Weekly News Update on the Americas
Issue #955, July 20, 2008

1. Argentina: Senate Kills Export Tax
2. Colombia: Lula and Uribe Sign Pacts
3. Venezuela: Citgo Gives US Lightbulbs
4. Mexico: Activist's Home Is Searched
5. Links to alternative sources on: Argentina, Uruguay, Peru, Colombia, Nicaragua, Venezuela, El Salvador, Central America, Mexico

ISSN#: 1084-922X. Weekly News Update on the Americas covers news from Latin America and the Caribbean, compiled and written from a progressive perspective. It has been published weekly by the Nicaragua Solidarity Network of Greater New York since 1990. For a subscription, write to weeklynewsupdate [at] gmail.com. It is archived at http://weeklynewsupdate.blogspot.com

*1. Argentina: Senate Kills Export Tax
On the morning of July 17, after 16 hours of debate, Argentina's Senate rejected a law proposed by President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner to raise the tax on soy exports from 34% to 44%. The Chamber of Deputies had approved the bill earlier. The measure would have made into law a tax hike that Fernández put into effect previously by decree. The Senate was tied over the bill until Vice President Julio Cobos, who is connected to agricultural interests, ended the impasse by voting against his own government. It was "the most difficult day of my life," he said. A number of senators from Fernández's Justicialist Party (PJ, Peronist) also voted against the bill. [...]

Read the full Update:
http://weeklynewsupdate.blogspot.com/2008/07/wnu-955-argentine-senate-kills-export.html