Over 40 people arrested for looting in three provinces
Over 40 people were arrested over the long weekend for looting supermarkets and convenience stores in Buenos Aires City and different cities in Mendoza, Córdoba and Neuquén provinces. In Río Cuarto, Córdoba province, at least 15 people were arrested for attempting to loot a supermarket on Sunday night. The group showed up at the store’s front after having organized the looting over social media, police sources told Télam news agency. Seven of them were charged with aggravated robbery and four were let go after testifying, judiciary sources told Télam. The Herald confirmed with TodoRoca that it was in a Neuquén city supermarket, on Río Senguer Street.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
August 22, 2023 20:02 UTC
Government plans to maintain AR$350 exchange rate until Nov. 15
The national government plans to keep the official dollar exchange rate at AR$350 until November 15, sources in the administration have told the Herald. Between November 15 and 30, the government could adjust the exchange rate by a slightly lower percentage than the rate of inflation from the previous month (October). The current exchange rate of AR$350 was implemented by the government the morning after the August 13 primary elections. The official exchange rate, established by the government, rises every month by a lower percentage than the rate of inflation. Currently, the official exchange rate is AR$350 and applies to imports and exports of goods and services.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
August 22, 2023 15:39 UTC
Analysts warn that devaluation, uncertainty will affect growth
Analysts warn that the devaluation, added to the uncertainty and high inflation, could have an impact on the economy during the second half of the year. “Key sectors like industry and construction registered a 1.3% and 1.5% monthly seasonally adjusted drop. “Following the devaluation after the 2019 PASO, economic activity between July and the end of that year fell by almost 4% in seasonally adjusted terms. )”“Prospects for economic activity have deteriorated following the depreciation of the exchange rate and the start of massive adjustments regarding prices of goods and services. The contraction effects of these events will translate into more recession and, potentially, a new monthly inflation low.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
August 22, 2023 14:20 UTC
Massa flies to Washington as IMF board discusses disbursement
Economy Minister Sergio Massa will fly to Washington D.C. on Monday, to be present in the U.S. capital as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) board meets to approve the most recent review of Argentina’s plan with the international lender, triggering a US$7.5 billion disbursement. The IMF board is expected to green-light the staff-level agreement reached on July 28 on the combined fifth and sixth reviews under Argentina’s 30-month Extended Fund Facility arrangement. Massa and IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva are scheduled to meet on Wednesday, after the board meeting. On Wednesday morning, Massa will meet Brian Nichols, assistant secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs for the Department of State. You may also be interested in: Sergio Massa: the ‘unity’ candidate facing a perfect storm
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
August 22, 2023 07:54 UTC
Ecuador candidate backed by Correa will face banana heir in second round
González, a protege of former President Rafael Correa who has promised to revive his social programs, won 33% support, while Noboa, son of prominent banana businessman and former presidential candidate Alvaro Noboa, was a surprise second-place with 24% of the vote. The contest was darkened by the assassination of anti-corruption candidate Fernando Villavicencio earlier this month. The crime is still under investigation, but Villavicencio, who was replaced as a candidate by his friend and fellow investigative journalist Christian Zurita, came third with 16%. Villavicencio’s name appeared on the ballot papers because they were printed before his murder. Noboa seemingly gained support after performing well in the only televised debate of the campaign.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
August 21, 2023 14:24 UTC
Translation troubles: electoral edition
Last Sunday we had the Argentine primary elections (PASO for their Spanish acronym) with a plethora of electoral phrases and terminology coming up even before the vote took place. In reading Argentine news stories, our intern Molly read the term carancheo electoral — evoking politicians swooping down like vultures to make the most of a situation to garner more votes. In searching for the origins of the term, búnker político is apparently a Spanish term for an extreme right-wing group resistant to political change toward the end of Spanish dictator Francisco Franco’s regime. We ended up going with “campaign headquarters,” which is a simple enough translation, but modern examples of búnker with that meaning seem to be exclusive to Argentine electoral coverage. Maybe now that electronic voting has been scrapped for October, we’ll recover that treasured moment of standing in a dark room alone with our decisions.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
August 21, 2023 08:01 UTC
Government announces a price freeze on consumer goods, gas
The measure comes in addition to a price freeze agreed upon with supermarket chains, first announced on Tuesday but actually reached on Friday, and a freeze on medication prices announced on Friday. Additionally, the new Price Negotiation Unit launched on Tuesday agreed on a 90-day monthly 5% maximum price increase in consumer goods with 31 supermarket chains. Companies that agree to the 5% monthly price cap will receive tax benefits to prevent cost increases from being passed on to prices. In a press conference on Tuesday, Trade Secretary Matías Tombolini said that the situation would be sorted out in the meetings that concluded on Friday. “It’s a shared effort,” he said in a press conference.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
August 19, 2023 17:34 UTC
BA city scratches electronic voting for general elections
Buenos Aires city authorities announced that they would not use the electronic voting machines to elect local authorities in the October 22 general elections, a decision that comes following a severe admonishment by federal judge María Servini for the significant delays during last Sunday’s primaries. While some machines didn’t work, other voting centers had them but were unable to get them running or test them. Interviewed by media outlets, BA city residents reported waiting between one and two hours in some voting centers. “The delays [on Sunday] were due in some cases to the fact that there were two voting systems that day, in others, because voting authorities were delayed in opening their stations”According to the IGE, 251 voting machines had technical problems on Sunday. In her note on Thursday, Servini included details of problems with 250 electronic voting machines.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
