Argentina 2023 elections: 15 key points for Sunday’s vote
With that in mind, here are 15 points to consider as we approach Sunday’s vote. If that increase consists entirely of younger voters, it will increase Milei’s chances of winning in the first round. In the primaries, we vote by gut instinct, and in the first round we vote with our party or ideological identity. But in the second round, the earlier rounds are not the decisive factor. Macri came second, then won in the second round with a three percentage point advantage.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
October 21, 2023 03:02 UTC
Aeroparque operates with delays after being shut down for an hour due to fake bomb threat
Aeroparque Internacional Jorge Newberry airport is functioning normally but with delays after a bomb threat halted all operations for close to an hour Friday morning. The threat, which was deemed false after a bomb squadron inspected the premises, was made against four flights from different companies set to leave the BA City airport for Mendoza. Passengers on board flights ready to depart as well as those in pre-boarding were evacuated, and all flights were temporarily halted as a bomb squadron searched the site. This is the third bomb threat made this week against companies or official institutions in Argentina. On Wednesday, the embassies of Israel and the United States in Argentina received bomb threats.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
October 20, 2023 15:28 UTC
Will Argentina have a new president-elect on Sunday?
Argentina is voting for a new president on Sunday after four years of Alberto Fernández’s administration. In Argentina’s presidential elections, candidates need more than 45% of the votes, or at least 40% with a 10-point lead, to be elected in the first round. If none of this happens, the two most-voted candidates will go to a run-off on November 19. The rules of the eventual run-off are not the same as the general elections: candidates don’t have to reach a certain percentage of votes. Although both JxC candidates combined got more votes than UxP, Massa was the second most-voted individual candidate, surpassing Bullrich by one million votes.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
October 20, 2023 13:09 UTC
Economy Ministry promises to keep AR$350 exchange rate until November 15
Economic Policy Secretary Gabriel Rubinstein said on Thursday that the official exchange rate will remain at AR$350 to the dollar until October 23 — the day after the presidential elections. In an interview with Radio Mitre, Melconián predicted that the government would put the official exchange rate at “AR$350 plus the combined inflation rate of August September, and October’s inflation rate.”“It will be a new exchange rate that won’t scare anyone — AR$500,” he said. Since Tuesday (as Monday was a bank holiday) the exchange rate decreased by 8% and closed at AR$905 on Wednesday. The MEP dollar rate, used in financial operations, surged by 1% this week and closed Wednesday at 870.46%. With the election looming large, a surge in the exchange rate would further complicate the economy and the ruling party’s chances.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
October 19, 2023 12:44 UTC
Massa says Argentina will pay its October IMF maturities with yuan
Economy Minister Sergio Massa announced on Wednesday that Argentina will pay its US$2.6 billion October maturities to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) next week with funds obtained from the currency swap with China. Argentina had already used yuan to pay the lender in June. This includes an economic program that Argentina must comply with to receive disbursements every three months, which the government uses to pay the previous debt. IMF staff and Argentina had reached an agreement late in July for the fifth and sixth reviews of the program. Massa has consistently held the IMF responsible for “imposing” August’s devaluation.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
October 19, 2023 12:43 UTC
Argentina and China agree on US$6.5 bn currency swap extension
Argentina’s Central Bank (BCRA) agreed to extend its currency swap with China for a free access amount of 47 billion yuan, equivalent to US$6.5 billion. What he did was extend the use of the [currency] swap we had already been granted. The currency swap is a currency exchange between the BCRA and the People’s Bank of China (BPC). Economy Minister Sergio Massa lauded the extension of the currency swap, calling the development “huge.”“This is huge news for the strengthening of Argentina’s reserves. Why the currency swap extension is important“The first tranche of the swap was key in maintaining imports and even complying with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) during the first half of the year,” economist Pedro Gante says.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
October 18, 2023 19:23 UTC
Government imposes restrictions on brokers investing in US assets
The decision affects Argentine Deposit Certificates (CEDEARs, by its Spanish acronym), financial instruments issued in Argentina that allow investments in foreign assets. The implicit foreign exchange rate in these operations is called the blue-chip swap rate. Although the restrictions are temporary, the CNV did not clarify when they would be lifted. The blue-chip swap rate increased by 16.5% in the same period. However, after the new restriction was enforced on Tuesday morning, the blue-chip dollar rate fell by 0.5% and ended the day at AR$962.1.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
October 17, 2023 22:26 UTC
Official Argentina 2022 World Cup film to hit theaters in December
Argentina’s 2022 World Cup victory in Qatar will hit the big screen as a documentary on December 14. “The film will show some of what we experienced during that wonderful World Cup that made us all so happy. “We hope all our work can be seen in this film,” said Grupo Octubre CEO Víctor Santa María. “Which looks to be a reflection of the passion of the 45 million Argentines who went into the streets after the win.”The announced run time will be 80 minutes, with footage filmed during the World Cup and exclusive interviews. “Our goal was for the fans to see how the World Cup was for the players,” said producer Gonzalo Arias.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
