LATAM POLITICS TODAY-Venezuela opposition talks highlight stronger Maduro position
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Brazil's Lula courts UK, others to join rainforest fund
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Chile truckers end strike threatening mining supplies
after deal
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Mexico president seeks deal with U.S. on GMO corn
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Honduras to complete talks with UN on anti-corruption
mission
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Former Ecuador VP released from prison for second time
Nov 29 (Reuters) -
The latest in Latin American politics today:
Venezuela revived opposition talks highlight
strengthened Maduro position
CARACAS - Venezuela's socialist President Nicolas Maduro
will enter upcoming talks with the country's opposition in a
strengthened position that could be bolstered further by a deal
to release more than $3 billion in humanitarian funds, analysts
said.
Government and opposition delegates met on Saturday in
Mexico City after more than a one-year pause. In renewed
negotiations, the parties signed a "social agreement" aimed at
creating a United Nations-administered humanitarian fund.
U.S. oil company Chevron Corp (CVX) also received an
expanded license on Saturday, allowing it to resume oil
production in the South American country and bring Venezuelan
crude to the United States.
These moves will allow Maduro's administration to argue that
it is stabilizing the country whose economy has suffered from
years of turmoil worsened by U.S. sanctions, analysts said.
Brazil's Lula courts UK, others to join fund to protect
rainforest
BRASILIA - Aides to Brazilian President-elect Luiz Inacio
Lula da Silva are in talks with Britain, Switzerland and France,
seeking donations for an international fund to protect the
Amazon rainforest, a bulwark against climate change, a Lula
adviser said.
The British embassy said its government was studying the
invitation to join the Amazon Fund, which already has about 3
billion reais ($563.71 million).
The fund, which was launched under Lula's first
administration from 2003-2010, bankrolled conservation projects
and counts Norway and Germany as its biggest donors.
Chile truckers end strike threatening mining supplies
after agreement
SANTIAGO - A trucker strike in Chile that started last week
ended on Tuesday after trucker groups signed an agreement with
business organizations and the government to improve conditions.
Chile is the world's largest copper producer and second
largest lithium producer, and the industry said last week the
strike was affecting the normal flow of some supplies in the
north of the country.
Truckers around the country were striking and setting up
roadblocks due to concerns about rising crime and high fuel
costs.
Mexico president seeks deal with U.S. after meeting on
GMO corn
MEXICO CITY - Mexico is seeking a deal with the United
States after talks with U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom
Vilsack on Monday regarding Mexico's plan to ban genetically
modified corn in 2024, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador
said on Tuesday.
The United States threatened legal action against the plan.
Honduras to complete talks with UN on anti-corruption
mission, president says
TEGUCIGALPA - Honduras will soon complete negotiations with
the United Nations that aim to create an international mission
to fight corruption in the country, President Xiomara Castro
said on Monday.
The government has been negotiating with U.N. officials
since May on creating the mission, with experts saying
widespread graft in Honduras has aggravated poverty, violence
and increased migration to other countries.
Former Ecuador VP released from prison for second time
QUITO - Ecuador's former Vice President Jorge Glas on Monday
was released from prison for the second time after a local judge
approved alternative corrective measures in lieu of a custodial
sentence for corruption charges.
Judge Emerson Curipallo from the province of Santo Domingo
said Glas' rights had been violated by delays in resolving a
request his defense put forward for him to receive prison
benefits allowing him to serve out his sentence outside prison.
(Compiled by Steven Grattan
Editing by Bill Berkrot)