Category: News

Argentina Breaks With Venezuela Over Free Trade And Middle East

(Nov. 24, 2007) Argentina’s President Elect Cristina Kirchner distanced herself from the political agenda of Venezuela President Chávez on Monday by proposing a Mercosur-Israel free trade agreement (FTA) during her visit to Brazil. The proposal is a diplomatic counter punch to Venezuela’s open support for Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the OPEC meeting in Saudi… Read More Argentina Breaks With Venezuela Over Free Trade And Middle East

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South American Border Wars Slow Regional Integration

Guyana Foreign Minister Rudolph Insanally announced a temporary truce on Wednesday after Venezuela’s military blew up two Guyanese mining boats on a river near the international border. The attack took place on Nov. 15th and was part of a three day military operation, called Tepuy, to remove illegal miners from the Cuyuni River basin. Although… Read More South American Border Wars Slow Regional Integration

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What Does Peru’s FTA Mean For The Rest Of The Region?

U.S. newspapers announced this week that Congress is expected to ratify a free trade agreement (FTA) with Peru before its Nov. recess. The FTA will eliminate 80 percent of U.S. export tariffs to Peru with the remaining 20 percent to be phased out over the next 10 years. While U.S. lawmakers argued over the inclusion… Read More What Does Peru’s FTA Mean For The Rest Of The Region?

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Why Are People Worried About Constitutional Reforms in Venezuela?

(Oct. 30, 2007) Are the constitutional reforms to be voted on in December a threat to Venezuela’s democracy, and if so, what implications does this have for the region? In a strong statement denouncing the proposed constitutional reforms a number of influential academic and social academies have recently spoken out against President Hugo Chávez’s proposed… Read More Why Are People Worried About Constitutional Reforms in Venezuela?

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Banco del Sur Postpones Signing Until December

Venezuelan Foreign Affairs Minister, Nicolás Maduro, announced that the Nov. 3 meeting of the Banco del Sur will be postponed until Dec. 5th. Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela were supposed to have met next week to sign on as members of the new regional bank. No reasons were given for the postponement.… Read More Banco del Sur Postpones Signing Until December

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BRAZIL ANNOUNCES NEW OIL EXPLORATION IN AMAZON

This week Brazil announced it is seeking approval to explore for new oil and gas reserves near the Jurua River in the Amazonian state of Acre. The government will set aside US$35.5 million for the National Petroleum Agency (ANP) to begin exploration, while the Acre State Industrial Federation has promised to raise US$15 million. Officials… Read More BRAZIL ANNOUNCES NEW OIL EXPLORATION IN AMAZON

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BRAZIL PROPOSES FREE TRADE AGREEMENT WITH INDIA AND SOUTH AFRICA

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva proposed the creation of a trilateral free trade agreement (FTA) between India, South Africa, and the nations of Mercosur at a reunion in Pretoria, South Africa on Wednesday Oct.17th. The proposed treaty would create the world’s largest free trade area and has been billed as a way to… Read More BRAZIL PROPOSES FREE TRADE AGREEMENT WITH INDIA AND SOUTH AFRICA

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CHILE DEBATES ESTABLISHMENT OF WORLD’S LARGEST WHALE SANCTUARY

Valparaiso, Oct. 16 – Environmentalists and politicians met Tuesday in Valparaiso to discuss the creation of the world’s largest whale sanctuary. Representatives from 15 non-governmental organizations across Latin America presented the project to Chile’s Senate Environmental Commission with the hopes of receiving governmental approval before the upcoming 60th annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission… Read More CHILE DEBATES ESTABLISHMENT OF WORLD’S LARGEST WHALE SANCTUARY

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SOUTH AMERICAN GAS PIPELINE WILL CONNECT CARIBBEAN WITH PACIFIC OCEAN

The presidents of Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador announced Friday Oct. 12th that new Ballenas-Maraciabo international pipeline will be extended across Colombia to create the first transoceanic pipeline on the continent. Speaking at the inauguration Friday, President Chavez said that plans were ready to connect the pipeline with Central America and the Andean countries of Ecuador,… Read More SOUTH AMERICAN GAS PIPELINE WILL CONNECT CARIBBEAN WITH PACIFIC OCEAN

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Scientists Worry About Human and Environmental Costs of Integration

By N. H. Gill             (Oct. 10, 2007) – The human and environmental costs of increased infrastructure integration in South America was the topic of debate at the First Latin American Congress of National Parks and Other Protected Areas this week in Bariloche, Argentina. Scientists from around the world met to discuss the effects of the… Read More Scientists Worry About Human and Environmental Costs of Integration

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URIBE AND CHAVEZ INVITE CORREA TO LAUNCHING OF NEW PIPELINE

Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa was invited by Colombia and Venezuela to attend an upcoming meeting between their two presidents, Alvaro Uribe and Hugo Chavez to celebrate the opening of the new gas pipeline in the Colombian District of LaGuajira that connects the city of Ballenas with the Venezuelan city of Maracaibo. The Colombian Foreign Minister… Read More URIBE AND CHAVEZ INVITE CORREA TO LAUNCHING OF NEW PIPELINE

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South America Announces New Banco del Sur

Brazil and Ecuador gave a combined press conference today announcing their intentions of joining the Banco del Sur, a new regional financial institution created by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Feb. 21, 2007 to replace institutions like the IMF and World Bank. The announcements come one week before a Brazilian sponsored summit in Rio de… Read More South America Announces New Banco del Sur

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UNASUR MAKING VERY SMALL WAVES

On Oct.4 Brazil’s Foreign Minister Celso Amorim arrived in Ecuador to discuss potential areas of mutual interest with President Rafael Correa. The visit followed last Sunday’s national assembly elections that gave President Correa sweeping powers move forward his new socialist platform designed to reduce economic inequality and exploitation in Ecuador. The visit was also a… Read More UNASUR MAKING VERY SMALL WAVES

