Between January the 22nd, and the 24th, Chile was shaken by 6 earthquakes of 4.0 or higher on the Richter scale. For better or worse, earthquakes have become a way of life for many Chileans, who shrug off quakes that would cause panic in most regions of the world. Only the recent earthquake near Concepcion,…
Despite drastic differences culturally, religiously, and geographically, Venezuela’s Chavez and Iran’s Ahmadinejad seem to be united as enemies of a common enemy. Both countries are fond of railing against the "imperial Yankee," and a planned tour of leftist Latin Amarican states by Ahmadinejad is seen as a demonstration of solidarity against Western powers. Coming on…
Ecuador’s constitution enforces legal recognition of the rights of nature (similar to Bolivia’s constitution). Since 2007, the government of Ecuador has promoted an initiative to prevent the development of nearly 900 million barrels of oil within what is known as the Yasuni National Park which is located on the eastern border of the country and…
According to the Chilean newspaper “El Mercurio” Chile’s economy is projected to grow 4.1% in 2012. Down from 6.5% in 2011, expected growth in 2012 would nonetheless top not only the projected average for all of Latin America, but the global average of just 3.1% according to the paper. Regional growth is expected to be…
In May 1851, Brazil intervened in a regional conflict on behalf of Uruguay. In return, Uruguay granted Brazil the right to intervene in her international affairs. To this day, Uruguay is closely tied to the international politics of Argentina and Brazil. All are members of the powerful union Mercosur. Owing to the Argentina’s persistent claims over the Falkland Islands, despite international recognition…
Following on graphical representations of how a select subset of Latin American nations rank in terms of per capita incomes, the following chart represents the percentage change of per capita income year on year from 2010 to 2011*: *International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database, April 2011
Néstor Carlos Kirchner served as President of Argentina from May, 2003 to December, 2007. His wife, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, was elected as President of Argentina in October, 2007 and was reelected in October, 2011 following the death of her husband in October, 2010. According to official reports from an Argentine anti-corruption office the couple’s…
Mercosur is a full customs union encompassing Argentina, Brasil, Paraguay y Uruguay. Additionally, Venezuela, Ecuador, Chile, Bolivia, Colombia and Perú are associate members of the union, and as such, participate in the economic union, but not the unified customs system. While Venezuela signed into the union in 2006, their membership has been blocked ever since by…
Per capita incomes throughout Latin America currently lag behind first world nations; however, that hasn’t always been the case. Argentina, for example, counted itself as one of the wealthiest nations in the world at the turn of the 20th century. Today certain nations provide a demonstrably higher standard of living in the region due to…
InsightSur 