Mercosur’s Delayed Case of Free Trade Fever
Reading Time: 4 minutes
The agreement with the European Union means more than trading with Europe.
Uruguay
The Newcomers Shaking Up Uruguay’s Election
Reading Time: 4 minutes
A host of new faces and parties are adding uncertainty to this year’s presidential race.
Meet the Candidates: Uruguay
Reading Time: 5 minutes
Uruguay’s ruling coalition goes for a fourth consecutive term in a campaign marked by a debate over rising crime.
Trailblazing Leaders on How to Make Latin American Politics More Inclusive
What do a Zapotec woman from Mexico, an Afro-descendant advocate from Uruguay, and a gay rights activist from Chile have in common? Quite a lot, it turns out. On March 27, Mexico’s Eufrosina Cruz Mendoza, Uruguay’s Edgardo Ortuño, and Chile’s Jaime Parada Hoyl – three Latin American politicians who have broken glass ceilings in their … Read more
Uruguay Is Latin America’s Social Inclusion Leader. Here’s Why.
Leer en español This article is adapted from AQ’s most recent issue, “Fixing Brazil.” To receive the print edition at home, subscribe here. A small country sandwiched between larger neighbors has claimed the number-one spot in Americas Quarterly Social Inclusion Index TM — for the third year in a row. So, what does Uruguay keep getting right? Simply … Read more
Uruguay Oil Investment Bucks Global Pullback
After decades of standing by as neighbors Brazil and Argentina struck it rich in oil, Uruguay is getting into the action. Oil majors Total, ExxonMobil and Statoil are all making big investments in the tiny South American country, attracted by new projections that Uruguay may hold an “elephant” of an oil field. Problem is, with oil … Read more
Syrian Refugees in Uruguay Face an Uncertain Future
To see our entire feature on Syrian refugees in Latin America, click here. Uruguay’s invitation in late 2014 sounded like a dream to the Alshebli family, who had been living in a cramped Lebanon apartment for more than a year since they fled Syria. Not only would all 17 Alsheblis receive asylum, they would also … Read more
Edgardo Ortuño, Uruguay
First black member of parliament, undersecretary and interim minister of industry and energy, champion of Afro-Uruguayan culture—those are Edgardo Ortuño’s historic achievements in a country where the marginalization of Afro-descendants, comprising approximately 10 percent of Uruguay’s population, remains a major challenge.1 Ortuño, 45, who grew up in a working- class neighborhood in Montevideo, leveraged his … Read more
Monday Memo: Mexican Elections—G7 Climate Summit—EU-CELAC Summit—Argentine Debt—Honduras Protests
This week’s likely news stories: Mexico’s ruling party wins the congressional elections; Canada and Japan block a G7 statement on carbon emissions; Latin American officials to discuss Mercosur at EU-CELAC Summit; Argentina’s debt inflates after U.S. court ruling; protestors demand Honduran president’s resignation. Mexico’s Ruling Party to Maintain Majority in Lower House after Elections: Despite … Read more
Sixty Percent of Latin Americans Will Have Internet Access in 2016
The number of Latin Americans with access to the Internet will increase by 20 percent over the next twelve months, according to the Latin American and Caribbean Internet Address Registry (LACNIC). The Uruguay-based NGO is one of five Regional Internet Registries in the world that assigns and administers IP addresses to local Internet service providers—it also advocates for Internet development in … Read more
Uruguay Will No Longer Accept Guantanamo Refugees
On Monday night, Uruguayan Minister of Foreign Affairs Rodolfo Nin Novoa announced that Uruguay will no longer offer asylum to additional Guantanamo prisoners, amid reports that one of the ex-prisoners currently living in Montevideo is threating to go on a hunger strike. Novoa said in a press conference that the decision by Uruguayan President Tabaré … Read more
The OAS Elects Uruguay’s Luis Almagro as Secretary General
On March 18, the General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS) named Uruguayan Foreign Minister Luis Almagro its newest secretary general in a near-unanimous vote. In a clear display of hemispheric unity as regional ties appear increasingly strained elsewhere, the unopposed Almagro received votes from representatives of 33 of the organization’s 34 member states gathered in Washington … Read more
Latin American Countries Lobby for Reform of Global Drug Policy
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) opened its 58th session on the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) on Monday in Vienna, Austria, with several Latin American countries—Mexico, Colombia, Uruguay and Bolivia—lobbying for a reform of global counternarcotic strategy. The CND special opening session will meet until March 13 to prepare for the … Read more
Monday Memo: U.S.-Cuba Talks — Colombia Peace Talks — Latin American Currencies — New Uruguayan President — Peruvian Ecotourism
This week’s likely top stories:U.S.-Cuba talks promising; New delegation for FARC peace talks; Dollar strengthens against Latin American currencies; Tabaré Vázquez takes office; Peruvian businesses to learn from Costa Rican ecotourism. U.S.-Cuba Normalization Talks Promising: After two rounds of talks—one in Havana last month and the second in Washington DC on Friday—the U.S. and Cuba … Read more
UNASUR and CAF Announce Plans for Latin American Fiber Optic Cable
The Unión de Naciones Suramericanas (The Union of South American Nations—UNASUR) and the Banco de Desarrollo de América Latina (Latin American Development Bank—CAF) announced plans on Tuesday to develop the first fiber optic cable exclusively financed by Latin American institutions. The creation of the proposed Red de Conectividad Suramericana para la Integración (South American Connectivity … Read more
