South America

Argentine voters, fired up by anger, ready to leap into the political void

By Nicolás Misculin BUENOS AIRES, (Reuters) - Argentina may be about to leap into the political unknown. The South American country, the region's No.2 economy after Brazil, will vote in…

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Amazon rainforest records lowest water level in 121 years amid drought

The water level at a major river port in Brazil's Amazon rainforest hit its lowest point in at least 121 years on Monday, as a historic drought upends the lives…

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Businessman Noboa wins Ecuador presidency, eclipsing father’s legacy

Business scion Daniel Noboa will fulfill a long-held family ambition when he takes office as Ecuador's president, after winning election on Sunday on promises to create jobs and bring crime…

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Argentina election race close with Milei in the lead, pollsters say

BUENOS AIRES, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Far-right libertarian Javier Milei is leading the polls ahead of Argentina's Oct. 22 presidential vote, but it remains a tight race between the top…

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Amazon drought stalls shipping as boats run aground in low rivers

By Bruno Kelly and Ana Mano MANAUS, (Reuters) - A barge carrying three trucks and 2,000 empty cooking gas cylinders lies stranded on the vast sand banks of a diminished…

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Argentina presidential candidates trade barbs in first debate

By Walter Bianchi BUENOS AIRES, (Reuters) - The main candidates for Argentina's presidency clashed in the first debate of the campaign on Sunday, trading barbs over who is to blame…

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Brazil’s Lula stable after hip surgery, starts walking in physio sessions

BRASILIA, (Reuters) - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is clinically stable one day after hip surgery and has begun to walk in physiotherapy sessions, the Sirio-Libanes Hospital in…

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EPA’s Eye In The Sky: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

An aerial picture taken with a drone shows sunbathers on a hot day ahead of the spring season at Ipanema beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Photo: EPA-EFE/Antonio Lacerda

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Lula admitted to Brasilia hospital for hip surgery

BRASILIA, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was admitted to hospital on Friday to undergo surgery for hip arthrosis caused by wear and tear of…

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Argentina inflation hits 124% as cost-of-living crisis sharpens

By Miguel Lo Bianco and Jorge Otaola BUENOS AIRES, (Reuters) - Argentina's annual inflation rate shot up to 124.4% in August and hit its highest level since 1991, stoking a…

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India hands over G20 presidency to Brazil

NEW DELHI, Sept 10 (Reuters) - India on Sunday formally handed over the G20 presidency to Brazil at the closing ceremony of the annual summit of the grouping, that was held in…

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Milei leads polls in Argentina election

By Nicolás Misculin BUENOS AIRES, (Reuters) - Argentina's pollsters, caught out by the surprise win of radical libertarian Javier Milei in August's presidential primary, now show him easing to first…

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Argentine priests defend Pope Francis over ‘shameful’ Milei attacks

By Lucila Sigal BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Priests from poor districts in Buenos Aires held a mass on Tuesday to defend Argentine Pope Francis after radical right-wing presidential candidate Javier…

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EPA’s Eye In The Sky: Ipanema Beach, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

A picture taken with a drone shows thousands of people as they bathe at Ipanema beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. ViaEPA-EFE/Antonio Lacerda

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Argentina to resume poultry exports to EU after export halt due to bird flu

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina's foreign ministry said it has agreed to resume poultry exports to the European Union after these were halted due to cases of bird flu in…

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Brazilian hacker says Bolsonaro asked him to tamper with voting machine

A Brazilian hacker told a congressional inquiry on Thursday that former President Jair Bolsonaro asked him to tamper with an electronic voting machine to show Brazil's electoral system was vulnerable…

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Argentine far-right outsider Javier Milei posts shock win in primary election

Argentine voters punished the country's two main political forces in a primary election on Sunday, pushing a rock-singing libertarian outsider candidate into first place in a huge shake-up in the…

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Voter anger, apathy hang over Argentina primary elections

Argentina will hold primary elections on Sunday, a nationwide ballot that will act as a giant voter poll ahead of general elections in October, with many people angry or apathetic…

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Ecuador presidential candidate assassinated, suspect dead

Ecuador presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, a vocal critic of corruption and organized crime, was killed on Wednesday evening during a campaign event in the north of the capital Quito, authorities said.Local media…

