Latest news of Buenos Aires Times

Riestra, based in the southern Buenos Aires neighbourhood of Villa Soldati, a stone's throw from more illustrious neighbours San Lorenzo's home stadium, were caught holding a training session on Wednesday which involved several players being put through their paces by the club's fitness coach.

FOOTBALL UNDER LOCKDOWN

Deportivo Riestra in hot water after lockdown training breach

Yesterdat 10:28 Villa Soldati side gain the dubious honour of becoming Argentina’s first club to break coronavirus lockdown rules.

by Dan Edwards

Vitobello, Ibarra, Beliz and Zannini, the political quartet.

MINISTRY POSITIONS

Non-ministerial positions – yet still key additions

Yesterdat 10:19 The non-ministerial officials named by President Alberto Fernández exactly half a year ago will focus on the trident working directly under him – presidential Chief-of-Staff Julio Vitobello, Legal and Technical Secretary Vilma Ibarra and Strategic Affairs Secretary Gustavo Beliz – plus the new Treasury Attorney Carlos Zannini.

by Michael Soltys

Some protesters still took to the streets though, despite social isolation measures, with cries for an end to femicide and gender violence, the legalisation of abortion in Argentina and improved efforts to tackle the gender pay gap.

WOMEN'S RIGHTS

Campaigners renew call for ‘Ni Una Menos,’ five years on

Yesterdat 10:05 The annual march, which is normally attended by tens of thousands of people, first took place in 2015 as huge crowds came together to mobilse against femicide and gender violence.

Chubut Prosecutor, Fernando Rivarola.

FURORE AT PROSECUTOR

Outrage over prosecutor who says alleged rapists were 'letting off steam'

Yesterdat 10:01 Chubut prosecutor Fernando Rivarola comes under criticism for description of 2012 gang rape by five youths.

"There's a great day for him. It's a great day for everybody," he said. Trump was apparently referring to a surge in employment.

PROTESTS AGAINST RACISM

Trump: US job numbers make it for a 'great day' for George Floyd

Yesterdat 09:52 Eleven days after Floyd's death while handcuffed in the custody of Minneapolis police, Trump said such violence can't be allowed to happen.

Thousands of people have been marching in cities across the United States for 10 straight days, with large demonstrations also taking place in European capitals.

PROTESTS AGAINST RACISM

Anger at new US police abuse videos, with more protests set for weekend

Yesterdat 09:47 With rolling demonstrations over the death last week of George Floyd showing little sign of letting up, arguments raged over the level of force officers were deploying against largely peaceful protesters.

Demonstrators march on US Chamber of Commerce, denouncing death of George Floyd.

PROTEST IN BUENOS AIRES

Demonstrators march on US Chamber of Commerce over death of George Floyd

Yesterdat 09:40 The rally, called by the left-wing Frente de Izquierda Unidad, was in support of the “popular uprising” being witnessed in the United States, organisers said.

The lockdown has a stifling effect on the hearts and minds of the population and there’s still winter to slog through.

POLITICS & THE PANDEMIC

Lockdown limbo

Yesterdat 09:32 Coronavirus has put everyday life, or the remnants of it, in a loop. Home is where the office lies.

by Martín Gambarotta

A doctor takes part in a protest in Buenoes Aires this week.

CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

Doctors on the alert over Covid-19 malpractice lawsuits

Yesterdat 09:19 Healthcare professionals protest and express concern over two doctors who face prosecution at a retirement home in a town in Córdoba.

Protests throughout the world against racism.

KEY STORIES FROM THE LAST SEVEN DAYS

May 31- June 6: What we learned this week

Yesterdat 09:12 A round-up of frontpage stories from the last week in Argentina.

Fernandez, Kicillof and Larreta during the announcement.

CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

"Cuarentena protocolizada" – new lockdown rules for BA City, Province

Yesterdat 09:03 Alberto Fernández and Horacio Rodríguez Larreta unveil a new phase of mandatory isolation in the capital, starting Monday, June 8.

Chaco police officers attacked Quom family.

POLICE BRUTALITY

‘It’s always the same,’ says relative of attacked Qom family in Chaco

Yesterdat 08:56 The violent police invasion of Qom community dwellings in Banderas Argentinas, Chaco, has sparked outrage.

by Ayelén Bonino

the United States is a disgracefully racist country in which white policemen enjoy hunting down and killing innocent blacks.

