Latin America Breaking News

Uruguay Decision to Exit Controversial Trade Deal Talks With US Appropriate

Former Uruguayan senator Alberto Couriel said that there is "no free trade" in the Trade in Services Agreement (TISA), promoted by the United States.

MONTEVIDEO (Sputnik) — Uruguayan President Tabare Vasquez's decision to withdraw from the negotiations on the Trade in Services Agreement (TISA), promoted by the United States, is an adequate step due to the disadvantages inherent in the deal, former Uruguayan senator Alberto Couriel told Sputnik.

TISA is a proposed international trade deal between 24 parties, initiated by the United States and EU member states, to open up trade in services to a greater degree than allowed by the current General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). Last week, Uruguay announced that it had abandoned the multilateral negotiations.

According to Couriel, a member of the Broad Front center-left coalition of political parties, "TISA is part of the three treaties that the United States is negotiating against China" in addition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) with a number of Asian countries and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) with the European Union.

"There is an international trend toward free trade, but here there is no free trade, because the United States, the European Union and Japan maintain subsidies for agricultural exports, the United States still maintains quotas, the three continue to support local farmers that affects our exports. There is a free trade discourse, but there is no free trade," Couriel said.

He highlighted the growing importance of services, which is why developed countries are eager to deregulate third states' markets.

"TISA supporters say it is similar to the negotiation at the World Trade Organization [WTO], but in WTO there are 160 countries and it is more likely to have allies there than among 24 TISA member states, where there are no such countries as China, Brazil, Russia, India or Argentina," he pointed out.

Among the disadvantages of TISA, Couriel cited a lack of nuanced and tailored approaches to different countries that would allow some benefits to the least developed economies, and the investor-state dispute settlement mechanism, which allows companies to sue foreign governments should local legislation contravene their interests.

Critics say TISA attempts to eliminate trade barriers in sectors favorable to Washington but not in areas where liberalization does not serve US interests and paves the way for coordinated, supranational labor laws, medical systems, finance and industrial policy that could undermine local governments' authority to protect their citizens.

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/latam/20150914/1026987852.html#ixzz3mVf89hwq

Current Argentina's President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner's presidential contender, Daniel Scioli, should win first round of elections to be held next Sunday, October 25th, according to two surveys issued today, Sunday 18th.: Ipsos-Mora y Araujo and consultant agency CEOP. Ipsos-Mora y Araujo gives Scioli, of Frente para la Victória (Front for Victory), a 42% lead margin, as compared to opposition candidate, Mauricio Macri's 28% and Sergio Massa's Frente Renovadora (Renewal Front) with 23%.

CEOP's survey gives Scioli with 41%, Macri with 28% and Massa with 22%. Now, a week ahead of elections, Argentinian opposition forces have seven days to induce a second round and continue fighting to prevent Kirchner from making her successor.

Kyo wrote:Current Argentina's President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner's presidential contender, Daniel Scioli, should win first round of elections to be held next Sunday, October 25th, according to two surveys issued today, Sunday 18th.: Ipsos-Mora y Araujo and consultant agency CEOP. Ipsos-Mora y Araujo gives Scioli, of Frente para la Victória (Front for Victory), a 42% lead margin, as compared to opposition candidate, Mauricio Macri's 28% and Sergio Massa's Frente Renovadora (Renewal Front) with 23%.

CEOP's survey gives Scioli with 41%, Macri with 28% and Massa with 22%. Now, a week ahead of elections, Argentinian opposition forces have seven days to induce a second round and continue fighting to prevent Kirchner from making her successor.  

Could you tell us, what each candidate represents? Are they pro Russia? Are they are west?

par far wrote:

Kyo wrote:Current Argentina's President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner's presidential contender, Daniel Scioli, should win first round of elections to be held next Sunday, October 25th, according to two surveys issued today, Sunday 18th.: Ipsos-Mora y Araujo and consultant agency CEOP. Ipsos-Mora y Araujo gives Scioli, of Frente para la Victória (Front for Victory), a 42% lead margin, as compared to opposition candidate, Mauricio Macri's 28% and Sergio Massa's Frente Renovadora (Renewal Front) with 23%.

CEOP's survey gives Scioli with 41%, Macri with 28% and Massa with 22%. Now, a week ahead of elections, Argentinian opposition forces have seven days to induce a second round and continue fighting to prevent Kirchner from making her successor.  

Could you tell us, what each candidate represents? Are they pro Russia? Are they are west?