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El Salvador arrests more than 100 Colombians in financial scheme

By Nelson Renteria SAN SALVADOR, (Reuters) - Salvadoran police arrested more than a hundred Colombians for their alleged involvement in operating a microfinancing scheme that laundered money from drug running…

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Magnitude 6.4 earthquake strikes southern Argentina

July 17 (Reuters) - An earthquake of magnitude 6.4 struck the southern Argentine province of Neuquen during the early hours on Monday, the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) said.…

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EPA’s Eye In The Sky: Sao Paulo, Brazil

The Luz train station, in the center of Sao Paulo, Brazil. The train project that will link the cities of Sao Paulo and Campinas, in Brazil, and for which the…

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Bolsonaro barred from holding public office in Brazil until 2030

By Ricardo Brito and Gabriel Araujo BRASILIA (Reuters) - Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's political career was in tatters as Brazil's federal electoral court (TSE) barred the far-right nationalist from…

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Brazil says it cannot agree to EU’s proposal for Mercosur trade deal

June 23 (Reuters) - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Friday said the European Union's latest proposal for a trade deal with South American bloc Mercosur made reaching…

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Brazil’s Lula says he favors stopping use of dollars in trade

(Reuters) - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said he defends the idea that countries cannot keep trading in dollars, restating his proposal for creating a common currency for…

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Brazil declares 180-day animal health emergency amid avian flu cases in wild birds

By Ana Mano SAO PAULO, May 22 (Reuters) - Brazil on Monday declared a state of animal health emergency for 180 days in response to the country's first ever detection of the…

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Bolivia open to using yuan for trade

LA PAZ, (Reuters) - Bolivia's president expressed openness to the use of the Chinese yuan for international trade during a press conference, citing similar moves by Argentina and Brazil to…

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Bolivian General Gary Prado Salmón who captured Che Guevara dies

The Bolivian general who captured the Cuban revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara and became a national hero has died aged 84. In 1967 Gary Prado Salmón led a military operation in…

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Argentina inflation seen at 126.4% in 2023, central bank poll shows

BUENOS AIRES, (Reuters) - Argentina's inflation rate is seen hitting 126.4% in 2023, well exceeding previous estimates that anticipated a slower rise, according to a central bank poll of analysts…

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Brazil’s Lula pledges new minimum wage policy, expanded tax exemption

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva pledged to introduce a new policy of real increases in the minimum wage and announced plans to raise the income…

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Argentina govt to pay for Chinese imports in yuan rather than dollars

BUENOS AIRES, (Reuters) - Argentina will start to pay for Chinese imports in yuan rather than dollars, the government announced, a measure that aims to relieve the country's dwindling dollar…

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Brazil woos sceptical foreign investors with new fiscal plan

Brazil targets investor cash to help fuel recovery Newly outlined fiscal rules, strong cenbank cheer markets Investors still fret over Lula's social spending wishlist By Libby George LONDON, April 24…

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Lula to drop criticism of West over Ukraine in Europe visit

By Anthony Boadle and Lisandra Paraguassu BRASILIA, April 21 (Reuters) - Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is expected to avoid criticism of the U.S. and European role in…

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Ecuador’s President Lasso vows to dissolve congress if it tries to impeach him -FT

Ecuador's President Guillermo Lasso said he will dissolve congress and call early elections if he does not muster enough support among legislators, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday citing an…

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Brazil coffee exports fall 19% in March from a year ago -industry group

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazil shipped 3.088 million 60-kg bags of coffee abroad in March, 19% less than in the same month a year ago, reflecting lower stocks after two…

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Lula and the world: what to expect from the new Brazilian foreign policy

Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was scheduled to visit his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at the end of March. Beijing would have been Lula’s fourth international destination in…

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Brazil could suspend social media sites over school violence content

April 12 (Reuters) - Brazil could fine or suspend social media companies that do not effectively regulate content related to school violence, Justice Minister Flavio Dino said . The new…

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Brazil to end tax exemption on international orders, targeting Asian e-commerce giants

BRASILIA, April 12 (Reuters) - Brazil's government announced on Tuesday it would end a tax exemption on international orders up to $50 as part of an effort to tax purchases…

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Brazil plans to tax revenue from sports betting firms at 15%

