America's Insider articles from December 2000

America's Insider archives from December 2000

Fox's success may depend on ability to weather internal PRI fights.(Mexico)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... MEXICO CITY -- As he takes office as the first president of Mexico in 71 years who is not a member of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, Vicente Fox could well become a hostage to growing struggles within the PRI. Fox has the goodwill...

Bid to cut Ecuador's military out of oil revenues is facing resistance.(Ecuador)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... QUITO -- The Spanish word for royalties, regalias, has its root in the word for gift, regalo. And for years, Ecuador's military has taken this connection to heart, using royalties from oil production to finance everything from weapons purchases...

Key new faces in Mexico's government.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... MEXICO CITY -- President Vicente Fox has selected a cabinet that is heavy on people with business management experience and light on backgrounds in government. Because his National Action Party does not have a wide pool to select from, and...

Old feuds boil to surface as Venezuela and Colombia bicker.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... CARACAS -- Colombia and Venezuela have long been regional rivals, often clashing rhetorically over ownership of the legacy of Simon Bolivar and disputed boundaries. But relations between the two nations have taken a decided turn for the worse...

New government tries to restore order and investor confidence.(Peru)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... LIMA -- With the appointment of a US-backed transition government, the storm that claimed the political lives of President Alberto Fujimori and many of his backers has abated. The main challenge now is to rebuild the battered economy and...

International lenders to aid Peru.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... WASHINGTON - The Inter-American Development Bank's approval this week of a $53 million loan to a consortium of Spanish and Peruvian companies who want to gain control of a power line system in southern Peru was a vote of confidence from...

Was Fujimori's presidency legit?(former President Alberto Fujimori, Peru)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... TOKYO - Disgraced former President Alberto Fujimori's ignominious flight to Japan provoked widespread indignation in Peru and renewed old questions about whether, under law, he ever should have been president of Peru to begin with. ...

US official says Plan Colombia will cost more, take longer.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... WASHINGTON -- Winning Colombia's war against drug traffickers will take more time and money than most people believe and will carry the threat of an expansion of the drug war into neighboring countries, a top US official said. Upon his...

US prods Pastrana on demilitarized zone.(Andres Pastrana, president of Colombia)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... WASHINGTON -- US goading appears to be behind a threat by Colombian President Andres Pastrana to allow the accord creating a demilitarized zone in southeastern Colombia to expire. Pastrana was humiliated when the Revolutionary Armed Forces...

Fine against YPF is upheld.(Argentinean oil company)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... BUENOS AIRES -- An appeals court has upheld a $109 million fine against Argentine oil company YPF for abusing its dominant position in the liquid petroleum gas (LPG) market. YPF is accused of selling LPG to domestic consumers at prices up to...

Government lowers growth forecast.(Argentina)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... BUENOS AIRES- Housing Minister Marlo Vincens said the economy is expected to grow by 3% in 2001, less than the 4.5% that had been predicted. The deficit, meanwhile, will increase to just under $7 billion. Vincens blamed the lower growth rate...

US company to sell Gener assets.(AES Corp.)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... SANTIAGO -- US power developer AE8 Corp plans to sell the Argentine electricity and transmission assets of Chile's Gener once it has completed the purchase of the Chilean firm. The Argentine assets will be sold to the French-Belgian oil company...

Government announces priorities.(Chile gets ready for 2001)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... SANTIAGO -- The government announced its priorities for 2001. Dubbed "Plan A," the program focuses on improvements in employment, heath care, education, and the modernization of the state. Plan A was announced after the governing coalition won...

Talks slated on demilitarized zone.(Colombia and rebels to begin negotiations)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... BOGOTA -- The High Commissioner for Peace, Camilo Gomez, leaders of the ELN, members of civil society, and representatives of the Group of Friendly Countries (Norway, Spain, Switzerland, Cuba, and France) will meet in Paris next week to attempt...

Ecopetrol supplies fuel for guerrillas.(oil company in Colombia)
December 1, 2000... BOGOTA -- Police, soldiers, and workers for national oil company Ecopetrol have begun an operation to seal off more than 20 illegal valves placed into the company's product pipelines around Barrancabermeja. This is just a fraction of the 400...