No party or politician in Argentina is pro-Russia. The current government misused and overspent huge amount of dollars when commodity prices where at a record high, didn't built reserves when they had a huge influx of dollars, didn't invest in infrastructure or industry, and now they have no cash and with the ongoing conflict with Western financiers (due to the still non-resolved default of 2002) they turned to Russia and (specially) China out of pure despair. This is not due to any carefully strategical, long-term planning, to realign Argentina out of Western sphere of influence - it is just desperate need to receive some currency swaps with the Central Bank of China. Peronists, who have almost monopolized Argentine politics in the last 70 years, are known for not caring for foreign politics, and just to increase their internal popularity they out of nothing raise useless tensions even with their closest allies, as they have done with Uruguay and Brazil in the last 10 years.
What I miss in Argentina is a conservative party, there has been none for many decades. Macri is not a true conservative (as they paint him) but a crypto-peronist: he built the first monument in the city of Buenos Aires to Perón, and has openly stated in his campaign that he will continue with the populist policies of the last 12 years, so not much of a change will happen even if he wins. It also indicates that Argentine population is addicted to these policies of having a hugely overgrown state (more than 40% of the economically active population works for the state) that gives them everything, including free football transmissions in the TV. Panis et circensis as it was during Roman decadence. So not much of a future for Argentina, unfortunately. It is such a pity because it is a great place that has everything to be one of the best countries to live - great food, the best wine and meat, lots of fertile lands, huge mountains in the Andes, beautiful snowy scenery in the south, and in most of the country a much milder climate than torrid Brazil.

Scioli is endorsed by current President Cristina Fernandez of FPV party(left-wing peronism) which governs Argentina last 12 years.

Macri is a businessman, who heads a centre-right coalition against the current government

Massa is the candidate of right-wing peronism (Renewal Front)

Scioli is clearly better for Russia as it is expected to continue Kischner's foreign policy which is more latin america than US oriented and more cooperative with China and Russia.

Macri used to be the president of boca juniors, and oversaw the most successful era of its history during the late nineties to mid noughties. After that he headed over into politics and i believe became governor (?) of buenos aires.

Whoever gets in, i hope that futbol para todos remains because its made watching boca from here in england so much easier over the past five years

George1 wrote:Scioli is endorsed by current President Cristina Fernandez of FPV party(left-wing peronism) which governs Argentina last 12 years.

Macri is a businessman, who heads a centre-right coalition against the current government

Massa is the candidate of right-wing peronism (Renewal Front)

Scioli is clearly better for Russia as it is expected to continue Kischner's foreign policy which is more latin america than US oriented and more cooperative with China and Russia.

Argentina is a strong candidate for BRICS membership, and both Cristina and contender Scioli support this initiative. The recent strengthening of ties between Moscow and Buenos Aires undertaken by Cristina's foreign policy means an Argentinian further detachment from Washington's sphere of influence in Latin America.

P.S.: If you possibly can, watch the recently Argentinan released (2014) film "Relatos Salvajes" (Wild Tales). Superb!

Argentina has a very complex politics (even though it is almost single party) and history, and what I, as a Brazilian who has been living here for almost 11 years, notice is that very few people know about it. What I find usually in the foreign press about Argentina politics is:
- left-wing, pro-BRICS media: Argentina has a good government because it is leftist, is developing its industry and local economy, and breaking away from the West and aligning with Russia and China.
- right-wing, pro-West media: Argentina has a bad government because it is leftist, is not paying its debts, and breaking away from the West and aligning with Russia and China.
Both are wrong, because both say basically the same thing and see Argentina "from the outside", from the point of view of Argentina's foreign relation. But Peronists (and almost all candidates are Peronists) don't care about foreign relations at all, and are not realigning Argentina with BRICS, they don't have any strategic long-term plans at all - none. And I see it repeated everywhere that "Argentina is breaking away from the West", which is untrue because it is giving a lot of benefits and privileges to Western mining and oil companies and is emitting (and paying) new bonds with huge interests. Macri, Massa, Scioli, and even the smaller contenders (the only two who are not Peronists: moderate leftist Stolbizer, and Trotskyist Del Caño, who will only receive a fraction of the votes) will not benefit Russia or China in any way, and they won't dump the West either.

"Betrayal in Peru": US Sets Up 3 Secret Bases in the Amazon Region

They are located in Iquitos, Nanay and Santa Lucía, in the Peruvian Amazon Region and have been handed over by the increasingly unpopular President Ollanta Humala for the so-called war on drugs and terrorism. In Latin America, it is nothing new that local governments loose support among the population and try to beef-up their popularity ratings with the help of the US. However, historically this strings-attached "assistance" is not devoid of veiled interests and countries' paying back means forgoing state sovereignty. According to experts, Ollanta Humala is one of them and is now under Washington's control to preserve his office at any cost.

Svyatoslavich wrote:Argentina has a very complex politics (even though it is almost single party) and history, and what I, as a Brazilian who has been living here for almost 11 years, notice is that very few people know about it. What I find usually in the foreign press about Argentina politics is:
- left-wing, pro-BRICS media: Argentina has a good government because it is leftist, is developing its industry and local economy, and breaking away from the West and aligning with Russia and China.
- right-wing, pro-West media: Argentina has a bad government because it is leftist, is not paying its debts, and breaking away from the West and aligning with Russia and China.
Both are wrong, because both say basically the same thing and see Argentina "from the outside", from the point of view of Argentina's foreign relation. But Peronists (and almost all candidates are Peronists) don't care about foreign relations at all, and are not realigning Argentina with BRICS, they don't have any strategic long-term plans at all - none. And I see it repeated everywhere that "Argentina is breaking away from the West", which is untrue because it is giving a lot of benefits and privileges to Western mining and oil companies and is emitting (and paying) new bonds with huge interests. Macri, Massa, Scioli, and even the smaller contenders (the only two who are not Peronists: moderate leftist Stolbizer, and Trotskyist Del Caño, who will only receive a fraction of the votes) will not benefit Russia or China in any way, and they won't dump the West either.