BRASILIA, (Reuters) - Brazil's Finance Ministry is expected to levy a 15% tax on the revenue of sports betting companies, in addition to requiring a fee of 30 million reais…

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Argentina facing $1.46 bln bill after losing hedge funds’ London lawsuit

By Sam Tobin LONDON, (Reuters) - Argentina faces a potential 1.33 billion-euro ($1.46 billion) bill after losing a lawsuit at London's High Court on Wednesday over payments due on euro-denominated…

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UPDATED: Bolsonaro lands back in Brazil to lead right-wing opposition

BRASILIA, March 30 (Reuters) - Brazil's far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro returned from the United States on Thursday, greeted by hundreds of supporters at capital Brasilia's airport to welcome him…

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Bolsonaro to return to Brazil on March 30

(Reuters) - Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro will return to Brazil on March 30, his party confirmed via social media, following more than three months of self-imposed exile in the…

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Argentina bonds tumble as public sector pushed to shed dollar debt

Argentine bonds slid 4.3% on average in early morning trading on Wednesday, a day after government measures were revealed to push state entities to give up their local and foreign-law sovereign bonds…

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Ecuador declares state of emergency in provinces hit by earthquake, rains

Ecuador's President Guillermo Lasso declared a state of emergency in 14 provinces worst affected by severe weather and a strong earthquake that shook the country over the weekend, the government…

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US would handle an extradition request for Brazil’s Bolsonaro ‘expeditiously’ – official

A senior U.S. official declined on Wednesday at a Senate hearing to comment on the status in the United States of former far-right Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, but said any…

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Ecuador, Peru authorities assess damage after earthquake that killed at least 15

March 19 (Reuters) - Ecuadorian and Peruvian authorities worked on Sunday to assess the damage caused by the previous day's strong earthquake that shook the region, leaving at least 15 dead and…

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UK’s SFO confiscates more than $8 mln from ex-Petrobras employee

LONDON, March 17 (Reuters) - Britain’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) can seize more than $8 million of illicit cash linked to a massive Brazilian corruption scandal involving state-run oil company Petrobras PETR4.SA, a…

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Brazilian cities suffer third night of gang violence

Several cities in north east Brazil are suffering from serious unrest caused by marauding criminal gangs. For the third night, gang members set buses ablaze and carried out gun attacks…

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South American countries create task force to tackle bird flu threat

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - South American health authorities have created a regional technical committee to deal with outbreaks of bird flu as the disease spreads and poses a threat to…

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Brazil coffee exports down 35% as farmers hold on to remaining stocks

By Peter Siqueira and Marcelo Teixeira SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Green coffee exports by Brazil, the world's largest supplier, fell 35.8% in February, exporters group Cecafe said , as stocks…

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Brazil to resume visa requirements for US, Japan, Australia, Canada

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil has decided to resume entry visa requirements for citizens of the U.S., Japan, Australia and Canada, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. The country's…

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Argentina asks UK to resume negotiations over Falklands

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - The Argentine government has again asked the United Kingdom to restart negotiations over the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands, the Argentine Foreign Ministry said. The request…

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Argentina suspends poultry exports as first industrial case of bird flu confirmed

Argentina has confirmed its first case of bird flu in industrial poultry, its agriculture secretary said on Tuesday, causing it to suspend avian product exports and raising fears the disease could spread…

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Argentina tightens health protocols to control bird flu

BUENOS AIRES, (Reuters) - Argentina's government adopted new measures to prevent spread of bird flu and limit potential damage to exports as cases rise in the region. Authorities decided to…

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Photo Story: Samba schools parade in the sambadrome during the Rio de Janeiro carnival

A member of the 'Academicos do Grande Rio' samba school parades on Avenida Marques de Sapucai, the Sambadrome, during Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Via EPA-EFE/André Coelho

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In Argentina’s drought-hit fields, billion dollar losses and farmers going under

By Lucila Sigal CIGUENA/ROSARIO, Argentina (Reuters) - In the Argentine town of Ciguena, rancher Andrés Betiger is fighting to keep his farm from going under amid the South American country's…

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Photo Story: Carnival in Sao Paulo, Brazil

Members of the 'Mocidade Alegre' Special Group samba school parade during the second day of the carnival celebrations at the Anhembi sambadrome in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Via EPA-EFE/Sebastiao Moreira

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