Ecuador virus cases plunged 37% in August, the most in South America after Brazil (40%), according to the WHO.… Read More Flattening the Curve: Ecuador and Brazil Pull Ahead in August
Oil-producing countries must take the necessary steps to stabilize the global crude market in a bid to improve prices, Ecuador Foreign Minister … Read More Latin America Oil Producers Call for Action to Improve Prices
By Nathan Gill (Bloomberg) — This year’s climb in crude prices, however slight, brought relief to Venezuelan and Ecuadorean bondholders after last year’s crash decimated the oil producers’ revenue and prompted concern they were running short of cash. Now, the pessimism is back. While New York oil futures have surged 36 percent from a six-year… Read More Venezuela Bonds Trapped by Oil’s New Normal as Relief Rally Ends
Velasco, Alejandro. Barrio Rising: Urban Popular Politics and the Making of Modern Venezuela. Oakland, California: University of California Press, 2015.… Read More Barrio Rising: Urban Popular Politics and the Making of Modern Venezuela: Review
Nathan Gill and Alex EmerySeptember 30, 2010, 9:00 PM GMT-5 Ecuador declared a state of emergency as hundreds of police protesting wage cuts blocked roads, shut the airport for several hours and sprayed teargas on President Rafael Correa. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez backed Correa’s claim that he was the target of an organized coup attempt,… Read More Ecuador’s Protesting Police Lay Siege to President
By Nathan Gill Oct. 9 (Bloomberg) — Chile’s peso dropped the most in a week as prices for copper, the country’s biggest export, slumped on a strengthening dollar. The peso weakened 0.6 percent to 554.50 per U.S. dollar from 551 yesterday for its steepest drop since Oct. 2. It declined for a third week. Copper… Read More Chile’s Peso Slumps Most in Week as Prices for Copper Decline
By Nathan Gill Sept. 25 (Bloomberg) — Colombia’s peso climbed for a fourth week on speculation the South American country is beginning to recover from its first recession since 1998. The peso climbed 1.3 percent this week to 1924.45 per dollar, extending its advance this month to 7 percent, the biggest gain among 26 emerging-market… Read More Colombian Peso Rises for Fourth Straight Week on Economy
By Andres R. Martinez and Nathan Gill June 29 (Bloomberg) — Hundreds of protesters clashed with riot police and soldiers outside Honduras’ presidential palace a day after the military arrested President Manuel Zelaya at gunpoint and put him on a plane out of the country. Regional leaders, from market-friendly Mexican President Felipe Calderon… Read More Honduran Protesters, Soldiers Clash Outside Palace After Coup
By Nathan Gill and Joshua Goodman June 29 (Bloomberg) — Latin American leaders are gathering in an emergency summit to restore Honduran President Manuel Zelaya to office after his ouster by the military yesterday in a showdown over a referendum on term limits. Regional leaders, from market-friendly Mexican President Felipe Calderon to self-declared… Read More Latin America Leaders Call Summit to Restore Zelaya (Update 4)
By Nathan Gill and Eric Sabo June 29 (Bloomberg) — Honduran President Manuel Zelaya, ousted by the military, meets with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and regional leaders today in a show of support designed to restore him as head of the Central American country. Zelaya said soldiers surrounded his house and forced him… Read More Latin America Calls Summit to Try to Restore Zelaya in Honduras
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
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
Mar. 21, 2008) The March 28th meeting of South American heads of state has been cancelled because of ongoing disputes between Ecuador and Colombia. Leaders had planned to sign a foundational constitution establishing the institutional procedures for UNASUR, a new union composed of the 12 nations of South America. The cancellation was not a surprise… Read More Unasur Founding Summit Cancelled Over Minor Regional Conflict
By Nate GillMarch 21, 2008 (Southern Affairs) — The March 28th meeting of South American heads of state has been cancelled because of ongoing disputes between Ecuador and Colombia. Leaders had planned to sign a foundational constitution establishing the institutional procedures for UNASUR, a new union composed of the 12 nations of South America. The… Read More Unasur Founding Summit Cancelled Over Regional Conflict
(March 10, 2008) The crisis that erupted last week over Colombia’s bombing of a FARC base camp inside Ecuador seems to have come to an end. A political solution was reached between the region’s foreign ministers at the OAS special session while a more personal agreement was reached between the presidents of several Latin American… Read More Counting the Chips: Political Solution Reached Between Ecuador and Colombia
(March 5, 2008) On Sunday Colombia’s military bombed a Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) military camp in Ecuadorian territory. The attack killed an estimated 23 rebel combatants, including FARC’s second in command, Luis Edgar Devia, a.k.a. Raúl Reyes, reportedly the first secretariat member to be killed in combat during more than 40 years of… Read More Colombian Attack Sets Off Unexpected Alarms Around South America
(Dec. 12, 2007) The signing of the “founding act” of the new Banco del Sur raises so many questions that it is difficult to know where to begin. Set against the backdrop of the assumption of Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the meeting highlighted the continued difficulties South America faces as it… Read More Banco Del Sur – A Reality Check On The State Of South American Relations
(Nov. 30, 2007) Without delay, Ecuador’s new Constitutional Assembly approved President Rafael Correa’s proposal to close the national congress until the assembly concludes its broad reorganization of the state in what officials are calling a “Citizen Revolution.” Ecuador is the third South American country to call a Constitutional Assembly this century, joining Venezuela and Bolivia… Read More 21st Century Socialists Turn Tables On Opposition
(Nov. 25, 2007) Riot police shot a group of students from the Universidad Monteávila on Friday for handing out pamphlets protesting the upcoming constitutional referendum in Venezuela. El Observador Online reported that eight students were wounded in the attack. Police firing small pellets and tear gas forced students to seek protection inside their university. The… Read More Venezuelan Police Shoot Students Protesting Chávez’s Constitutional Reforms
(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
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
Besides the now famous spat between President Chavez and King Juan Carlos and the evil empire bashing of the People’s Alternate Summit, what actually happened at the Iberoamerican Summit that took place in Santiago last week? Why did the leaders of 33 countries go to so much trouble to meet together for three days of… Read More The Other Iberoamerican Summit
(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?
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
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
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
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
(May 18, 2006) Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), Venezuela’s state oil company plans to open new offices in Chile in 2006. The oil company would like to supply Chile with crude oil and natural gas as well as use Chile as a regional base to distribute diesel. The announcement follows on the heels of Argentina’s statement… Read More VENEZUELA EXPLORES ENERGY MARKETS IN CHILE
The United States announced it has placed Venezuela on the list of countries not cooperating with counter-terrorism efforts and would ban future weapons sales to the country. “This focuses on concerns that [the U.S.] has in terms of the relationship [Venezuela] has built up with states like Iran and Cuba, state sponsors of terror,” said… Read More U.S. HALTS WEAPON SALES TO VENEZUELA
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