News of latin america

EU hopes Trump tariffs can nudge Mercosur deal past finish line

Today 09:10 Spectre of transatlantic trade war is fuelling hopes of a silver lining in Europe: that the long-awaited EU-Mercorur free-trade deal could get a final green light.

HUMAN RIGHTS

Brazil prohibits hormone therapy for transgender minors

Yesterday 18:22 Brazilian health authority raises legal age for transgender people to receive hormone therapy from 16 to 18; Also raises minimum age for sexual reassignment surgery "that involves a potentially sterilising effect" from 18 to 21 years.

GEOPOLITICS & DIPLOMACY

Trump’s China trade war is forcing Latin America to pick a side

15-04-2025 14:02 Intensifying battle between world’s two largest economies has left governments grappling with the reality that their days of doing big business with Beijing without serious blowback from Washington are numbered.

OBITUARY

Mario Vargas Llosa: Peruvian Nobel-winning novelist

13-04-2025 23:25 As one of Latin America’s foremost writers and intellectuals, Mario Vargas Llosa defended individual liberty, democracy and the free market, which often put him at odds with his peers and political leaders in the region.

LITERARY LEGEND DIES

Mario Vargas Llosa, Latin American literary heavyweight, dies at 89

13-04-2025 23:15 Mario Vargas Llosa has died in Lima at the age of 89, confirms family; Nobel literature laureate is considered to be one of the greats of Latin America's literary "boom" of the 1960s and 1970s.

Ecuador election 2025

Noboa declared winner of Ecuador run-off, González demands recount

13-04-2025 22:56 Election authorities declare incumbent Daniel Noboa to be the winner of Ecuador's presidential run-off vote, with the 37-year-old leader defeating his leftist rival by bigger-than-expected margin; Challenger Luisa González expresses concern over fraud.

Ecuador election 2025

Ecuador imposes state of emergency before razor-close election

12-04-2025 14:42 On the eve of a too-close-to-call presidential run-off and reacting a dramatic rise in drug-linked violence, Ecuador declares a state of emergency in seven of its 24 provinces, including the capital.

MERCOSUR SUMMIT

Mercosur to expand common tariff exemptions as trade war rages

11-04-2025 17:30 Mercosur countries have decided to relax common external tariffs on 50 products of the choice of each of its members, giving them more flexibility to negotiate deals.

EURO TRADE PLANS

EU races to expand two-trillion-euro trade network as US links sour

11-04-2025 13:49 The European Union is racing to clinch trade deals with countries around the world in an effort to diversify away from an increasingly protectionist United States.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Brazil’s inflation hits two-year high amid rate hike debate

11-04-2025 11:26 Brazil’s annual inflation rate at its highest level in two years.

FUTURE OF UNITED NATIONS

Four Latin Americans who could become the UN’s next leader

10-04-2025 15:57 Latin American and Caribbean nations will seek to unite behind a single candidate in the contest to lead the United Nations, a move that see the first-ever female secretary-general.

EU-MERCOSUR TRADE DEAL

EU offers timeline for final Mercosur deal proposal

10-04-2025 14:28 Top EU spokesperson says he wants to present a proposal for sweeping free-trade agreement before “end of summer,” with legal review ongoing.

Foreign policy & diplomacy

Milei hails shared values during talks with Paraguay’s Peña

09-04-2025 21:32 President met up with his Paraguayan counterpart, holding various meetings in Asunción during brief overseas trip.

TRUMP'S TARIFF WAR

Strength in numbers: Latin America urges unity in face of Trump tariffs

09-04-2025 17:38 Latin American leaders at CELAC summit in Honduras call for a united front to tackle US President Donald Trump's tariff onslaught.

BUSINESS & INVESTMENT

Mercado Libre to invest US$2.6 billion in Argentina this year

09-04-2025 17:31 US$2.6-billion investment marks a 53% increase on last year’s figure and forms part of a wider regional expansion drive.

Foreign policy & diplomacy

Uruguay's Orsi calls for Latin American unity in face of economic uncertainty

08-04-2025 17:23 Uruguay's left-wing President Yamandú Orsi calls for regional integration in the face of economic uncertainty from the United States.

