Chile enacts controversial laws amid police killings
Chile on Thursday signed new laws and allocated US$1.5 billion to fight crime amid skyrocketing perceptions of insecurity and a day after the third police officer in less than a month was killed on duty. The measures include criminalizing extortion as well as increased penalties for kidnapping and some instances of firearm possession. Chile’s police force has faced human rights abuse accusations following a heavy-handed crackdown of the violent 2019 protests against inequality. Polls show voters largely disapprove of the government’s handling of crime and Boric has since hardened his stance. Palma is the third police officer to be killed on duty in less than a month, sparking public backlash.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
April 08, 2023 06:14 UTC
Bus strike lifted following release of two drivers
The bus drivers’ union (UTA) lifted a strike after two of their colleagues were released today. They had been detained and continue under investigation for their alleged involvement in Monday’s violent attack on Buenos Aires province’s security minister, Sergio Berni. Bus drivers Jorge Oscar Galiano and Jorge Ezequiel Zerda were detained and their company offices raided on Thursday morning. Previously, Buenos Aires Province’s Justice and Human Rights minister, Julio Alak, also filed a lawsuit against them. “They tell me it was a joint operation between Buenos Aires City and Buenos Aires Province’s police departments.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
April 08, 2023 02:57 UTC
Security minister attack: drivers strike following arrests
Bus drivers from eight lines in the outskirts of Buenos Aires have organized a spontaneous strike after two of their colleagues were arrested late on Wednesday night over their alleged involvement in Monday’s violent attack on provincial security minister Sergio Berni. “The strike will go on until our colleagues are released and the murderers of our colleague Daniel are identified,” Luis Gómez, a line 620 driver taking part in the strike, told Télam. Although Berni did not press charges against the drivers, Buenos Aires Province’s Justice and Human Rights minister, Julio Alak, filed a lawsuit against them. Their detention was ordered by Buenos Aires City Judge Luisa María Escrich. Sergio Berni, of ruling coalition Frente de Todos, was appointed Buenos Aires Province Security Minister in 2019, when Axel Kicillof became governor of the province.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
April 07, 2023 09:24 UTC
Mixed reactions from governors and business leaders to "agro dollar" III
Yesterday afternoon Economy Minister Sergio Massa announced a new “agro dollar” exchange rate, which aims to boost agricultural exports and strengthen international reserve accumulation. “The new exchange rate will allow producers to have more income and open to new markets,” said the Chubut governor Mariano Arcioni. The Argentina Wine Corporation (COVIAR) also supported the announcement and stated through a release that “all wine producers benefited from the differential exchange rate”. For a limited time, agricultural producers can export soybeans, other soy products, and regional agricultural produce at a beneficial exchange rate of AR$300 to the dollar. The official exchange rate is currently AR$214 to the dollar.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
April 06, 2023 21:27 UTC
GDP-linked bonds: Argentina to appeal London court ruling
Argentina will appeal the London High Court’s unfavorable ruling related to GDP-linked securities — if unsuccessful, the country faces a 1.33 billion-euro (US$1.46 billion) plus interest fine. Two sources with access to the case who asked not to be identified told the Herald that Argentina has to ask Judge Simon Picken, who issued today’s ruling, for permission to appeal. In the event that both the judge and the Chamber reject Argentina’s appeal requests, Argentina will have to pay US$1.46 billion, plus interest. During the restructuring negotiation process in 2005, Argentina offered new securities with a haircut of about 70% of the principal. In 2014, Argentina changed the formula to calculate its GDP using data from a 2004 census.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
April 06, 2023 11:25 UTC
Minimum wage to rise 27% by June
Minimum wage increases approved by the Minimum Vital and Mobile Salary Council last week were published in the Official Bulletin today. Paid in three monthly increases, the minimum salary will rise by 26.6% by June 1 compared with current levels, but economists say it is falling far behind Argentina’s racing inflation, which hit 102.5% in February. On April 1, the minimum wage will rise to AR$80,342 (US$386.59 at the official exchange rate or US$213.45 at the MEP rate) and AR$401.71 per hour for day laborers. He added that the minimum wage had shrunk in proportion to the basic basket of goods compared with 2015. The payments for social programs such as Potenciar Trabajo are a percentage of the minimum wage, so increasing the minimum wage leads to increased state spending.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
March 29, 2023 03:43 UTC
Netflix announces upcoming Argentine series and films
According to the study, more than two-thirds of spending for films or series made in Argentina are reinvested in other sectors, such as hotel accommodation and transport. Netflix also emphasized that every AR$ 10 million invested directly in the audiovisual result in an additional 19 million. “Telling local stories is very important for Netflix, and few countries have an audiovisual industry like Argentina,” said Ramos. As for films, Netflix will co-produce Descansar en paz with Ricardo Darin’s production company, Kenya Films. Also coming to the platform are most of the Argentine filmmaker Pablo Trapero’s films as remastered versions, including El Bonaerense, White Elephant, Carancho, Lion’s Den, Born and Bred, Rolling Family, and Crane World.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
March 29, 2023 03:40 UTC
Opposition to file writ against public sector debt swap