Billiton wins mining contract.(Peru)
December 1, 2000... LIMA --British group Billiton, one of the largest mining and metal-producing Firms in the world, bought the La Granja copper mine in Peru for $15 million plus one dollar - a dollar more than the minimum bid. Billiton was the only bidder after...

Latin American issues will demand attention from new administration.(United States-Latin America)(Brief Article)
December 8, 2000... WASHINGTON - Political instability in the region and the US drug war would force a Bush administration to focus significant attention on Latin America. Even before Bush's victory is finalized, GOP loyalists, such as Florida Secretary of State...

Fox makes resolving conflict in Chiapas one of his first priorities.(Mexico)(Brief Article)
December 8, 2000... MEXICO CITY -- President Vicente Fox has kept a promise to move quickly to try to resolve the conflict in Chiapas, one of Mexico's most vexing political issues. However, he must still overcome a number of hurdles just to get the Zapatistas to...

Mexican competition watchdog blocks media merger despite attacks.(Mexico)(Brief Article)
December 8, 2000... MEXICO CITY -- The Federal Competition Commission resisted a dirty tricks campaign in rejecting a proposed merger between Televisa, Mexico's largest media company, and Grupo Acir, one of the country's most important radio companies. The...

Just don't mention the poor.(Mexico)(Brief Article)
December 8, 2000... MEXICO CITY -- The Chamber of Deputies has approved a resolution criticizing President Vicente Fox for deviating from the established language when taking the oath of office. After pledging to respect the Constitution, Fox added that he would...

Most Chilean factions hope charges against Pinochet will disappear.(Chile)(Brief Article)
December 8, 2000... SANTIAGO -- A judge worried he would be removed from an investigation into the activities of Gen. August Pinochet has thrown the country into turmoil by indicting the 85-year old former dictator. Appeals Court Judge Juan Guzman spent almost...

Franco would rather sell than sit in the dark.(Brief Article)
December 8, 2000... RIO DE JANEIRO--Renegade Minas Gerais Governor Itamar Franco has had a sudden change of heart and now supports the partial privatization of the state's power company, Cemig. This is quite a reversal for a man who once threatened to change the...

Investigation shows pervasive impact of drug trade in Brazil.(Brief Article)
December 8, 2000... RIO DE JANEIRO -- After two years of investigation, the Drug Traffic Investigating Commission of Congress (CH) has announced it will seek indictments against 827 individuals, including powerful politicians, businessmen, judges, lawyers and...

Peru to ink Camisea deal after obtaining more from investors.(Brief Article)
December 8, 2000... LIMA -- Peru's new government is planning to sign the long-awaited contracts for the $2.6 billion project to develop the Camisea natural gas fields after negotiating additional concessions from both groups involved in the venture. The contracts...

Chavez pays small price for authoritarian move against labor.(Brief Article)
December 8, 2000... CARACAS -- President Hugo Chavez won a large majority for his plans to replace opposition labor leaders in a Dec. 3 referendum, but a record level of abstention handed unions an important tool to attack the reforms. The vote, which was...

Kidnappings are attempt to bring war to Colombia's wealthy.(Brief Article)
December 8, 2000... BOGOTA -- A wave of high-profile kidnappings has sent a chill through the ranks of the Colombian business elite following calls by many for President Andres Pastrana to take a firmer line against the country's Marxist rebels. The surge in...

Ransom demands in Ecuador alarm firms, but few plan exit.(Brief Article)
December 8, 2000... QUITO--Sources say kidnappers who hold eight foreign oil workers are seeking a ransom of $80 million, a figure that has alarmed foreign investors. The workers were captured in an Oct. 14 raid on a Repsol-YPF camp and repeated sweeps by...

Poor economics prompt foreign banks to leave Bolivia.(Brief Article)
December 8, 2000... LA PAZ -- Dutch bank ABN Amro last week completed its departure from Bolivia, signing a final contract transferring its assets to local group Banco Mercantil for $25 million. The withdraw comes on the heels of a decision last month by US...

New bond plan under discussion.(Brief Article)
December 8, 2000... BUENOS AIRES -- The Argentine government plans to meet this week with banks that sell Treasury bonds and notes in order to discuss a plan to launch a new Treasury bond issue worth approximately $4 billion. The new bond offering, which would be...

