilateral institutions and economically on the promotion of national trade through close relationships with the United States, the Andean Community,… Read More Ecuadorian Foreign Policy Traditions
Who are the relevant actors in the creation of Ecuador’s national foreign policy and what structures do they operate within? As mentioned, the current foreign policy organization is based on the institutional structure established in the 1998 Constitution. According to Article 2, “The Head of State, as Supreme Representative of the country and its sovereign… Read More Ecuadorian Foreign Policy: Actors and Institutions
There are four regional integration institutions in South America; CAN, MERCOSUR, ALADI, and UNASUR. The first two are subregional blocks representing nine of the 12 South American member countries of Unasur; neither is fully functional. [1] All the nations of South America, except for Guyana and Surinam, are members of ALADI. Its goals are similar… Read More South American Regional Integration Institutions: Unasur, ALADI, CAN and Mercosur
What is Chile’s current foreign policy? Chile’s current foreign policy strongly resembles the foreign policy of the Portales period, emphasizing political neutrality, non-intervention, sovereign equality, regional stability, and commercial expansion. The types of problems it faces are also similar to that era, but not specific to it, insofar as it has yet to resolve territorial… Read More Chilean Foreign Policy: 2008
What are the relevant historic issues in Chile’s foreign policy? Since the early 1830s, Chile has developed a reputation for its pragmatic foreign policy, traditionally letting national interests take precedent over ideology. Starting from at least as early as the Prieto administration there was an explicit understanding of the challenges of Chile’s situation, isolated from… Read More Chilean Foreign Policy: Traditions
Who are the relevant actors in the creation of Chile’s national foreign policy and what structures do they operate within? Chile’s current Constitution was approved in a national plebiscite in 1980 during the military dictatorship. It has since been amended nine times, but retains the strong executive tradition common in Chile since the end of… Read More Chilean Foreign Policy: Actors and Institutions
What is Brazil’s current foreign policy? “Brazil is not a small country. It does not, and it cannot, have the foreign policy of a small country.”[1] These words, from the current Minister of External Relations express the essence of Brazil’s foreign policy. It is a country in pursuit of major power status and, as such,… Read More Brazilian Foreign Policy: 2008
What are the historic conditions of Brazil’s foreign policy? Like Argentina, we will divide the historic conditions of Brazil’s foreign policy into three groups; strategic, political and economic. Strategically, Brazil (and Portugal during colonial times) has sought to expand its influence in South America and the South Atlantic. At times this involved aggressive policies with… Read More Brazilian Foreign Policy: Traditions
In this next section we will discuss Brazil’s foreign policy. As we mentioned earlier, Brazil is unique among its neighbors, representing roughly half of the continent physically, economically, and in population, it is also the only nation in South America who is a major world player outside the region.[1] This fact is in large part… Read More Brazilian Foreign Policy: Actors and Institutions
(Apr. 14, 2008) Here are some of the big issues to follow this week around Latin America. The EU begins a visit to Bolivia Monday to help mediate in the conflict over the new national constitution; the lower eastern half of the country has threatened secession over the current draft. Ecuador and Colombia renewed the… Read More Latin America News Review
