Designed by minister Sergio Massa, the government aims to sound out the plan with union and business leaders as part of a larger price reduction program. Sources in the more traditional sectors of the CGT said they trust the Economy Minister’s chances of easing the rise in prices and are willing to sign their wage rounds accordingly. So far, the 2023 legal precedents regarding wage rounds are almost null. Meanwhile, La Bancaria (bank workers union) led by Sergio Palazzo will attempt a short negotiation limited to the first quarter of the year, as a bridge to then resume negotiations with the financial sector for the rest of 2023. Thus, the union led by Hugo and Pablo Moyano will not have a leading role in the first part of the year’s wage rounds unless there is a pronounced increase in the rate of inflation.

President Alberto Fernández must formalize the call with the list of limited projects for the special sessions. Although the official project calling for 17 council members –three down from the current number– was approved by the Senate, it got bogged down in the lower House and never resurfaced. That is why, within the Casa Rosada, people are beginning to evaluate what could happen if the deadline for the special sessions passes and the bill has not been discussed. It would feature the same number of slots per area as the current format for both judges and attorneys (four and four); two academics; and one representative of the Executive. This time last year, the projects scheduled for special sessions never reached the floor for discussion in Congress.

The Economy Ministry refinanced its maturities for the first three months of 2023 from AR$4.3 trillion to AR$1.41 trillion in what it considered a “successful” debt swap. The swap, which was offered on December 29 and due Tuesday, had an adherence of 67.2%. The Treasury had to face maturities for AR$1.1 trillion in January, AR$1.2 trillion in February and AR$2 billion in March. After the swap, the maturity prospect is AR$390 billion, AR$420 billion and AR$60 billion, respectively. One day before the due date, the Economy Ministry added another option: the LECER bond X16J3, an inflation-adjusted bond that matures in June 2023.

Once official statistics are released, they will confirm that 2022 ended with record exports, which exceeded US$100 billion. Agriculture, industry, energy, the knowledge economy and mining were key drivers that could continue to improve their performance in 2023. The agro-industrial sector saw record prices for all the exports of the soybean, corn and wheat complex. Facing 2023, Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero launched the National Export Promotion Plan. Government estimates anticipate a new export record that would be around US$105 billion despite the effects of the drought.

This week, Minister of Social Development Victoria Tolosa Paz met with leftist social movement coalition Unidad Piquetera (UP) and the Social Economy Workers’ Union (UTEP), which brings together pro-government social organizations, to negotiate welfare payments. Their measures included camping outside the Social Development Ministry on 9 de Julio Avenue, in the center of Buenos Aires. Unidad Piquetera, which sits further to the left politically than UTEP and has a more conflictive relationship with the government, met with Victoria Tolosa Paz on Wednesday but reached an impasse. The organization says it will wait for the Ministry to meet its commitments, including delivering food, making payments on time, and restoring Potenciar Trabajo social plans. UP leaders said that, as they did a month ago, their organizations would continue to protest if Tolosa Paz did not keep her promises.

Argentina’s national team coach Lionel Scaloni is fresh from a resounding success in the World Cup that brought joy to a country buffeted by skyrocketing inflation and institutional fragility. Tapia has acknowledged that much of the Argentine football world was deeply uncertain of his decision to name Scaloni as the head coach of the national side. Now, it appears that the World Cup triumph, coming as it did after Argentina’s 2021 Copa América victory and a 36-game winning streak, has forced Tapia’s hand. Countering this tepid response, Tapia, said in a news conference last Monday: “I have no doubt that [Scaloni] will continue to be the manager of the national team. As the end of his contract approaches, Argentine football is waiting for the most important statement of all: that of Scaloni himself.

In 2008, the National Genetic Data Bank confirmed he was the son of Mercedes del Valle Morales, a 21-year-old farm worker in Tucumán. Mercedes was a militant in the PRT-ERP guerrilla, and was kidnapped in May 1976, when Juan José was a 9-month-old baby. Juan José was raised by the owners of the farm where she worked, as a child of their own. “The mother, Mercedes, worked for the people who appropriated Juan José,” he said. The Grandmothers work with the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team and the National Bank of Genetic Data (BNDG, its Spanish acronym), which use DNA analysis to identify the children.