Senate approves budget.(Brief Article)
December 8, 2000... BUENOS AIRES -- The Argentine Senate approved the 2001 budget yesterday after making several changes to a plan approved by the lower house. The Senators shifted money from one program to another, bus said the overall budget did not increase....

Commission to investigate LAB sale.(Brief Article)
December 8, 2000... LA PAZ -- The Bolivian Cabinet of Ministers has created a commission to investigate allegations of irregularities by Brazilian airline VASP, which bought half of Lloyd Aereo Boliviano (LAB) in 1996. Among the complaints is the fact that...

CESP sale delayed.(Brief Article)
December 8, 2000... SAO PAULO -- The privatization of CESP-Parana, the third largest generator in Brazil, was postponed this week as six foreign investors failed to put down financial guarantees. The auction will now be delayed until at least January, and perhaps...

Transtel defaults on notes.(Brief Article)
December 8, 2000... BOGOTA -- Transtel S.A., a Colombian telephone company with controlling interest in eight phone systems in southern Colombia and more than 300,000 subscribers, announced that it failed to make a $9.4 million interest payment on $150 million of...

FARC has become drug cartel.(Brief Article)
December 8, 2000... BOGOTA -- Barry McCaffrey, the US Drug Czar, charged the FARC is responsible for the explosion in coca production in the country this year. McCaffrey said that the FARC is increasing production in order to outwit a planned government offensive...

Peru forces officers to retire.(Brief Article)
December 8, 2000... LIMA -- The interim government has forced 20 high-ranking military officers to retire in an effort to reduce the influence of former spy chief Vladimiro Montesinos. Defense Minister Walter Ledesma said the move was intended to "dismantle the...

Nuevo Mundo liquidation delayed.(Brief Article)
December 8, 2000... LIMA -- Peruvian authorities have halted a move to liquidate Bunco Nuevo Mundo pending the possible takeover by a foreign bank. Luis Cortavarria, Superintendent of Banks and Insurance said his agency has had banks with two foreign banks, but...

Chavez hits Plan Colombia.(Brief Article)
December 8, 2000... CARACAS -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez criticized the efficacy of Plan Colombia, saying that the US-based effort will eliminate any chance for peace in the country. Chavez has said that the antidrug plan will drive rebels,...

Dispute over oil terminal is resolved.(Brief Article)
December 8, 2000... CARACAS -- A North American consortium, composed of the American Williams International, Canadian firm Enbridge and Northville Industries has resolved a dispute with the Venezuelan government over the Jose terminal. After President Hugo Chavez...

Political crisis proves to be too much for fragile banking sector.(government closing and merging of banking institutions in Peru due to political instability)(Brief Article)
December 15, 2000... LIMA -- The recent political crisis combined with a prolonged recession has proved too much for Peru's financial system. The banking superintendency (SBS) forced two medium-sized banks to close their doors in the space of a week, while two...

Venezuela proves three constitutions are not better than one.(legal ambiguities created by unofficial versions of constitution)(Brief Article)
December 15, 2000... CARACAS -- President Hugo Chavez recently said "After the Bible, the Constitution," a glowing reference to the charter drafted under his direction last year. However, like the Bible, it now appears that there are multiple versions of the...

Ecuador's reform program falls apart amid political feud.(congressional opposition to economic reform programme of President Gustavo Noboa)(Brief Article)
December 15, 2000... QUITO -- The timing couldn't be worse. Just as an IMF mission was arriving to review progress in meeting the lender's targets for structural reforms, the Constitutional Court gutted the legal basis for the government's privatization program....

Ecuador's oil sector struggling with pipeline bombings, lower oil prices.(Brief Article)
December 15, 2000... QUITO -- The oil industry, one of the key sectors keeping the Ecuadorian economy afloat, has suffered several blows in recent weeks. In mid December, two explosions shut down the main SOTE export pipeline, through which all but about 50,000...

Aggressive telecom bid by little-known firm raises questions about ownership.(company Netsat refuses to disclose shareholders after bid for telecommunication concession in Venezuela)(Brief Article)
December 15, 2000... CARACAS -- A strong bid by an unknown company with no further plans to expand in Latin America has raised speculation the firm may be tied to Spain's Telefonica, which could violate Venezuelan competition laws. Spanish firm Netsat was an...

