President Tabare Vazquez

The decision of the Senate Foreign Relations Commission to approve Venezuela’s admission to Mercosur has brought the South American country very close to becoming a full member of the regional bloc. With the project having now passed through the Chamber, only Senate endorsement is required for Brazil to approve Venezuela’s membership, which should take place this week. Venezuela’s admission to the bloc has already been approved by the Argentine and Uruguayan Congresses. Paraguay is awaiting the Brazilian decision before voting on the membership protocol. Despite the economic benefit of Venezuela’s presence in Mercosur for Brazilian companies, the personal style of the Venezuelan President, Hugo ... Read Full Story

MONTEVIDEO (Reuters) - Former leftist guerrilla leader Jose Mujica faces a tight run-off in Uruguay's presidential election even though results on Monday showed he had a strong advantage in the first round of voting. Mujica, a 74-year-old senator who was jailed during Uruguay's 1973-85 military dictatorship, won 47.5 percent of the vote on Sunday, well ahead of former center-right president Luis Lacalle, who had 28.5 percent support. But Mujica fell short of the 50 percent he needed to avoid a second round, and the two men go to a run-off on November 29. Another rightist candidate, Pedro Bordaberry, finished third on Sunday with 16.7 ... Read Full Story

MONTEVIDEO (Reuters) - Uruguayans cast ballots in a presidential election on Sunday pitting a former guerrilla leader against a conservative ex-president with both men vowing to maintain market-friendly policies in one of South America's most stable economies. Polls show Jose Mujica, 74, a plain-talking senator who fought with the Tupamaros movement during the 1960s and early 1970s, easily finishing first but just short of an outright majority to avoid a runoff. His main rival is Luis Lacalle, a former president who held office from 1990 to 1995 and has sought to capitalize on some voter resistance to Mujica's militant past. The winner will replace ... Read Full Story

Former guerrilla Jose Mujica is close to being the outright winner of Sunday's presidential election, having garnered around 50 percent of the vote, according to exit polls taken by television stations. "The results we have at present don't make it clear whether there will be a runoff or not," said Channel 12 poll analyst Luis Gonzalez. He said the exit polls taken by the television channel stood "more or less around 50 percent," adding that the margin of error was plus or minus 1.3 percent. More than 50 percent of the vote is needed to avoid a November 29 runoff. The first official results ... Read Full Story

Former guerrilla Jose Mujica came out on top in Uruguay's presidential vote, but fell short of the 50 percent needed to avoid a November runoff against ex-president Luis Lacalle, media exit polls said. "There will be a runoff," said Channel 12 pollster Luis Gonzalez. The channel's exit polls gave the incumbent Broad Front party candidate, aged 74, 47 percent of the votes, followed by the National Party conservative Lacalle, 68, with 30 percent and the Colorado Party's Pedro Bordaberry, 49, with 17 percent. Factum Poll official Oscar Botinelli gave Mujica 47-49 percent of the vote, Lacalle 29-31 percent and Bordaberry 17-18 percent. Bordaberry is ... Read Full Story