The informal or “blue” dollar has skyrocketed to a record-breaking AR$359, its highest nominal value ever recorded. The Economy Ministry believes the leap is being driven by demand from small savers buying greenbacks in preparation for the upcoming tax amnesty, as well as seasonal demand. Moreover, this week’s hike wasn’t caused by a political or an economical crisis, but rather seasonal fluctuations and the upcoming tax agreement with the US. To further illustrate this point, the sources add that the informal dollar also rose during August’s “construction amnesty law”, which created a framework to encourage tax evaders to invest in housing. For now, this variation is only reflected in the informal dollar, not the financial exchange rates.

Negotiations are moving forward with the main trading partner to create a common currency without eliminating the peso or the real. Bilateral meetings will be held on January 25 to “oil” the mechanism. The main focus was the creation of a common currency. The concept is different from a single currency because it does not include abolishing either country’s national currency. The future president of Brazil is expected to participate and even communicate his decision to reintegrate Brazil into the bloc currently chaired by Alberto Fernández.

The Economy Ministry established this Monday that the commercial agreement underpinning current price caps will remain in force until December 2023. The “Precios Justos” (Fair Prices) program, which was implemented in November, froze the value of 1,907 products and set a maximum monthly price rise of 4% for 30,000 other items until February 28, 2023. This month, fuels were added to the program, and will be subject to the 4% monthly price increase limit. Economy Minister Sergio Massa said the government hoped that monthly inflation would be around 3% by April, adding that he was “still not satisfied”. That would likely mean renegotiating the maximum monthly price increases, currently set at 4%, to ensure they remained below inflation.

President Alberto Fernández said on Monday that the national government would pay federal tax revenues to Buenos Aires city government in the form of bonds. However, Buenos Aires city government said in a statement on Monday afternoon that it would not accept the proposal. Fernández reiterated that he believed the Supreme Court ruling from last week was “flawed” and damaged the state’s finances. The city government of Buenos Aires appealed the decision to the Supreme Court, which determines judicial and political decisions’ constitutionality. Buenos Aires’ Juntos por el Cambio administration celebrated, and Horacio Rodriguez Larreta announced he would cut taxes as a result of the measure.

Castillo had attempted to dissolve Peru’s congress and rule the country by decree just hours before a scheduled impeachment vote on corruption charges, a move widely regarded as a self-coup. Castillo was succeeded in office by his Vice President Dina Boluarte, who has become Peru’s first woman president. Castillo is currently in pre-trial detention on charges of rebellion and conspiracy, where he has been visited by the IACHR. On Tuesday, Peru’s congress voted to bring elections forward to April 2024, with 91 of the legislature’s 130 members backing the plan. Castillo’s impeachment comes at a time of ongoing instability for Peru: the Andean country has now had six presidents since March 2018.

Earlier on Friday, Rodríguez Larreta said he will report to the Court that their ruling has not been followed, and will file complaints against all the politicians involved. The city government of Buenos Aires appealed the decision to the Supreme Court, which determines judicial and political decisions’ constitutionality. Earlier this week, the Court ruled that the federal government must increase the percentage to 2.95%. Buenos Aires’ Juntos por el Cambio administration celebrated, and Horacio Rodriguez Larreta announced he would cut taxes as a result of the measure. As both Horacio Rodrguez Larreta and Alberto Fernández have declared their intentions to run for president in 2023, the Supreme Court’s ruling could be interpreted as support for the current mayor of Buenos Aires.

At present, by the date that students complete high school, 95 percent have taken complementary classes in private academies. I do not propose to replicate the experience of South Korea in Argentina. South Korea also heads the suicide rankings among young people because of the tremendous pressure young people are subjected to there. But there are very few countries in the world in which there is no evaluation at the end of high school or another one, in order to enter university. In the words of Guadagni: “Argentina is the Latin American country with the largest university population, 435 students per 10,000 inhabitants.

Ex-president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner also engages in low-level campaigning for a Senate seat in Buenos Aires province — indeed her son Máximo is more visible around Greater Buenos Aires. Running for the Workers’ Leftist Front, Néstor Pitrola descends on the Atlantic coast and highlights the dangers facing workers’ rights. Meanwhile her boss President Macri joins Buenos Aires province Governor María Eugenia Vidal in the Greater Buenos Aires district of Tres de Febrero — unsurprisingly, they make Metrobus part of their mobility. Finally, fortune smiles on Randazzo — electoral courts challenge the validity of Peronist rival Mario Ishii’s list. CFK’s senatorial running-mate Jorge Taiana complements her overtures to small business by joining auto workers in San Martín.