Fox finds funds, political support in short supply in budget fight.(political opposition to budgetary proposal of Mexican President Vicente Fox)(Brief Article)
December 15, 2000... MEXICO CITY -- New President Vicente Fox is facing major obstacles as he struggles to push his budget proposal through Congress before the Dec. 31 Constitutional deadline. Although the $141 billion budget won praise from foreign analysts...

Official flees corruption charges even though guilt is in doubt.(former Minister of Tourism of Mexico Oscar Espinosa)(Brief Article)
December 15, 2000... MEXICO CITY -- Former Mexico city mayor and Tourism Minister under President Ernesto Zedillo, Oscar Espinosa, has been jailed in Nicaragua, where he fled to escape corruption charges in Mexico. His could be the first in a wave of prosecutions...

Fox honeymoon cut short by dispute over US telecom access.(trade dispute between Mexico and United States over restricted access of American companies to Mexican market)(Brief Article)
December 15, 2000... WASHINGTON- President Vicente Fox barely assumed office before the United States raised the stakes in a long-running dispute over US access to Mexico's telecommunications market. US Trade Representative Charlene Barshevsky last week asked...

Pastrana warns of collapse if reforms are not approved.(congressional opposition to economic reforms of President of Colombia Andres Pastrana)(Brief Article)
December 15, 2000... BOGOTA -- As if the specter of all-out civil war was not enough, Colombian President Andres Pastrana and Finance Minister Juan Manuel Santos are warning of an economic apocalypse if lawmakers do not approve a series of IMF-mandated reforms. ...

Minimum wage hike spurs effort to crack down on tax evasion.(Brazil)(Brief Article)
December 15, 2000... RIO DE JANEIRO -- The lower house of Congress recently approved a bill that could help resolve one of Brazil's most serious problems -- tax evasion. A campaign promise by President Fernando Henrique Cardoso to raise the minimum wage was the...

Meat packer places hopes in IPO.(initial public stock offering in Argentina by meat processor Quickfood)(Brief Article)
December 15, 2000... BUENOS AIRES--Argentine meat processor Quickfood began selling 6.7 million shares of its stock on the Buenos Aires stock exchange in a bid to find working capital. The company had originally planned to sell 10 million shares but dropped the...

Copene sale killed by lack of interest.(low acquisition bids in sale of Brazil's Copene Petroquimica do Nordeste S.A.)(Brief Article)
December 15, 2000... The long-anticipated sale of the Copene petrochemical producer was scrapped after a judge suspended the sale, prompting US company Dow to drop out. When the sale was resumed, bids were lower than owner Norquisa would accept.

Lagos backpedals on labor reform.(inclusion of collective bargaining rights in labour reform plan of President of Chile Ricardo Lagos)(Brief Article)
December 15, 2000... SANTIAGO -- Acceding to Socialist Party pressure, Chilean president Ricardo Lagos agreed to include collective bargaining in the government's labor reform plan that will be submitted to Congress. The government had excluded both collective...

Colombia to strengthen army.(planned military personnel increase and improved weaponry)(Brief Article)
December 15, 2000... Evidence that the country's largest guerrilla group has expanded its ranks and improved its weaponry has prompted the government to launch a major expansion of the armed forces. Defense Minister Luis Fernando Ramirez announced that next year,...

Power privatization delayed again.(Venezuela)(Brief Article)
December 15, 2000... The government has delayed the sale of state owned power companies for the third time. The sale has been pushed back from Spring of 2001 until June-August. Turmoil affecting the legal structure for the sale and continued lack of confidence by...

Venezuela scraps debt issue.(cancellation of issuance of government bonds)(Brief Article)
December 15, 2000... CARACAS -- The Finance Ministry cancelled a bond issue slated for the end of this year due to a lack of investor interest and declining confidence in the economy. The government had been authorized by the legislature to sell up to $800 million...

Oil investment to drop.(expected investment volume within petroleum industry of Venezuela)(Brief Article)
December 15, 2000... CARACAS -- Investments in the Venezuelan petroleum industry are expected fall by $500 million next year to $6.4 billion. The decrease reflects reduced investment requirements as three heavy oil upgrading projects in the Orinoco Tar Belt are...

