Tag: Andes

Unasur Defense Ministers Play Down Regional Conflicts at South American Summit

March 10 (Southern Affairs) — Unasur’s defense ministers met again in Santiago today to kick off the South American Defense Council. Amid handshakes and congratulations, the ministers emphasized the historic nature of the meeting which they say will help ensure peace and democracy throughout the continent. What the ministers did not discuss publicly was how… Read More Unasur Defense Ministers Play Down Regional Conflicts at South American Summit

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Provisioning of the Inka Army in Wartime: Obsidian Procurement in Pambamarca, Ecuador: Ogburn et al.

Ogburn, Dennis, Samuel Connell, and Chad Gifford. “Provisioning of the Inka Army in Wartime: Obsidian Procurement in Pambamarca, Ecuador.” Journal of Archaeological Science 36, no. 3 (March 1, 2009): 740–51. Dennis Ogburn, Samuel Connell, and Chad Gifford look at sources of obsidian found at the Pambamarca fortress complex to the north and east of Quito,… Read More Provisioning of the Inka Army in Wartime: Obsidian Procurement in Pambamarca, Ecuador: Ogburn et al.

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Correa Says Ecuador Willing to Renew Relations With Colombia

By Nathan GillFeb. 27 (Bloomberg) — Ecuador may renew diplomatic relations with Colombia if certain conditions are met, President Rafael Correa said today in a statement posted on the presidential Web site. Correa asked Colombia to reveal all the details of an air raid last year in Ecuadorean territory, repay Ecuador for unspecified damages, support… Read More Correa Says Ecuador Willing to Renew Relations With Colombia

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Ecuador May Seize Perenco Assets Over Tax Dispute

By Nathan Gill Feb. 26 (Bloomberg) — Ecuadorean Oil and Mines Minister Derlis Palacios said Perenco SA has until March 3 to pay taxes or state-owned PetroEcuador will take steps to seize the French oil company’s assets. Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa said Feb. 14 that he had given the order to begin a lawsuit against… Read More Ecuador May Seize Perenco Assets Over Tax Dispute

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Ecuador’s Borja Vows to ‘Defend’ Use of U.S. Dollar

By Nathan Gill Feb. 17 (Bloomberg) — Ecuador’s Economic Policy Minister, Diego Borja, defended the country’s use of the U.S. dollar and said President Rafael Correa wasn’t planning to abandon the system. “The president has been clear, we are going to defend dollarization,” Borja said today in an interview broadcast on Quito-based television station TeleAmazonas.… Read More Ecuador’s Borja Vows to ‘Defend’ Use of U.S. Dollar

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Ecuador’s President Calls for Lawsuit Against Repsol, Perenco

By Nathan GillFeb. 14 (Bloomberg) — Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa said today that he has given the order to begin a lawsuit against Repsol YPF SA, Spain’s largest oil company, and Perenco SA, a French oil company, over their failure to pay taxes. Correa said during his weekly address to the nation that both companies… Read More Ecuador’s President Calls for Lawsuit Against Repsol, Perenco

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Ecuador to Use Grace Period for 2030 Bond Payment

By Nathan GillFeb. 14 (Bloomberg) — Ecuador will use a grace period to decide whether it will make a payment scheduled for tomorrow on its 2030 bonds, Finance Minister Maria Elsa Viteri said last night in a statement posted on the presidency’s Web site. Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa in December halted payment on foreign bonds… Read More Ecuador to Use Grace Period for 2030 Bond Payment

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Ecuador Asks Bondholders to Identify Themselves in a Letter

By Lester Pimentel and Nathan GillFeb. 13 (Bloomberg) — Ecuador is asking investors who own the country’s bonds maturing in 2012 and 2030 to identify themselves, according to a letter posted by the Emerging Markets Traders Association. Bondholders should contact adviser Lazard Freres, according to the letter signed by Finance Minister Maria Elsa Viteri. A… Read More Ecuador Asks Bondholders to Identify Themselves in a Letter

