Argentina activates US$5 billion currency swap with China
The heads of the Argentine and Chinese central banks confirmed the activation of the currency swap the two countries signed last November. The president of Argentina’s central bank, Miguel Pesce, met with the governor of the People’s Bank of China, Yi Gang, in the Swiss city of Basel. As a result of the meeting, the official communiqué adds, both countries committed to deepening the usage of the yuan in the Argentine market for bilateral commerce. “The swap comprises the exchange of currency for reinforcement of international reserves of 130 billion yuan and a special activation of 35 billion yuan to compensate operations on the foreign exchange market,” added the statement. The agreement aims to increase the nation’s depleted foreign currency reserves.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
January 10, 2023 06:27 UTC
Brazil in shock after Bolsonaro supporters storm Congress, Supreme Court and Presidential Palace
Brazilian police deployed at a camp of supporters of far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro in the capital on Monday. Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered the governor of Brasilia removed from office late on Sunday for 90 days over alleged security failings. Far from the capital, Brazilian industries were on alert for a fresh round of unrest from Bolsonaro supporters, whose post-election highway blockades have disrupted grains shipments and meatpacking operations in recent months. Torres told website UOL he was with his family on holiday in the US and had not met with Bolsonaro. On Saturday, with rumors of a confrontation brewing in Brasilia, Justice Minister Flávio Dino authorized the deployment of the National Public Security Force.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
January 10, 2023 02:04 UTC
Báez Sosa murder trial: family and police take witness stand in first week
On January 2, after a three-year wait, eight members of a rugby team went on trial for a case that has gripped the nation: the murder Fernando Báez Sosa. Several testimonies from that night confirm that the accused called Báez Sosa racist names while they kicked him on the floor. “They wouldn’t stop hitting him,” said 21-year-old Virginia Pérez Antonelli, who aided Báez Sosa by practicing CPR after the attack. As the conflict escalated, Fernando’s friends tried to explain that there were too many people inside the club. But what is known for sure is that at 4:44a.m, Báez Sosa had been kicked and beaten to death in the street.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
January 06, 2023 21:50 UTC
Wage rounds: government wants to negotiate hike of barely over 60% with CGT
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.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
January 06, 2023 21:08 UTC
Executive revives Council of Magistrates bill for Congress’ special sessions (and starts considering decree)
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.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
January 06, 2023 07:44 UTC
First debt swap of 2023 ends with 67% adherence
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.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
January 05, 2023 15:17 UTC
Exports: the factors that explain 2022 record numbers and predict more progress in 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.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
January 05, 2023 12:59 UTC
Social leaders meet with Social Development to halt welfare cuts
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.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
December 29, 2022 20:56 UTC
Argentine football in limbo over Scaloni contract extension
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.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
December 29, 2022 20:05 UTC
Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo identify 132nd stolen grandchild
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.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
December 29, 2022 01:32 UTC
Why the informal dollar broke records this week
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.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
December 28, 2022 23:30 UTC
“Sur”: the project for a common currency between Argentina and Brazil
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.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
December 27, 2022 22:43 UTC
Government extends price agreement program until December 2023
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.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
December 27, 2022 21:23 UTC
Tax share battle: BA City government rejects Fernández bond offer
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.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
December 27, 2022 06:31 UTC
IACHR visits Peru as dozens die in protests over Castillo impeachment
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.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
December 24, 2022 07:26 UTC