Argentina’s economy minister quits over inflation crisis
Argentina’s economy minister, Martin Guzman, the architect of a recent major debt deal with the International Monetary Fund, resigned on Saturday (Sunday AEST) as deep splits emerged in the ruling coalition over how to handle mounting economic crises. Mr Guzman, a minister since late 2019 and a close ally of President Alberto Fernandez, posted a letter on Twitter announcing his decision, adding he maintained “confidence in my vision of the path Argentina should follow”. The centre-left president is facing…
A brash libertarian is disrupting Argentina’s old political duopoly
When Javier Milei, Argentina’s newly elected libertarian lawmaker, raffled off his monthly stipend for the third time in mid-March, 2 million people signed up. That’s almost 5% of the country’s entire population. The lucky winner was 26-year-old Cecilia Agüero from Buenos Aires province, who said she would use the 350,000 pesos (about $1,800) to finish construction on her house. For a while, it was tempting to dismiss Milei as a fringe figure who was prone to such publicity-grabbing stunts but didn’t…
Maybe increasingly popular politician Javier Milei might just be what Argentina needs to stop the race to the bottom by the Peronists
Malvinas sovereignty negotiations are going to be very long. it’s a complicated issue”, and although a territorial claim, “Argentina never created the conditions for Falkland Islanders to want to become Argentine citizens”, said Javier Milei, an Argentine member of the Lower House who was the sensation of last October’s midterm election Brashly independent, libertarian, an outsider and caustic critic of what he defines as the “Argentine political cast”, which costs taxpayers 5% of the…
Buenos Aires key to the region’s future, says ex Uruguayan President Pepe Mujica
Former Uruguayan President José “Pepe” Mujica said this weekend in a newspaper interview that the future of the River Plate area was at stake and it hinged on whatever happens in the Argentine capital. “If I were 40 years younger, I would become an Argentine citizen and go fight in Buenos Aires,” Mujica was quoted as saying by the Perfil newspaper. Mujica insisted on the importance of the city and port of Buenos Aires for the future of the region. “Although the Argentine organization led…
The current President pitches Argentina to top global investment funds
President Alberto Fernández pitched Argentina’s growth potential to a host of top global investment funds on Tuesday, as he asked them to back the country and its bid for economic recovery. According to the reports, much of the call – which was organised by the CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, Kirill Dmitriev – was devoted to Vaca Muerta, with the president describing the shale basin as “a fundamental pillar” for Argentina’s economic recovery. Representatives from private and…
Yes, Argentina’s Macri Failed on the Economy. But It Wasn’t All for Naught.
An appraisal of the last four years, plus a look ahead, by a former central bank president. Mauricio Macri’s presidency is coming to an end. With a fall in per-capita income of close to 10% and cumulative inflation higher than 300% in his four years, it would be easy to declare his presidency a failure – which, in terms of economic results, it was. The economic failure is surprising because Macri faced not only a relatively benign international scenario (no significant changes in its terms of trade,…
Argentina: Outlook darkens as Peronist chances grow
Argentina’s economic outlook has deteriorated notably since August’s LatinFocus edition. The primary elections on 11 August revealed that President Mauricio Macri is trailing in a very distant second place in the run-up to the October elections, shocking market analysts and sparking a huge and destabilizing capital flight in turn. The drastic change in political landscape and unfolding market turmoil has significantly affected the country’s outlook, particularly for next year. Now, GDP is seen contracting…
Argentina’s economy lifting out of recession: activity rises in May for the first time in a year
Argentina’s economic activity rose for the first time in over a year in May, a rare boost for President Mauricio Macri as he looks to dig the South American country out of a crippling recession ahead of presidential elections later this year. The 2.6% rise versus the same month a year ago topped even the most optimistic estimates from analysts and broke a run of 12 consecutive months of falling economic activity. The monthly growth will come as welcome news for Macri, whose popularity has taken a pounding…
The Monroe Doctrine is not dead in Latin America
Democracy is at risk in Latin America. The danger goes well beyond Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela Donald trump’s administration is not famed for its adherence to highfalutin’ political principle, so John Bolton, the United States national security adviser, struck an unusual note when he claimed in a speech in Miami last month that the “Monroe doctrine is alive and well”. The reference to the 19th-century principle under which the United States arrogated to itself the right to police Latin America…
Don’t cry for Argentina. Cristina Fernández is not coming back – ever !!!
In most years, the barometer for Argentina’s economy is the price of its currency, the peso. This year, traders will follow the country’s presidential election opinion polls. In both cases, incumbent Mauricio Macri is losing.The peso has halved over the past year. Worse, his already-low support — one recent poll put it at about 36 per cent — could fall further given that former president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner might run against him in October’s national elections. Voters may dislike Argentina’s…
Argentina has gone from the fastest growing economy in the world to one of the slowest. What went wrong ?
Argentina has gone from the fastest growing economy in the world to one of the slowest. What went wrong ? WHEN the residents of Buenos Aires want to change the pesos they do not trust into the dollars they do, they go to a cueva, or “cave”, an office that acts as a front for a thriving illegal exchange market. In one cueva near Florida Street, a pedestrian thoroughfare in the centre of the city, piles of pesos from previous transactions lie on a table. A courier is getting ready to carry the notes to…
