High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email ftsales.support@ft.com to buy additional rights. http://blogs.ft.com/beyond-brics/2012/10/19/lula-to-chavez-perhaps-its-time-to-start-preparing-for-succession/#ixzz29mJq1p8u Hugo Chávez has talked of staying in power until 2021, even 2031 – much to the despair of [...]

SAO PAULO –  Close to 9,000 Brazilian troops are heading to its borders with four neighboring countries as part of a big two-week anti-crime operation. Army, navy and air force personnel have been deployed along Brazil’s frontiers with Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia and Uruguay, the Defense Ministry said on its website [...]

Venezuela was officially welcomed into the Mercosur trade bloc Tuesday, giving that nation’s leader Hugo Chavez a long-awaited political prize and strengthening links among the region’s agricultural and energy powerhouses. The inclusion of Venezuela also deepens a political rift within the South American trade group. Paraguay, which long blocked Venezuela’s [...]

CARACAS, Venezuela –  During a trip to Brazil, Venezuela President Hugo Chávez joining the South American trade bloc Mercosur will be a boon for Venezuela and should help the country’s businesses boost international sales. Chávez urged Venezuelan business leaders, some of whom are concerned about reducing tariffs, to support the [...]

Former Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso is afraid that his country has lost its influence on South America because of his failure to counteract the leadership of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. Cardoso also blasted the way of incorporating Venezuela into the Southern Market of the South (Mercosur) following the political [...]

Police in Brazil are sending reinforcements to a remote town in the Amazon jungle after members of an indigenous group burned down a police station. An officer was hit in the arm by an arrow during the attack on Monday. Officials said about 60 Munduruku indigenous people attacked the station [...]