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Latin American markets moved lower, led by declines in Brazil, as profit-taking continued. Mexican issues witnessed more modest declines, while investors await an expected rate cut tomorrow.
Meanwhile, Argentina's market was closed for a holiday. Also, U.S. stocks closed lower Thursday, partly due to worries about weak energy supplies and unusually cold winter weather. Crude oil prices strongly advanced on the day. Brazil's benchmark Bovespa Index fell 276.75 points, or 0.84%, while Mexico's benchmark Bolsa Index slipped 33.17 points, or 0.19%. Brazilian issues tumbled on the day, after posting gains earlier in the session. Profit-taking and U.S. market weakness contributed to the day's decline. Financial firms were particularly weak, as investors anticipate another Brazilian interest-rate cut mid-month. Yesterday, the president of Chinese operations of CVRD rival BHP Billiton said that CVRD is expected to lead price negotiations for ore prices in 2006. Meanwhile, CVRD's chief financial officer commented that iron ore will continue to be in high demand for the foreseeable future due to growth in China, which has left a global market imbalance. Separately, aircraft manufacturer Embraer moved lower on the day, despite upbeat news. Colombia's Defense Minister officially announced the purchase of 25 of Embraer's Super Tucano jets for US$ 234 million. Embraer rose on the session. Mexican shares also faltered, as investors await an expected cut in the overnight rate to 8.5% from 8.75% from the Bank of Mexico. Separately, Fitch upgraded Mexico's credit rating to one notch above its lowest investment grade. In major economic reports, the Bank of Mexico reported that the Consumer Price Index rose 0.72% in November, below analyst expectations. Mexico's annual inflation rate declined to a record low last month, further supporting speculation that the central bank will cut rates tomorrow. Wireless phone firm America Movil declined on the session. A major investment bank commented that its valuation of the firm is "very much dependent on prevalent interest rates." The brokerage believes that lowered interest rates, country-risk premiums in Latin America, and good operating performance is what's driving the "stock's surge." Turning to financial corporate reports, a brokerage house downgraded Banorte SA to "hold" from "buy," as falling interest rates and expansion costs may hurt earnings growth. Banorte shares receded. Thomson Financial Corporate Group - www.thomsonfinancial.com
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The small, coastal town of Condé is located just a twenty minute's drive from João Pessoa, the capital of Paraíba. The Northeast of Brazil has historically been a place of encounter and mixing between peoples. For millenia groups of indigenous people fished, farmed, migrated and sometimes fought along this large, fertile area. 
The Brazilian diplo-MÁ-cia (bad diplomacy) carries on its accelerated course towards the non-acknowledgment of human rights, although sometimes it takes pleasure in saying that it does precisely the opposite. The visit of Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is another example of a diplomatic omission that verges on hypocrisy. 
On July 4, 2006, representatives of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay met in Caracas to sign the protocol for the entrance of Venezuela into the Southern Common Market (Mercosur). After two and a half years, the protocol was approved by the legislative bodies of Argentina and Uruguay, and as of now it may be only days away from being ratified by the continent's economic megalith, Brazil. 
Some sectors of the fight against AIDS have suggested that Thabo Mbeki, the former president of South Africa, committed genocide through his absence from the fight against the illness in his country throughout his two terms. 
One hundred and eleven years after Brazil abolished slavery, the number of workers deprived of their freedom is still huge. They raise cattle, produce charcoal, sugar cane or timber. Some of them, most undocumented Bolivians, work in basements of small apparel factories in São Paulo and other metropolis. 
On November 7, 2009 a few friends and I had an opportunity to take a look inside a Brazilian jail outside the city of Rio de Janeiro. We were able to take some amateur footage of our experience on video (see link below). It's no surprise, of course, that the typical Brazilian jail lacks some of the functionality of those in North America or Europe, but our experience that day was quite shocking. 
Depletion of the Amazon Rainforest is not a new concern facing environmentalists, biologists, ecologists, and a growing number of the Amazonian indigenous peoples. For decades they have feared for the fate of the world's most biologically diverse and species-rich hothouse. 
Geisy Arruda made history this week in Brazil, but for all the wrong reasons. What began as a poorly planned fashion statement has become a worldwide tale. Geisy decided to wear a pink mini-dress to her private college in São Paulo state, and after that, all hell broke loose. 
The push of vigilante groups in Rio de Janeiro's favelas (shantytowns) in the last three years is the most important and alarming information of the just-released study by the Rio de Janeiro University's Violence Research Center (Nupev-Uerj). 
A dispute over drug trafficking territory in Rio de Janeiro has intensified lately, leaving in its wake unprecedented acts of violence, such as the downing of a police helicopter in the northern zone of the city on October 17. Three policemen died and another two were injured. This event has drawn the attention of the international media, who are raising the issue of public security for the 2016 Olympics to be held in Rio.