AS I SEE IT

Another long hot summer on the way

Yesterdat 08:45 Whether or not Trump’s attempt to make political capital out of the mayhem works will not be known for some time.

by James Neilson

The obsession with the dollar in every Argentine government.

ON CAPITAL FLIGHT

Cristina & Macri’s pornographic obsession with the dollar

Yesterdat 08:38 Monetary debasement is a policy that every Argentine government since the return of democracy has collaborated with, and those “smart” enough to play the game have always stored their wealth as far as they can from Argentine pesos, Macri and Cristina included.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

The government is seeking an agreement with creditors on debt issued in dollars that falls under foreign legislation.

DEBT RESTRUCTURING TALKS

Government ‘optimistic’ debt deal with creditors will be agreed soon

Yesterdat 08:30 Guzmán warns against rumours in press, saying bondholders are “playing hard”; IMF once again breaks ground to offer support for Argentina’s debt restructuring efforts.

The world has spoken: demostrations against racism have gone pandemic.

EDITORIAL

From Minneapolis to Chaco and beyond

Yesterdat 08:24 The use of the word “pandemic” in the first sentence was quite deliberate. Racism is everywhere, including here in Argentina, with police brutality also in common.

Anti police brutality protest in the Unites States.

Guest voice

Anti-police brutality protests in the US: Why now and what to expect?

Yesterdat 08:10 The killing of George Floyd was the trigger that activated growing anger against the disproportionately heavy burden of both the coronavirus pandemic and Donald Trump’s administration.

by Omar Coronel Cuadros

Protesters have taken to streets across the United States to protest the killing of George Floyd.

KILLING OF GEORGE FLOYD

Grassroots US protesters take call for justice to streets

Yesterdat 08:00 Protests have erupted across the United States in the wake of the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer. With tensions running high, grassroots campaigners explain why they’ve taken to the streets and what they’re fighting for.

by Jennifer Heiman & Anina Hoffman

Coronavirus testing.

Coronavirus pandemic

Mayor confirms Necochea 'babyshower' newborn has coronavirus

05-06-2020 15:25 Newborn tests positive for coronavirus, but is otherwise in good health, according to officials. Her mother was infected with Covid-19 after attending babyshower party in Necochea.

President Alberto Fernández announces the extension of Argentina's "preventative and compulsory" lockdown at the Olivos presidential residence.

argentina

Lockdown extended until June 28, with 'two types of quarantine'

05-06-2020 03:15 President Fernández announces extension of lockdown for Buenos Aires metropolitan area and other areas of high Covid-19 contagion, with restrictions lifted and 'mandatory social distancing' introduced for most provinces.

The release of PRO's statement sparked an immediate backlash of criticism on the social networks.

SECURITY FORCES

PRO condemns institutional violence in statement

05-06-2020 01:49 Party of former president Mauricio Macri condemns actions of security forces and calls for "peace and security" – prompting an immediate backlash on social media.

The new species has been named Overoraptor chimentoi, explained Matias Motta, a researcher from the Argentine natural sciences museum.

Dino discovery

Argentine paleontologists discover new species of small carnivorous dinosaur

05-06-2020 01:32 The fossil remains, which measure less than a metre and a half in length, were discovered at a dig in Río Negro Province, the scientific dissemination agency from the La Matanza university said.

The national flag flies outside the Casa Rosada.

DEBT RESTRUCTURING

IMF remains 'hopeful' Argentina and creditors will agree debt deal

04-06-2020 16:48 "We are hopeful that an agreement can be reached that will restore the sustainability of the debt," IMF spokesperson Gerry Rice tells reporters.

In this April 27, 2005 file photo, Ecuador's former President Abdala Bucaram leaves the Foreign Ministery in Panama City, where he sought political asylum after fleeing his country amid massive protests that forced the ouster of President Lucio Gutierrez.

Ecuador corruption

Ex-Ecuador president Abdalá Bucaram detained in Covid-19 corruption raid

04-06-2020 14:09 Prosecutors in Ecuador carried out 37 raids Wednesday in Guayaquil and the capital of Quito, detaining 17 people suspected of overcharging for supplies, influence peddling and criminal organisation.

Images of injuries received by the victims at the hands of the police circulated on social media this week.

Assault, torture and sexual abuse

Chaco police officers removed from post after vicious attack on Qom family

04-06-2020 09:00 Shocking scenes go viral on social media of police officers assaulting members of the Qom indigenous community in the Chaco Province town of Fontana. Local authorities intervene, "removing" officers from service and placing them under investigation, amid widespread condemnation of attack.

