LATIN AMERICA-TRADE: Andean Pact Members Agree on Trade and Pace

Andean Community members of the Mercosur common market agreed this week to make trade liberalization a priority through "harmonious and coordinated" negotiations, with each country setting its own pace for removing tariffs.

ANDEAN COMMUNITY: In Search of a Strong, United Image

The Andean Community is trying to fix its weakened image and give off signals of strength and cohesion, after Bolivia's recent signing of an accord with the MERCOSUR to negotiate an association with that bloc.

ANDEAN COMMUNITY: In Search of a Strong, United Image

The Andean Community is trying to fix its weakened image and give off signals of strength and cohesion, after Bolivia's recent signing of an accord with the MERCOSUR to negotiate an association with that bloc.

(ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/06)

The 1980s were an unforgettable decade in Venezuela: the oil boom ended, and the country's slide into penury began. Chaotic and exuberant, the times were best captured by the singer Ilan Chester, major exponent of the urban music movement which germinated during those turbulent years and creator of "Canto de Avilla", a song which became the anthem of an era.

VENEZUELA-CRIME: Police Brutality Caught by Video Cameras

It is not only in the United States where police brutality has been caught by the video cameras. In Caracas this week, a TV videotape showed alleged criminals handcuffed in a police vehicle - then the same suspects lying dead in a hospital morgue.

TRADE-AMERICAS: The Third Route to the FTAA

An American Urguay Round, to liberalise and regulate trade, services and investments between the 34 countries, could be "the third alternative," offering the continent globalisation without abandonning regionalism.

WOMEN-LATAM: A Call to True Citizenship

Active citizenship will be the core manifesto for Latin American and Caribbean women's groups as they begin following up on the progress made at the U.N. Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing, China last September.

TRADE-LATAM: Is Competivity Beyond Reach?

Competivity is the catch-phrase of the increasingly interdependent and globalised world economy, but the structural problems of Latin America and the Caribbean may make this an unobtainable goal.

LATIN AMERICA: Globilisation Needs New Form of Government

The nations of Latin America and the Caribbean will tell the world community of the pressing need for new form of world economic government to deal with globilisation, in a meeting in Caracas next week.

VENEZUELA: PDVSA, the Sponge to Mop Up Excess Liquidity

When the Venezuelan Petroleum (PDVSA) State monopoly reaches its 20th birthday since nationalisation on Jan. 1, 1996, it will offer shares to Venezuelan nationals in order to raise five billion dollars in ten years.

VENEZUELA: PDVSA, the Sponge to Mop Up Excess Liquidity

When the Venezuelan Petroleum (PDVSA) State monopoly reaches its 20th birthday since nationalisation on Jan. 1, 1996, it will offer shares to Venezuelan nationals in order to raise five billion dollars in ten years.

LATIN AMERICA: Labour and Immigration, the New North-South Debate

Latin America's governments have tended to take an ostrich-like stance regarding the dangers hanging over the region with the gradual conversion of the issues of immigration and labour in a new North-South conflict.

MSG128G/01E VENEZUELA: The Military Option – Authority or Authoritarianism?

The Venezuelan government's increasing use of the armed forces to resolve conflicts is seen by the opposition as a sign of dangerous authoritarianism masked by the allegedly legitemate exercise of authority.

LATIN AMERICA: Regional Integration Takes Top Priority

For Latin America, regional integration must take priority over progress towards the continent-wide American free trade area (AFTA) discussed in the Miami summit, high-level officials of the Latin American Economic System (SELA) told IPS.

ECONOMY-VENEZUELA: MERCOSUR Offers the Lure of Brazil

The creation of a South American Free Trade Area (SAFTA) between the Southern Cone Common Market (MERCOSUR) and the Andean Group holds a special lure for Venezuela: its giant southern neighbour, Brazil.

LATIN AMERICA-TRADE: Trying to Catch the Asian Wave

The fact that their continent is economically joined to Asia is a new realisation for the Latin American power centres, more familiar with ties to the United States and Europe.

MSG159G/01E LATIN AMERICA: Over 80 Percent of New Jobs in Informal Sector

Experts at the Latin American Economic System (SELA) meeting in Venezuela on Thursday said that the economic growth of this decade has increased social polarisation, with 83 percent of new jobs occuring in the informal sector.

OIL-VENEZUELA: Government to Stiffen Terms of Soft Credit Pact

Venezuela will stiffen requirements for the granting of credits as part of a Programme of Energy Cooperation with Central America and the Caribbean, officials told IPS.