Interview

Brazilian ambassador: Lula-Milei differences have 'minimal effect on bilateral relations’

05-04-2025 06:34 Brazil’s Ambassador to Argentina on managing bilateral relations, despite the enmity between Javier Milei and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Julio Bitelli on Jair Bolsonaro’s trial, the Malvinas issue, the flirtation between Argentina and the United States, the trade imbalance and the importance of Vaca Muerta.

by Cecilia Degl'Innocenti

TRADE WARS

Trump attempting to be an ‘emperor,’ says Chile's Boric

02-04-2025 15:19 Chilean President says that at Trump’s inauguration, billionaires and tech gurus were “paying homage to someone who seems to pretend to be a new emperor.”

TRADE WARS

Trump tariffs threaten Latin American steel industry

01-04-2025 15:18 US president’s new tariffs, designed to protect American consumers, will put Latin America's steel industry on the ropes

POLLING & SURVEYS

Latin Americans split on retaliation as Trump’s tariffs loom

01-04-2025 12:19 Half of Mexicans, Argentines and Brazilians want their governments to retaliate to Trump’s tariffs, with slightly smaller shares of Colombians and Chileans saying the same.

POLITICS IN BRAZIL

Brazil's Bolsonaro ordered to stand trial for attempted coup

26-03-2025 22:26 Brazil's Supreme Court orders former president Jair Bolsonaro to stand trial on charges of plotting a coup after failing to win re-election in 2022.

MERCOSUR TRADE

Lula urges Mercosur-Japan deal to counter Trump protectionism

26-03-2025 08:38 Brazil President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva calls for new trade deal between Mercosur bloc and Japan during visit to Tokyo.

ENVIRONMENT & WILDLIFE

Fifteen wild rheas transferred to Chile in bid to restore species

25-03-2025 10:20 Argentina and Chile achieve a conservation milestone with the first binational translocation of wild birds; Conservation effort is part of a push to boost population.

Brazil ex-president

Brazil judges weigh whether to put Bolsonaro on trial for 'coup'

25-03-2025 10:06 Brazil's Supreme Court weighs whether to put far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro on trial for allegedly masterminding an attempted coup after losing elections in 2022.

POLITICS IN CHILE

Chile presidential candidate Evelyn Matthei lauds Argentina budget cuts

22-03-2025 09:13 “In Argentina, they’ve cut spending with a speed and determination that’s incredible,” says Chile presidential candidate Evelyn Matthei.

EMBASSY SCANDAL IN CARACAS

The year-long stand-off between five prisoners in a mansion and Maduro's regime

21-03-2025 10:20 Members of Venezuela’s opposition are trapped in Argentina's Embassy in Caracas, living on rainwater and sardines, as government forces stand watch.

SCANDAL IN URUGUAY

Uruguay rocked by US$300 million in cattle fraud claims

20-03-2025 12:21 Urugauy is facing one of its biggest-ever retail investor fraud cases, with companies peddling cattle investments accused of bilking savers out of hundreds of millions of dollars.

HUMAN RIGHTS

Peru rights groups sound alarm on 'anti-NGO' bill

14-03-2025 13:30 Peru's Congress is on a mission to increase state oversight over NGOs, which have drawn the ire of conservatives for bringing cases against the state for alleged human rights abuses.

MERCOSUR TENSIONS

Milei: Mercosur bloc ‘has only enriched Brazilian industrialists’

02-03-2025 11:28 Argentina’s President Javier Milei declares in speech to Congress that Mercosur trade bloc has “only enriched Brazilian industrialists,” warning he will take his nation out of trade bloc if it prevents free-trade deal with United States.

CRIME & SECURITY

Argentina designates Tren de Aragua as ‘terrorist’ group

25-02-2025 17:46 Argentina’s government has added Venezuelan criminal gang Tren de Aragua to its official register of groups “linked to acts of terrorism,” following in the footsteps of the United States.

FILM & LITERATURE

Latin American classics get the streaming treatment

25-02-2025 10:54 Decades on from the Latin American literary boom that took magical realism to the wider world, several notable artworks and comic books – including ‘Mafalda’ and ‘El Eternauta’ – are being given a new lease of life on streaming platforms.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

MercadoLibre shares rally after record quarter of profit

20-02-2025 23:55 MercadoLibre stock jumped as much as 14% in after-hours trading after Latin American e-commerce and fintech giant’s profit far surpassed estimates.

