Voices: Where are the diplomats to help Latin America?

MIAMI - The urgent scramble by diplomats from European Union nations to end the bloodshed in Ukraine underscores just how different things are in Latin America, where Venezuelan protesters seem to be on their own.

New economic realities take hold in Latin America

While some countries continue to make international news as they battle drug cartels and flash mobs, some experts say Latin America as whole is a picture of growing prosperity.

State visits amplify Obama focus on Latin America

WASHINGTON (AP) — Keeping a keen eye south of the border, the Obama administration is intensifying its engagement with Latin America, hosting leaders from a pair of presidents at the White House and sending Vice President Joe Biden to visit two others.

Colombia mining boom slows

Mining in Colombia has 'lost competitiveness' and will not hit government targets for 2012, said the director of Colombia mining industry body Wednesday.

UN: Latin American poverty lowest in 3 decades

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — The number of people living in poverty in Latin America and the Caribbean has dropped to its lowest level in three decades due to higher wages, the UN's regional economic body said on Tuesday.

Analysis: Nimble neighbors outshine Brazil on growth

MONTEVIDEO (Reuters) - Swift growth by nimble Latin American countries like Chile, Colombia and Peru has put renewed focus on regional heavyweight Brazil, whose relatively closed, high-tax economy is now sputtering below its potential.

Argentina, Brazil back Cuba's inclusion in future summits

BRASILIA, Brazil, March 15 (UPI) -- Cuba will be barred from next month's Summit of the Americas at U.S. insistence but Havana's friends Argentina and Brazil are vowing with new resolve to have Havana leaders present at subsequent conferences.

Analysis: In Latin America, business climate is king again

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Here's an economic riddle of sorts: Which economy grew faster over the last seven years? A) President Hugo Chavez's Venezuela, famous for its forced nationalizations and "21st century socialism," or B) Chile, long renowned as a capitalist paradise for investors.

La Polar’s $1 Billion Fraud Fading as Chilean Rival Ripley Posts Rebound

Ripley Corp SA (RIPLEY), Chile’s third- largest department-store chain, is rebounding as investors seize on record-low valuations and concern fades that a credit fraud at rival Empresas La Polar SA (LAPOLAR) will erode the industry’s profits.

US Diplomats Tout Latin American Economies

Two United States ambassadors to Latin American countries and the U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission to Brazil are on tour in a recession-torn U.S. touting the booming Latin American economies to U.S. businesses large and small.

The tour for the diplomatic party of three – U.S. Ambassador to Peru Rose M. Likins, U.S. Ambassador to Chile Alejandro Wolf and U.S. Deputy Mission Chief to Brazil Todd C. Chapman – began this week in Memphis with a luncheon hosted by FedEx Corp. and the Business Council for International Understanding.

Iranian vice president due in Latin America

TEHRAN (ISNA) – Iranian Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi departed for Havana Tuesday morning to take part in Iran-Cuba 15th joint commission meeting on commerce and meet with Cuban officials.

After his visit to Cuba, Rahimi is supposed to travel to Ecuador and meet with the officials.

“Iran’s relation with Latin American countries has broadened in recent years,” said Iranian vice president before his departure to Cuba.

Brazil loosing industry to Mercosur members with cheaper costs and lower taxes

The strong growth of the Brazilian economy, almost to full capacity, and the Super Real have Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay increasingly attracting Brazilian companies while factories and jobs are lost to Mercosur members, complain industry leaders.

“Business missions sent by the governments of Uruguay, Paraguay and other Latin American countries are frequently visiting Brazil and meeting with associations from the different industrial sectors with the purpose of attracting them to invest in their countries. The bait is not the potential of local markets but more competitive costs than in Brazil”, said Raquel Landim in a piece for O Estado de Sao Paulo.