Slow delivery of US helicopters grounds Colombian forces.(Brief Article)
December 21, 2000... WASHINGTON -- The US government has bought used Vietnam-era helicopters from Canada in an effort to speed aid to Colombia. The new delivery was prompted, in part, because growing strength of leftist rebels and right-wing paramilitaries has...

Bailout is hollow victory as faith in de la Rua continues to slump.(Brief Article)
December 21, 2000... BUENOS AIRES -- The $39.7 billion international bailout of Argentina puts an end to fears of an imminent financial crisis, but it has raised additional questions about whether President Fernando de la Rua is capable of governing the country....

New Ecuadorian economy minister facing political tests.(Brief Article)
December 21, 2000... QUITO -- Differences over a hike in the value-added tax and other measures demanded by the IMF Economy Minister Luis Yturralde resigned Dec. 19 and was replaced a few days later by Jorge Gallardo, a well-known economist with experience in the...

Bolivia seeking better access to sea: Chile says it will listen.(Brief Article)
December 21, 2000... LA PAZ -- Amid signs that bilateral relations are warming, Bolivia's maritime aspirations have received a hearing from Chilean President Ricardo Lagos. Diplomatic relations between the two countries were broken in 1978, when Chilean...

US says Plan Colombia will win war but critics say goals are unclear.(Brief Article)
December 21, 2000... BOGOTA -- White House drug czar Barry McCaffrey predicted recently that the Colombian government, with the help of US aid, would shatter the war economy of the country's Marxist rebels within five years by attacking their narcotics operations....

Bovespa launches new market for mid-sized companies.(Brief Article)
December 21, 2000... RIO DE JANEIRO -- On Dec. 11, the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange, Bovespa, launched a new program modeled after the German Neuer Markt in order to increase liquidity in Brazil and allow companies with solid track records to access capital markets....

Fox shows fire in the belly as he deals with fire on the mountain.(Brief Article)
December 21, 2000... MEXICO CITY -- In what many Mexicans saw as a bad omen, Popocateptl, the majestic volcano 40 miles southeast of Mexico City, erupted Dec. 18 for the first time in 500 years. For two days it spit rocks and gas, forcing the evacuation of...

Five groups bid for Yacyreta project.(Brief Article)
December 21, 2000... Five groups including partners from Brazil, Argentina, Russia, France, Paraguay and Spain have submitted bids to build a 250MW hydroelectric project at the Yacyreta complex. The winner will complete the Brazo Ana Cua generating unit at an...

Unibanco buys Fininvest.(Brief Article)
December 21, 2000... In an effort to regain its spot as the third largest bank in Brazil, Unibanco is acquiring the 50% of consumer credit company Fininvest that it does not already own. The $245 million purchase increases Unibanco's credit card business and gives...

Pinochet may still face trial.(Brief Article)
December 21, 2000... Former dictator Augusto Pinochet is free for the moment after the Supreme Court threw out an arrest warrant and indictment on murder charges. The court found that the judge issuing the indictment should have interviewed Pinochet before pressing...

Tax evasion bill to go to Congress.(Brief Article)
December 21, 2000... Finance Minister Nicolas Eyzaguirre said the government hopes to convince Congress to approve an anti-tax evasion proposal by the end of January. The government expects the measure to increase tax collections by $800 million per year by 2005,...

Colombia seeking more US aid.(Brief Article)
December 21, 2000... Colombian ambassador to the United States Luis Moreno said Colombia will require $600 million per year in additional assistance to battle leftist guerrillas and right-wing militias who control the drug trade and threaten the country's...

Nuclear plant to be scrapped.(Brief Article)
December 21, 2000... Cuba has announced it is definitively calling off plans to complete the Juragua nuclear plant. The facility was begun in the early 1980s with Soviet assistance but has languished due to a lack of funds. Russia has said it will not finance...

Montesinos: Man of at least two faces.(Brief Article)
December 21, 2000... Fugitive Peruvian spy chief Vladimiro Montesinos reportedly had plastic surgery in Venezuela to change his appearance. He reportedly sneaked into Venezuela and had surgery, leaving the Caracas clinic where the procedure was performed without...

Chavez may sue S&P, Moody's.(Brief Article)
December 21, 2000... The government is considering suing US rating agencies such as Standard & Poors and Moody's Investors Services for defamation. The government claims that by assigning Venezuela low ratings, the agencies are damaging Venezuela's image. Officials...