Diplomatic row

Venezuelan opposition pleads for assistance for asylum seekers

19-02-2025 22:51 Opposition leaders call on diplomatic community to raise voice against "siege" at Argentina's Embassy in Caracas.

SIZEABLE BLACK ECONOMY

US$30 billion a year – Ecuador reveals size of local cartel trade

18-02-2025 14:44 Ecuador's President Daniel Noboa admits that cartels and gangs move US$30 billion worth of drugs, arms and other illicit goods through his country a year.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Argentina records highest monthly trade deficit with Brazil in seven years

13-02-2025 00:17 Bilateral trade between the two Mercosur partners was US$2.098 billion last month, up 34.1% from the previous January, but imports surge takes Argentina into negative territory.

GEOPOLITICS & DIPLOMACY

Gutting aid, US cedes soft power game to China

12-02-2025 14:52 Successive US administrations have vowed to wage a global competition with China. But by freezing nearly all US foreign aid, Washington has effectively ceded one of its main levers of influence.

AGRICULTURE

Milei’s plan to boost farm exports: stop ships from running aground

12-02-2025 11:41 Argentina’s government is moving to give the neglected Paraná waterway its first major upgrade in nearly two decades. But time is running out for the fixes to be made.

START-UPS

Dozen Latin America start-ups flagged as top unicorn candidates

11-02-2025 17:01 At least a dozen tech firms in the region could cross the coveted US$1-billion valuation mark this year, according to specialised platform Distrito.

Ecuador election 2025

Ecuador heads to election run-off between Noboa and González

10-02-2025 08:58 With more than 90% of the ballots counted, incumbent President Daniel Noboa has 44.3% and rival Luisa González 43.8%, with a run-off set to decide the nation's future.

US-VENEZUELA RELATIONS

Has Trump changed tack on Venezuela and Maduro?

03-02-2025 09:34 US President Donald Trump may be adjusting the hard-line approach he adopted toward Caracas during his first term.

BEYOND THE HEADLINES

Carnal relations and the forces of heaven

01-02-2025 06:05 The Menem Presidency was the closest thing to providing a template for the disruptive novelty of Milei’s administration but the return of Trump to the White House invites new comparisons.

by Michael Soltys

CENTRAL AMERICA

Nicaragua legislature cements 'absolute power' of president, wife

31-01-2025 14:58 Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo consolidate their absolute command of power in Nicaragua – as president and “co-president,” they will control all branches of government and civil society, according to the troubled nation's latest constitutional reform.

TRUMP TARIFF THREAT

Lula says if Trump hikes tariffs, Brazil will reciprocate

30-01-2025 13:42 "It's very simple: if he taxes Brazilian products, Brazil will reciprocate," warns Brazil's leftist leader.

FOREIGN POLICY & SECURITY

Argentina may send Armed Forces to beef up Triple Frontier security

30-01-2025 00:35 Border clampdown takes Brazil by surprise, with officials learning of move via media; Security, Defence Ministries fine-tuning details to determine number of troops and where they will be deployed.

TRUMP'S RETURN

Scalded by Colombia row, Latin America treads carefully with Trump

29-01-2025 22:44 Leaders across Latin American leaders are walking a tightrope in the Trump 2.0 era, as Gustavo Petro’s recent clash with US president goes to show.

TOURISM & TRAVEL

Argentina’s rich neighbours cut back on visits due to strong peso

28-01-2025 09:38 Tourists visiting from Uruguay and Chile fell at least 30% in December from a year ago, according to INDEC.

BORDER ROW

Milei plans to build Argentina-Bolivia border wall, citing crime

28-01-2025 09:29 Salta Province plans to build short fence near the Bolivian border as part of a crackdown on drug-trafficking and contraband.

NEW ERA IN AMERICA

Trump on Latin America: 'We don’t need them – they need us'

22-01-2025 11:10 US president's remarks indicate his forthright approach to future policy; Trump insists he will regain control of Panama Canal, sends troops to Mexican border, but Marco Rubio’s eye will remain on wider region.