Patricia Bullrich, head of right-wing opposition party PRO, has instructed PRO deputies to file a protective action against the decrees requiring public sector bondholders to shed debt in dollars and switch it to pesos. The writ describes the debt swap as “objectively and factually ruinous”, calling it “new borrowing disguised as a swap” on the grounds that the decrees establishing the swap do not specify whether the foreign law bonds that enter the treasury will be reabsorbed. On that basis, the writ argues that under Argentine law debt cannot be issued by decree and requires the prior approval of congress. The blue-chip swap rate, also known as contado con liqui or CCL, is used in the financial world as a way to get dollars. According to the writ, the debt swap puts state pensions at risk by failing to safeguard the funding of the Sustainability Guarantee Fund (FGS), a sovereign investment fund that is part of Argentina’s social security system.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
March 28, 2023 09:47 UTC
Macri announces he will not run for president
With just 90 days before the deadline to confirm his candidacy, former president Mauricio Macri announced that he will not run for president in a 5-minute video this morning. In his video, he also praised his 2015-2019 administration, criticizing President Alberto Fernández’s administration. “’Never again’ will we be represented by a puppet,’ he said in referene to Fernández, who was selected by Vice President Cristina Kirchner to run for president in May 2019. “Never Again” or “Nunca Más” is a motto used by Argentina’s human rights movement calling for the horrors of the last military dictatorship to never be repeated. Macri stepping down from the presidential race without explicitly supporting any of the Juntos por el Cambio presidential candidates specifically, he leaves the game open for them to run against each other in the August primaries.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
March 27, 2023 03:19 UTC
Blue-chip swap rate hit record 408 pesos: what analysts think
The blue-chip dollar swap rate peaked at a record AR$408 on Friday, its highest nominal value ever, before closing at AR403.57, up by more than 10 pesos (3%) in the last three days of the week. The blue-chip swap rate, also known as contado con liqui or CCL, is used exclusively in the financial world. It is obtained by investors buying shares and financial instruments in pesos and selling them in dollars on the international market. In this context, the report’s authors predict that the Central Bank will have to tighten capital controls “over the next months”. The Central Bank participates in a committee that makes such analyses but does not make its conclusions public.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
March 18, 2023 22:23 UTC
Brazil looks to regulate monetized content on internet
The Brazilian government is studying whether to regulate Internet platforms with content that earns revenue such as advertising, its secretary for digital policies, Joao Brant, said on Friday. The idea would be for a regulator to hold such platforms, not consumers, accountable for monetized content, Brant told Reuters. Platforms would not be held responsible for content individually, but for how diligent they are in protecting the “digital environment,” he said in an interview. Brant did not detail what the regulatory body would look like, but said the government wants to regulate monetized content and prevent the platforms from spreading misinformation. Meta questioned its responsibility for removing content without a court decision in a case involving a fake Facebook profile.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
March 18, 2023 21:34 UTC
Google Pixel 7 (Unlocked) Price Drops 16% From $599 to $499; Check Out Deal
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Source:The Bubble
March 18, 2023 19:24 UTC
Argentine ambassador leaves Ecuador amid diplomatic row
Argentine Ambassador to Ecuador Gabriel Fuks has left the country amid a diplomatic furore caused by former Ecuadorian minister María de los Ángeles Duarte fleeing from the Argentine embassy in Quito. She had been living as a guest in the Argentine embassy in Quito since 2020 and was granted diplomatic asylum there in 2022, along with her son, whose father is Argentine. On Monday, she fled to the Argentine embassy in Caracas, Venezuela — Ecuador considers her a fugitive. “And not on one, but multiple occasions.”The Argentine government denies Fuks’ involvement in Duarte’s escape and contends that her surveillance was under the Ecuadorian security force’s jurisdiction. Both countries expelled their ambassadors as a result of the diplomatic row, although bilateral ties have not been cut.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
March 18, 2023 06:45 UTC
Destitution threshold jumped by 12% in February
The INDEC considers that a family is “destitute” when their monthly income is less than the basic food basket. A family is considered to be in poverty if they earn less than the basic food basket plus services, known as the total basic basket. The INDEC reported that the poverty threshold for February was AR$177,063 – an 8.3% increase compared to January. The year-on-year increase for the basic food basket and the total basic basket were 111.3% and 115.1% respectively. That means that products that were part of the total basic basket and the basic food basket soared more than the general prices of the economy.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
March 18, 2023 06:45 UTC
Samsung T350 Series 24″ IPS LED Monitor Price Drops 39% From $179 to $109; Check Out Deal Now!
AdvertisementThe price of the Samsung T350 Series 24″ IPS LED Monitor has dropped from $179 to $109. The cost of this Samsung LED Monitor has been discounted by 39% on this website, from $179 to $109. A seamless display with a three-sided borderless display that reaches from edge to edge for immersive viewing and maximum focus. Samsung T350 Series 24″ IPS LED Monitor specificationsMaximum attention with a minimalist design. Tones and shades appear totally accurate from nearly any angle, even on a display this large, with no colour washing.
Source:The Bubble
March 14, 2023 07:42 UTC