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ECUADOR VOTES FOR NEW CONSTITUTIONAL ASSEMBLY

Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa’s party appears to have won a sweeping victory in the new constitutional assembly on Sept. 30th giving his party, Acuerdo País (AP), broad powers to transform the nation’s legal system. According to unofficial exit polls the AP won 87.5 percent of the vote, with former President Lucio Gutierrez’s Sociedad Patriotica coming… Read More ECUADOR VOTES FOR NEW CONSTITUTIONAL ASSEMBLY

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ECUADOR VOTES FOR NEW NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

Ecuadorians go to the polls on Sept. 30th to decide who will draft and approve their new national constitution. Voters approved the creation of a Constitutional assembly in April this year after a sharply contested constitutional battle that pitted the executive and legislative branches against each other. Ecuador’s president Rafael Correa staked his presidential campaign… Read More ECUADOR VOTES FOR NEW NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

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PROTESTS IN CHILE LEAVE ONE SENATOR WOUNDED

From Southern AffairsBy Nathan Gill Protestors clashed with police in Santiago, Chile on Sept. 29 leaving one officer shot, a socialist senator wounded and over 400 arrested. Chile’s Federation of Union Workers (CUT) called for market reforms, improvements in Santiago’s new public transportation system as well as social and educational reform. The day began at… Read More PROTESTS IN CHILE LEAVE ONE SENATOR WOUNDED

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BERRIÓS CASE: JUDGE INVESTIGATES PINOCHET’S SON

(May 31, 2006) The investigation into the murder of Eugenio Berríos has uncovered links between Augusto Pinochet Hiriart, the eldest son of the former dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet, and various military organizations in Chile and Uruguay suspected of taking part in the 1993 homicide of the former secret police chemist. Investigative Judge Alejandro Madrid released… Read More BERRIÓS CASE: JUDGE INVESTIGATES PINOCHET’S SON

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BACHELET ADMINISTRATION REACTS TO REPORTS OF U.S. THREATS

(May 31, 2006) Government spokespeople downplayed U.S. Department of State threats against Chile in the event that Chile supports Venezuela’s bid for a seat on the United Nations Security Council. Ricardo Lagos Weber, Chile’s government spokesman, indicated that Chile would not be pressured by the U.S., but instead seek regional consensus on the issue before… Read More BACHELET ADMINISTRATION REACTS TO REPORTS OF U.S. THREATS

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BERRIÓS CASE: JUDGE INVESTIGATES PINOCHET’S SON

(May 31, 2006) The investigation into the murder of Eugenio Berríos has uncovered links between Augusto Pinochet Hiriart, the eldest son of the former dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet, and various military organizations in Chile and Uruguay suspected of taking part in the 1993 homicide of the former secret police chemist. Investigative Judge Alejandro Madrid released… Read More BERRIÓS CASE: JUDGE INVESTIGATES PINOCHET’S SON

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PRESIDENT OF CHILE MEETS WITH HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP

(May 29, 2006) President Michelle Bachelet made a historic visit to the headquarters of the Families of Disappeared Detainees (AFDD) on Friday to speak with leaders of the group about human rights issues. The visit was the first time since the transition to Democracy in 1990 that a Chilean president has personally visited the organization… Read More PRESIDENT OF CHILE MEETS WITH HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP

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PRESIDENT OF CHILE MEETS WITH HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP

(May 29, 2006) President Michelle Bachelet made a historic visit to the headquarters of the Families of Disappeared Detainees (AFDD) on Friday to speak with leaders of the group about human rights issues. The visit was the first time since the transition to Democracy in 1990 that a Chilean president has personally visited the organization… Read More PRESIDENT OF CHILE MEETS WITH HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP

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FUJIMORI: PERU REQUESTS GAG ORDER

(May 25, 2006) President Michelle Bachelet requested that Chile’s Supreme Court keep ex-Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori quiet after a series of comments on Peru’s upcoming elections provoked an outcry from government officials in Lima. Since being released on bail, Fujimori has generated a whirlwind of controversy between the two countries as well as confrontations with… Read More FUJIMORI: PERU REQUESTS GAG ORDER

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OPERATION COLOMBO: CONTRERAS RESPONDS TO ALLEGATIONS

(May 24, 2006) Gen. Manuel Contreras, former director of Chile’s secret police, will appear before Santiago’s Constitutional Tribunal Thursday to appeal the 258 human rights violations currently filed against him. Gen. Contreras’ lawyer, Fidel Reyes, is expected to argue that the charges against his client are inapplicable because of due process violations arising from the… Read More OPERATION COLOMBO: CONTRERAS RESPONDS TO ALLEGATIONS

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GOVERNMENT PERPLEXED BY MAPUCHE HUNGER STRIKE

(May 24, 2006) Senator Alejandro Navarro will travel to Araucanía in southern Chile on Thursday to figure out what went wrong with a government negotiated agreement that ended a 63-day hunger strike of four Mapuche prisoners. The strikers resumed their protest last Saturday criticizing the government for failing to hold up their end of the… Read More GOVERNMENT PERPLEXED BY MAPUCHE HUNGER STRIKE

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ESCONDIDA MINE ANNONCES NEW WATER PLANT IN ANTOFOGASTA

(May 24, 2006) Escondida mine, one of Chile’s state owned cooper mines, announced it will open the nation’s largest water desalination plant in the city of Antofogasta in August, 2006. The water plant will generate 525 liters of industrial quality water per second and cost approximately US$160 million. The project includes the installation of 170km… Read More ESCONDIDA MINE ANNONCES NEW WATER PLANT IN ANTOFOGASTA

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