August 19, 2023 17:34 UTC
IMF board to meet on August 23 to ‘unlock agreed disbursement’
International Monetary Fund (IMF) Director of Communications Julie Kozack confirmed in a brief statement Monday that the lender’s executive board will meet on August 23 to confirm a disbursement for Argentina. This agreement is subject to the approval by the IMF Executive Board, which is expected to meet on August 23 to unlock the agreed disbursements.”“We welcome the authorities’ recent policy actions and commitment going forward to safeguard stability, rebuild reserves and enhance fiscal order.”The July staff-level agreement granted the country access to a US$7.5 billion disbursement. However, the disbursement is subject to approval by the IMF executive board, and Argentina must continue to implement the policies it agreed on with the lender. The government and the IMF signed an Extended Fund Facility agreement in 2022 after renegotiating the US$44 billion debt former President Mauricio Macri acquired in 2018. The deal includes an economic program that Argentina must comply with in order to receive disbursements every three months, which are used to pay for the previous debt with the IMF.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
August 14, 2023 18:00 UTC
Grandmother of Plaza de Mayo Blanca Díaz de Garnier dies age 91
Grandmother of Plaza de Mayo Blanca Díaz de Garnier died Sunday in the city of Concepción del Uruguay, Entre Ríos. After a 40 year-search, Díaz de Garnier was reunited with her granddaughter, Adriana Garnier Ortolani, in December 2017. Díaz de Garnier’s son, Edgardo Garnier, was kidnapped in February 1977, and has never been found. It was during this ordeal that they met other Mothers and Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo. “Somebody told me my parents weren’t my real parents,” Adriana said in a TV spot for the Grandmothers.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
August 13, 2023 18:06 UTC
Argentines go to vote: national primaries kick off election for next president
Argentines began voting at 8 a.m. this Sunday in the national primaries known as PASO (Spanish for Open, Simultaneous and Mandatory Primaries). In addition to presidential and vice-presidential candidates, the PASO will also determine national deputy and senator candidates for every coalition. Buenos Aires, Catamarca, Entre Ríos, and Santa Cruz provinces also have primaries for governor, provincial legislators and other local authorities, while Buenos Aires city will hold primaries for mayor and city legislators. In addition to selecting mayoral coalition candidates, the local vote includes 30 legislators. The Buenos Aires Ecobici bicycle hire system, which is free Monday through Friday, is also free on Sunday.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
August 13, 2023 17:11 UTC
One day before election, Economy Ministry announces zero deficit budget for 2024
The Economy Ministry announced on Saturday a series of measures to be implemented in the week after the primaries, including the drafting of a zero deficit budget for 2024. The ministry said this would be achieved mainly by cutting tax exemptions for large companies. It will present a budget bill in Congress next September 15 with an addendum attached detailing the cost of said exemptions, something that was already included in the 2023 budget. This proposal means lowering the deficit at a higher speed than what Argentina’s current economic program with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) stipulates, as the roadmap sanctioned in 2022 calls for a 0.9% deficit for the next year. The Ministry announced additional measures, such as a new simplified tax regime for freelancers who work for companies abroad and are paid in US dollars (“monotributo tech”), a financing program for corn and wheat farmers, tax exemptions for importers that pay with their own US dollars, and a call for bids to launch the so-called tranche reversal of the North Gas Pipeline, among others.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
August 13, 2023 17:03 UTC
Government obtains AR$826.7 billion in last bond auction before primaries
The Economy Minister obtained AR$821.5 billion in the first peso bond auction of August, and close to AR$5.1 billion during the second round of bidding the following day. The operation allowed the government to meet its AR$725 million payment maturity, while also obtaining $96.51 million in additional financing. — Eduardo Setti (@EduardoSettiOk) August 10, 2023There were eight bonds offered, including a fixed-rate Lede (S31O3) and an inflation-adjusted bond (X23N3), maturing on October 31 and November 23 respectively. The tender also included a new inflation-adjusted bond maturing on January 18, 2024 (X18E4) and two other new inflation-adjustable bonds maturing on May 20 and August 19, 2024, respectively. The operation also included the reopening of three inflation-adjusted bonds: T2X4, T4X4, and T5X4, maturing on July 26, October 14, and December 13, respectively.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
August 13, 2023 02:30 UTC
Santiago Maldonado death: four gendarmes acquitted
Trelew judge Gustavo Lleral has acquitted all four military police officers who were under investigation over the August 2017 disappearance and death of activist and craftsman Santiago Maldonado. Maldonado went missing on August 1, 2017, after a group of gendarmes (military police) broke up a roadblock by the Indigenous Pu Lof Mapuche community in Cushamen, and then pursued the protesters. Maldonado was found dead 77 days later, on October 17, 2017, floating in the Chubut river, within the limits of the Mapuche lands. Sergio Maldonado, Santiago’s brother, said on Twitter that “the impunity pact for Patricia Bullrich and the national Gendarmía has been confirmed” with the ruling. “He claimed that Santiago drowned by himself,” Sergio wrote.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
August 13, 2023 02:18 UTC
Former police chief Luis Patti faces new trial for crimes against humanity
The Human Rights Secretariat is a plaintiff in the trial, which is being held online and streamed on the San Martin Court’s YouTube channel. A member of the Group of the Eight — Peronist congressmen who cut ties with general Perón in 1974 — Muñiz Barreto was kidnapped alongside Fernández on February 16, 1977. Muñiz Barreto died at the scene, but Fernández was able to get out of the vehicle and escape. In 2008, a federal court formally requested that Congress impeach him, after which he was arrested for crimes against humanity. Since then, he has been convicted in three different trials for severe violations of human rights during State terrorism, and received life sentences in all cases.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
August 11, 2023 19:50 UTC