South America

FUSAGASUGA, Colombia (AP) — Flanked by bodyguards with bulletproof shields, Gustavo Petro stood on a stage and lashed out at Colombia’s political elite in a speech to the residents of Fusagasuga, a rural town where farmers are struggling.

The leftist presidential candidate spoke of the need to protect local farmers from heavily subsidized foreign competitors. In the crowded public square, supporters waving the flags of opposition parties cheered when Petro promised to oust a political class that “prefers to work with criminals.”

SAO PAULO, May 20 (Reuters) - Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro called Elon Musk's proposed takeover of Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) a "breath of hope" as the two met in Brazil on Friday, adding he hoped the U.S. billionaire would help end the "lies" about his widely criticized stewardship of the Amazon rainforest.

Bolsonaro and Musk, the CEO of electric carmaker Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) and rocket company SpaceX, met to discuss rural internet connectivity and monitoring of the Amazon. The meeting comes at a sensitive time for both men.

QUITO, May 20 (Reuters) - Ecuador's former vice-president Jorge Glas, who served 4-1/2 years in prison on a bribery conviction before being released last month, was arrested on Friday by police under a court order to return him to jail.

Earlier in the day a tribunal annulledthe decision that freed him in April and ordered him back into custody.

SAO PAULO, May 18 (Reuters) - COVID-19 is on the rise again in the Americas as many countries have abandoned measures like masking and social distancing and many lag in vaccination rates, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said on Wednesday.

Cases in the Americas surged 27.2% last week from the prior one, driven primarily by a spike in infections in the United States, according to PAHO.

BRASILIA, May 18 (Reuters) - Brazil's Supreme Court Justice Dias Toffoli on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit filed by President Jair Bolsonaro against justice Alexandre de Moraes, saying there was no fair cause for it to go forward, according to a decision reviewed by Reuters.

Bolsonaro announced late on Tuesday he was suing Moraes for abuse of authority, citing alleged "attacks on democracy," marking the latest episode in a running showdown between the president and the court that could spill into the country's upcoming presidential election.

SANTIAGO, May 16 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Chile’s Constitutional Convention published the draft of the text it penned to replace the Carta Magna inherited from 1980 and which was inspired by former military dictator Augusto Pinochet.

BUENOS AIRES, May 16 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Argentina has been invited by Chinese president Xi Jinping to participate in three BRICS events taking place in the coming four weeks. The first will be a get-together of political parties, social organizations and think tanks, a second on May 20th, is a summit of foreign ministers from Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, BRICS full members, and the Argentine minister guest. Finally, on June24 a summit of the five-plus one leaders is scheduled.

BUENOS AIRES, May 16 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Argentina has been invited by Chinese president Xi Jinping to participate in three BRICS events taking place in the coming four weeks. The first will be a get-together of political parties, social organizations and think tanks, a second on May 20th, is a summit of foreign ministers from Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, BRICS full members, and the Argentine minister guest. Finally, on June24 a summit of the five-plus one leaders is scheduled.

LAS BAMBAS, Peru, May 12 (Reuters) - The community of Fuerabamba in the Andean region of Peru was resettled eight years ago to make way for a giant Chinese-owned copper mine, in a $1.2 billion scheme billed as a model solution to protests dogging the South American nation's mining sector.

Now the community wants the land back.

BUENOS AIRES, May 8 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Argentina’s health authorities are investigating 8 cases of acute hepatitis which are suspected of belonging to the new variant of unknown origin, Health Minister Carla Vizzotti confirmed.

“There is an alert about cases of hepatitis that are emerging in the world,” Vizzotti said in a radio interview.

“In Argentina, we have eight suspected cases, of which five had a positive PCR for adenovirus and the other three are being studied,” she added.