Daily Headlines: June 16, 2014

Note: We will be posting several articles during the next month on the World Cup in Brazil.  As a result, our “Daily Headlines” entries over the next few weeks will focus primarily on non-World Cup news.


* Colombia: Conservative president Juan Manuel Santos turned around a first round loss and won reelection as most Colombian voters opted to continue the current direction of peace talks with leftist rebels.

* South America: Diplomatic tensions between Argentina and Uruguay have flared up again over a Finnish-owned pulp mill built in 2007 near the border of both countries.

* Mexico: Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission condemned the attacks on five journalists covering a recent march remembering the victims of the 1971 El Halconazo massacre.

* U.S.: Escaping from gang violence and poor economic conditions are some of the reasons behind the influx of thousands of unaccompanied minors mostly from Central American countries crossing into the U.S. 

Video Source – euronews via YouTube

Online Sources – MercoPress; LAHT; The Latin Americanist; CNN; Reuters

Uruguay credits growth to controversial mill

Uruguay’s central bank reported a record 14.6% GDP surge in the latest quarter; the country’s greatest growth in nearly a fifteen years. Analysts partially credited such a boost to a controversial paper mill which began operations last November:

“Growing economic activity has been sustained by expansive domestic consumption and strong international prices for the country's commodity exports,'' said Gustavo Michelin, an economist and former director of Banco de la Republica.

The $1.1 billion pulp mill built by a Finnish firm has been a source of discord between Uruguay and neighboring Argentina. Environmentalists and the Argentine government attempted to block the plant from being constructed near the country’s river border. Despite protests and a major diplomatic dispute between both countries, the plant was built and continues running.

Image- Misionlandia
Sources- The Latin Americanist, Bloomberg, Reuters

Daily Headlines: November 2, 2007 (PM Edition)

With the weekend around the corner here are a few more news stories that have caught out attention:

* The Mexican navy seized over 23 tons of cocaine in a ship traveling from Colombia.

* Hundreds of Latinos in Oklahoma rallied against a recently passed state law with measures like stopping government subsidies like health care for illegal immigrants.

* Emerging-market bonds worldwide including in Latin America tumbled today.

* Thousands of anti-Chavez protestors clashed with police yesterday in Caracas while the legislators proposed a two-part vote for 69 constitutional changes.

* Is Haiti about to enter into a deep political crisis?

* Follow-up: At the behest of the Spanish government, Uruguayan officials have delayed the opening of a controversial Finnish-owned paper mill.

Sources (English)- The Latin Americanist, BBC News, Bloomberg, Associated Press, MiamiHerald.com, Pryor Daily Times

Sources (Spanish)- El Diario/La Prensa

Image- BBC News

Daily Headlines: September 15, 2007

* The world’s largest pot of soup will be a sancocho (i.e. traditional Latin American chicken stew) to be prepared in Caracas later today for over 60,000 people.

* Mexico's attorney general claimed that the rising price of cocaine proves that the government’s anti-crime policy is working.

* Is the decrease in Cuban internet access due to "technical problems" or censorship?

* Follow-up: Argentine environmentalists protested in front of Finland’s embassy in Buenos Aires against a paper mill being constructed near the Argentina-Uruguay border.

Sources- Wikipedia, Bloomberg, People’s Daily Online, The Latin Americanist, Chicago Tribune

Image- BBC News

Uruguay and Argentina still at odds over border mill

The paper mill dispute between Argentina and Uruguay that has been going on for over a year continues as representatives for both countries take part in negotiations mediated by Spain. Neither side is willing to budge too much as evidenced by remarks made several days ago by Uruguayan president Tabare Vasquez.

The debate centers on a paper mill owned by Finnish firm Botnia that is being built in Uruguay near their river border with Argentina. Argentina wants the mill to be moved away from the border while Uruguay is steadfast in wanting the mill to be fully operational by September.

Links- Mercopress, The Latin Americanist, MSNBC, NewsRoom Finland

Image- Mercopress (Argentine protestors of the Botnia paper mill block roads leading to the facility)