BOGOTA (Reuters) – Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos on Friday signaled he may run for re-election in 2014, but only if he can stay in office for two more years, half the usual term, and change the rules for future heads of state.

Santos has refused to comment on his plans until the second half of 2013, but analysts say the tone of his appearances in recent months have smacked of a man already on the campaign trail.

BOGOTA, April 17 (Reuters) – Colombia’s central bank chief
said on Wednesday there are “objective reasons” why the
country’s peso currency should ease against the U.S.
dollar, while the government said it is considering more
measures to weaken the peso.

The firmer peso is cutting into the revenues of exporters
and causing problems for manufacturers who struggle to compete
with cheaper imports.

BOGOTA, April 17 (Reuters) – A coal union at Drummond’s
Colombian unit has finished drafting a three-year labor proposal
and demanded workers get a monthly wage, improved safety
conditions and better health benefits, a union leader said on
Wednesday.

Luis Manuel Mendoza said the union will present the demands
to the company before April 30 and that the parties could reach
an agreement within 20 days.

BOGOTA, April 15 (Reuters) – Colombia’s government announced
a stimulus package on Monday designed to revitalize the economy
and encourage pension funds to invest more money abroad, a step
aimed at putting a break on the rise of the national currency.

Colombia’s economic growth slowed to 4 percent in 2012 from
6.6 percent a year earlier. The central bank expects the economy
to maintain the same pace of growth this year as in 2012.

BOGOTA (Reuters) – Colombia’s top prosecutor on Friday filed a legal challenge to a law that paved the way for ongoing peace talks, a move that could undermine government efforts to end five decades of war.

President Juan Manuel Santos drew up a legal framework last year that led to peace negotiations with Latin America’s biggest rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. The bloody conflict has killed tens of thousands and caused damage to the Andean nation’s economy.

QUITO (Reuters) – Ecuador’s socialist president Rafael Correa presented a bill on Monday asking lawmakers to annul an investment protection treaty with the United States, which would prevent U.S. companies from filing for arbitration against the Andean country.

Correa, who won a sweeping re-election victory in mid-February, said over the weekend that the OPEC-member country could go bankrupt because arbitration tribunals always rule that Ecuador should pay damages to foreign investors when there is a dispute.

QUITO (Reuters) – Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa expects to strike a landmark mining deal with Canadian firm Kinross within six months as he tries to attract more foreign investment after winning re-election on the weekend.

In an interview with Reuters on Thursday, the 49-year-old leader also ruled out any major new socialist reforms during his next four-year term and said the South American country was well-placed to attract foreign companies.

QUITO (Reuters) – Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa said on Thursday that Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez is recovering from cancer surgery, but if he had to step down Vice President Nicolas Maduro would be “extremely capable” of running the OPEC nation.

Correa, who won a sweeping re-election victory on Sunday, told Reuters he thinks Maduro is the right person to take over in Venezuela if the socialist leader needs to step down.

QUITO (Reuters) – Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa said his party likely won three-quarters of the seats in Congress in last weekend’s election and vowed on Wednesday to “steamroll” through reforms that will make his socialist model irreversible.

The 49-year-old economist was re-elected on Sunday with 57 percent of votes, some 34 percentage points more than the runner-up. During his six years in office he has won broad support with high spending on infrastructure and social welfare.

QUITO (Reuters) – Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa vowed on Monday to press ahead with laws to control the media and redistribute land to the poor as he looks to deepen his socialist revolution after a resounding re-election victory.

Correa, a pugnacious 49-year-old economist, trounced his nearest rival by more than 30 percentage points on Sunday to win a new four-year term. He has already been in power for six years, winning broad support with ambitious social spending programs.