Newswire: Latin America - Region

[Venezuela] -- Oil-Services Law to Affect Some Foreign Companies
New nationalization legislation now in the hands of Venezuelan lawmakers will impact the operations of some oil-services companies but will leave out rig firms and large well-service firms.

Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez noted Wednesday that firms such as Williams Co. (WMB), a U.S. firm that operates a high-pressure gas compression facility in Venezuela, could be affected by the new law, but noted that oil rig firms and large service firms such as Schlumberger Ltd. (SLB) and Halliburton Co. (HAL) are not included.


[Bolivia] -- U.N. Team Documents Forced Labor Among Indians in Bolivia
LA PAZ – A mission dispatched by the U.N. Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues reported Tuesday that it had verified the existence of Indian communities in eastern Bolivia that are being subjected to forced labor.


[Peru] -- Central Bank May Cut Interest Rate to 4% as Domestic Demand Stalls
Peru’s central bank will probably cut its benchmark lending rate for a fourth straight month today as slowing inflation allows policy makers to lower borrowing costs and bolster flagging domestic demand.


[Peru] -- Repsol to Invest $500 Million a Year in Peru, Complete Projects
Repsol YPF chairman and CEO Antonio Brufau said Tuesday that the Spanish energy giant would invest $500 million per year in Peru, completing $6 billion in oil and natural gas projects.

The Spanish oil company has a large stake in the development of the Camisea natural gas field in southeastern Peru and plans to begin exporting fuel to Mexico next year.


[Chile] -- Codelco Increases Reserves by 20 Percent
Chile’s state-owned National Copper Corporation, or Codelco, the world’s largest producer of the red metal, increased its proven and probable reserves by 20 percent in 2008, company sources told Efe on Wednesday.


[Mexico] -- Calderon Deploys Reserves as Swine Flu Depletes Mexico Financial Resources
As the sun sets on Ciudad Juarez, the Mexican border city’s citizens flee to the safety of their homes. The vendors who crowd Avenida Juarez to sell tacos and ice cream during the day pack up their carts and disappear. Hawkers who hand out leaflets for a local mall are gone too -- and the mall itself is a ghost town.

Venezuela and Iran seal the deal

Hugo Chavez and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

China_South America: News and Analysis has been following the development of this new "10-year strategic alliance" between Venezuela and Iran. For an old post on this topic click here.

My personally derived conclusion...It is all talk.

Economically speaking Chavez knows the people of Venezuela would be far better off buying tractors (among the many things it needs) from China, Japan or even the United States than they will be from Iran.

Second, both countries are endowed with very healthy supplies of crude oil so there's no need for one another on the energy front.

Politically, Chavez and Ahmadinejad succeed in aggravating the US.

The two, also make a point that developing countries, even ones which make the US mad can and should be allowed to cooperate with one another in achieving sustainable development.

Hugo Chavez and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

The bi-national bank being created with the initial funding of $1.6 billion sounds nice, and might actually help the two considering international lenders are increasingly scared of Venezuela and are banned from doing business with Iran.

However, whether this "10-year strategic alliance" will actually help either country in their path toward development is probably unlikely.