October 17, 2023 21:45 UTC
Fate of Techint’s Alpha Lithium acquisition bid to be defined by Oct. 20
Alpha Lithium Corporation is a Canadian company that operates in Argentina as Alpha Lithium One. The final offer was CA$1.48 (US$1.08) in cash per share, representing “the best and final offer,” Tecpetrol said. For the time being, Alpha Lithium has moved forward with the construction of a pilot plant in Tolillar, with a production capacity of 120 tonnes per year. In its message to shareholders, Tecpetrol said it already has the acceptance of Caravel Capital, which has 4.5 million Alpha shares. This investment fund, located in Bahamas, published an open letter at the end of September calling on Alpha’s shareholders to accept Tecpetrol’s offer.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
October 16, 2023 21:55 UTC
Messi, Argentina national football team to play Peru amid heavy security presence
The Peruvian capital of Lima will host Argentina’s men’s national football team this Tuesday under a partial state of emergency. The clash between Argentina and Peru is set to be played this Tuesday, at 9 p.m. local time, 11 p.m. in Buenos Aires. Lionel Messi’s presence remains uncertain, after the Argentina captain made his Albiceleste return from the bench against Paraguay. “Messi is training, and if he’s feeling well he’ll play,” said Argentina national team coach Lionel Scaloni. Authorities say the crime rate has fallen by between 12% and 28% in the areas where the state of emergency is in place.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
October 16, 2023 19:46 UTC
Noboa wins Ecuador presidential race, pledges to rebuild country
Business heir Daniel Noboa on Sunday won Ecuador’s presidential election, vowing to rebuild the South American country, which is struggling with a weak economy and rising crime and violence. “Tomorrow we start work for this new Ecuador, we start working to rebuild a country seriously battered by violence, by corruption and by hate,” Noboa told supporters during brief remarks in the seaside town of Olon. “From tomorrow Daniel Noboa starts work as your new president,” he added. Ecuador has all the elements needed to be a global example of progress, Noboa has said. Analysts have said a Noboa victory initially could be perceived as positive by investors, but longer-term outlook will depend on his cabinet appointments.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
October 16, 2023 14:17 UTC
Translation troubles: presidential debate edition
But the two presidential debates held on October 1 and 8 were truly overflowing with our national dialectic, for better or worse. ChicanaThis is the word of the day come presidential debate time — with candidates accusing each other of throwing unfair chicanitas — and has nothing to do with Mexican culture or heritage. In Argentina, a chicana is a bad-faith provocation, usually when one politician tries to get a rise out of another. Gato is also an insult in its own right but we can leave that translation trouble for another day. There is a lot at stake in this year’s election but luckily for the politicians on the debate stage, it’s just an idiom.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
October 16, 2023 02:16 UTC
Ecuadoreans weigh economic, security pledges in presidential ballot
Ecuadoreans voted on Sunday to choose their next president, weighing pledges to improve the economy and control a spiraling security situation from a businessman who is heir to a banana fortune and a leftist who would be the country’s first woman leader. “We need the hope of a prepared candidate and [Noboa] is that,” said Guayaquil University student Estefano Ruales, 25. Nearly 45% of eligible Ecuadoreans had voted by 1 p.m. local time (3 p.m. Buenos Aires time), council president Diana Atamaint told a press conference. About a quarter of the 13 million Ecuadoreans obliged to vote are between the ages of 18 and 29. Noboa is expected to await the results in the seaside town of Olon, while González has an event planned in Quito.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
October 15, 2023 19:03 UTC
Bullrich announces Larreta will be Chief of Staff if she wins the election
Juntos por el Cambio (JxC) presidential candidate Patricia Bullrich announced that Buenos Aires City mayor Horacio Rodríguez Larreta, whom she defeated in the August JxC primaries, would be appointed Chief of Staff if she wins the election. A team that hits the field and scores goals every day because Argentines can’t take it anymore,” Bullrich said in a joint press conference at the Botanical Garden in Buenos Aires with Larreta and her vice-presidential candidate, Luis Petri. “Personally, the election was a blow for me, but we have to move forward,” he said. The announcement comes only eight days before the presidential elections. “I believe society is defining its vote in this last week, as it is always the case.”
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
October 14, 2023 15:33 UTC
Central Bank imposes more restrictions on banks and importers
They will be able to cover it totally or partially with an untransferable short-term bond from the Central Bank that can be settled at the official exchange rate. “The same thing happened in the 2021 elections,” an official source told the Herald. It does not refer to savers’ US dollars, but to the bank’s own dollars, an official source told the Herald. “Savers’ dollars are backed up by the Central Bank, nobody can touch them,” the source added. When authorized, the Central Bank allows businesses to buy US dollars at the official exchange rate, AR$350 per unit at the time of writing.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
October 13, 2023 19:57 UTC