So they are like India?

For those who can read Spanish, there's a lengthy article on RT providing details over recent developments of Russian-Argentinian cooperation projects. Otherwise you can use Yandex Translator:

https://actualidad.rt.com/actualidad/189045-cooperacion-rusia-argentina

par far wrote:

Svyatoslavich wrote:Argentina has a very complex politics (even though it is almost single party) and history, and what I, as a Brazilian who has been living here for almost 11 years, notice is that very few people know about it. What I find usually in the foreign press about Argentina politics is:
- left-wing, pro-BRICS media: Argentina has a good government because it is leftist, is developing its industry and local economy, and breaking away from the West and aligning with Russia and China.
- right-wing, pro-West media: Argentina has a bad government because it is leftist, is not paying its debts, and breaking away from the West and aligning with Russia and China.
Both are wrong, because both say basically the same thing and see Argentina "from the outside", from the point of view of Argentina's foreign relation. But Peronists (and almost all candidates are Peronists) don't care about foreign relations at all, and are not realigning Argentina with BRICS, they don't have any strategic long-term plans at all - none. And I see it repeated everywhere that "Argentina is breaking away from the West", which is untrue because it is giving a lot of benefits and privileges to Western mining and oil companies and is emitting (and paying) new bonds with huge interests. Macri, Massa, Scioli, and even the smaller contenders (the only two who are not Peronists: moderate leftist Stolbizer, and Trotskyist Del Caño, who will only receive a fraction of the votes) will not benefit Russia or China in any way, and they won't dump the West either.

So they are like India?

FYI : In India every government favors Russia.

Colombian President Orders Intensified Anti-ELN Operation

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos ordered an intensified offensive on National Liberation Army (ELN) after the guerrillas’ ambush that killed 11 soldiers and a police officer.

MEXICO CITY (Sputnik) – The ELN ambush occurred when rebels laid an explosive device on a rural road in Boyaca Department, one of the regions where local and departmental elections were held on Sunday.

"I have ordered the Defense Ministry and armed forces to redouble efforts and intensify the military strategy against the ELN," Santos’ office tweeted late Monday.

Santos was later quoted as saying "the message is clear: we will face them with all the power of armed forces."

The slain law enforcement official and 11 soldiers, in addition to three wounded soldiers and additional five officials declared missing, were involved in maintaining security at the local ballot stations.

The ELN is the second-largest rebel group in Colombia after FARC, with whom the Colombian government signed a legal justice deal for crimes committed during the decades-long armed conflict in the country.

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/latam/20151027/1029152748/colombia-eln-santos.html#ixzz3psTMyzpe

Macri wins 54% to 46% and is the new president of Argentina.

George1 wrote:Macri wins 54% to 46% and is the new president of Argentina.

that sucks, im pretty sure Pindostan has a secret hand in this election that enable their puppet to win. what happens to RF-Argentine relations now?

Project Canada wrote:

George1 wrote:Macri wins 54% to 46% and is the new president of Argentina.

that sucks, im pretty sure Pindostan has a secret hand in this election that enable their puppet to win. what happens to RF-Argentine relations now?

No, Kirchner husband and wife in their 12 years in power screwed things bad in this country. I am no fan of Macri or any other candidate in Argentine elections, no one had ideas and proposals I would support, but he was the smallest evil.

max steel wrote:Cooler Heads to Prevail: Argentina, Russia Likely to Maintain Cooperation

Well, it is in the best interest of both countries to expand and deepen relations in all levels, so let's hope so. For now, it's too early to say "he is a US stooge and will do everything his masters will tell".

Opposition in Venezuela achieved big victory in parliamentary elections. They have captured 99 seats out of 167 with 22 yet to be decided. They are close to super-majority

http://www.wsj.com/articles/venezuelans-begin-voting-in-congressional-elections-1449412344#

With Maduro's party losing(a friendly Russian government), what happens with Venezuela and Russia relations? Venezuela had a good chance of joining the BRICS but now with a west backed government, has Russia and the BRICS lost Venezuela to the west? They are going to be friendly towards the west now and they will buy weapons from the west. Hopefully Russia is able to steal a West Country, just like west did in Venezuela. This has changed things drastically and this is not good.

Who knows. I imagine Russias participation in venezuela will be dumped now though if it is the case.  No more weapon sales I suppose.

Maduro govt made venezuela citizens life hell. Lets see what this govt will do. Oh! It's not some conspiracy, citizens left with no choice but to go for the alternative. He even failed to diversify Venezuela economy apart from oil.