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Ecuador Petroamazonas Wants $820 Million for Amazon Oil Fields

By Nathan Gill Feb. 13 (Bloomberg) — Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa met yesterday with representatives of state-owned oil company Petroamazonas SA to discuss the $820 million needed to finance four new oil fields in the nation’s Amazon rain-forest region. Petroamazonas is seeking joint ventures with companies including Schlumberger Ltd., the world’s largest oilfield-services provider, to… Read More Ecuador Petroamazonas Wants $820 Million for Amazon Oil Fields

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Ecuador Says IDB to Loan $500 Million for Budget Gap

By Nathan Gill Feb. 12 (Bloomberg) — Ecuador’s Economic Policy Minister Diego Borja said the Inter-American Development Bank agreed to loan the country about $500 million to help finance a projected budget deficit. Borja said he and Finance Minister Maria Elsa Viteri met last week in Washington with IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno to request… Read More Ecuador Says IDB to Loan $500 Million for Budget Gap

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Ecuador May Announce Bond Payment Decision Tomorrow

By Nathan Gill and Lester Pimentel Feb. 12 (Bloomberg) — Ecuador may announce tomorrow whether it will make an interest payment on its bonds due Feb. 15, Finance Minister Maria Elsa Viteri said. Viteri, speaking at a press conference today in Quito, said the announcement may come tomorrow or Feb. 15. Ecuador has a $134… Read More Ecuador May Announce Bond Payment Decision Tomorrow

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Chile’s Cencosud Seeks Return to 2007 Debt Levels (Update1)

By Nathan Gill and James Attwood      Jan. 20 (Bloomberg) — Cencosud SA, Chile’s biggest retailer, plans to return to the debt levels it maintained before making a series of acquisitions starting in 2007.      The Santiago-based operator of department stores, supermarkets and home-improvement outlets plans to issue 21-year bonds worth 3 million UF, Chile’s… Read More Chile’s Cencosud Seeks Return to 2007 Debt Levels (Update1)

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Velasco Expects Little Fallout From Ecuador Default in Chile

By Nathan Gill      Dec. 18 (Bloomberg) — Chile’s Finance Minister Andres Velasco comments on the potential economic consequences in Chile of Ecuador’s decision to default on $3.9 billion of international debt. Velasco spoke today in an interview in Santiago. On the affects of Ecuador’s decision to default on Chile’s economy:      “None. What Chile… Read More Velasco Expects Little Fallout From Ecuador Default in Chile

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Ecuador Vice President ‘Does Not Know’ If Country Will Pay Debt

By Nathan Gill      Dec. 11 (Bloomberg) — Ecuador’s Vice President Lenin Moreno comments on the country’s debt. Moreno spoke to reporters today in Santiago. On whether Ecuador will pay its foreign debt:      “This is the president’s decision, frankly. I don’t know. There are many factors to consider. We have decided that it is… Read More Ecuador Vice President ‘Does Not Know’ If Country Will Pay Debt

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Peru’s Economy Expanded 9.5 Percent in Third Quarter (Update1)

By Nathan Gill      Nov. 28 (Bloomberg) — Peru’s economy expanded more than economists expected in the third quarter, led by construction and investment in heavy machinery and equipment.      Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of a country’s output in goods and services, grew 9.5 percent in the third quarter from the same period… Read More Peru’s Economy Expanded 9.5 Percent in Third Quarter (Update1)

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Sigdo Koppers Rises After Disclosing Peru Sale Profit

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

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Democracy Strikes Again: The End Of 21st-Century Socialism?

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?

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Peru’s Halts Jungle Highway Construction After Investigation Shows Design Wasn’t Done

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

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Ecuadorian Foreign Policy Traditions

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

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Ecuadorian Foreign Policy: Actors and Institutions

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

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South American Regional Integration Institutions: Unasur, ALADI, CAN and Mercosur

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

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Chilean Foreign Policy: 2008

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

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Chilean Foreign Policy: Traditions

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

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Brazilian Foreign Policy: Traditions

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

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