China became Argentina's largest trading partner in April 2020.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

China overtook Brazil as Argentina's largest trading partner in April

04-06-2020 02:23 Argentina recorded a surplus of US$98 million with China in April, compared to a US$351 million deficit in the same month of the previous year, says CERA business chamber.

New series "El Presidente," brought to life by Argentine writer Armando Bo, arrives on Amazon Prime this Friday.

'El Presidente'

FIFA 'mafia' depicted in new Amazon Prime satire from Argentine creator

04-06-2020 01:44 New series "El Presidente," brought to life by Argentine writer Armando Bo, is a witheringly satirical take on the 2015 "Fifagate" corruption scandal. Oh, and it's 'narrated' by Julio Grondona, from beyond the grave...

Charly García.

ROCK NACIONAL ICON

Charly García discharged from hospital after five days of observation

04-06-2020 00:37 Legendary Argentine rocker released from hospital after "high fever and respiratory symptoms." Famed songwriter has not got Covid-19, hospital officials confirm, despite suffering from high fever.

In this image from video provided by My Brother's Keeper Alliance and The Obama Foundation, former US president Barack Obama speaks Wednesday, June 3, 2020, during a virtual town hall event with young people.

KILLING OF GEORGE FLOYD

Obama steps out as United States confronts confluence of crises

03-06-2020 23:15 Ex-US president was already beginning to emerge from political hibernation to endorse Joe Biden’s presidential bid – but now the protests sweeping the United States has changed the situation.

In this June 1, 2020 photo, US President Donald Trump departs the White House to visit outside St. John's Church in Washington.

KILLING OF GEORGE FLOYD

Pentagon-Trump clash breaks open over military and protests

03-06-2020 23:07 Pentagon chief shoots down president's controversial idea of using troops to quell protests across the United States, then reversed course on another request in an extraordinary clash between the US military and its commander in chief.

Quincy Mason, center, the son of George Floyd, and family attorney Ben Crump, left, kneel, Wednesday, June 3, 2020 as they visited the site of a memorial in Minneapolis where Floyd was arrested on May 25 and died while in police custody.

Killing of George Floyd

Three more officers charged in George Floyd’s death, world calls for justice

03-06-2020 17:46 Prosecutors charge US police officer accused of asphyxiating George Floyd with second-degree murder, with three others accused of aiding and abetting murder. Meanwhile, protesters in cities all over the world call for justice.

Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata coach, Diego Armando Maradona.

FOOTBALL IN ARGENTINA

Maradona extends contract with Gimnasia y Esgrima

03-06-2020 17:45 Maradona's previous contract was due to run out in August but news of the new deal came on the day the club, one of the oldest in Argentina, celebrated its 133rd birthday.

A man wearing a face mask amid the new coronavirus pandemic sings and prays during an overnight, Catholic religious procession in the San Agustín neighbourhood of Caracas, Venezuela.

CRISIS IN VENEZUELA

Virus forges rare accord among Venezuela's bitter rivals, Maduro and Guaidó

03-06-2020 16:04 One-page agreement, signed June 1 by Maduro's health minister and National Assembly representative, says both sides will work in coordination to find funds for fighting the coronavirus.

Argentina’s largest creditors have sent Alberto Fernández’s government new counter-offers in an effort to reach a US$65-billion restructuring deal in the coming week.

BLOOMBERG - OPINION

Good behaviour won't deliver Argentina from economic pain

03-06-2020 15:50 Argentina deserves debt relief, but also a credible way forward. The country still needs a path to growth, new investment and the prospect of fiscal reasonableness beyond the pandemic – and that is where the road map ends.

by Mac Margolis

President Alberto Fernández.

Congress

Fernández confirms government will impose one-off wealth tax

03-06-2020 15:09 President says the introduction of a capital levy would be a one-off “extraordinary measure." Lawmakers say bill would boost government coffers by between US$2.5 million and US$4 billion.

The blaze and explosion took the lives of two firefighters.

BUENOS AIRES

Two firefighters killed in perfume shop fire in Villa Crespo

02-06-2020 22:40 Two firefighters died and another 15 were wounded after two explosions in a perfume shop in Villa Crespo on Tuesday.

Buenos Aires City officials are studying how the quarantine period will advance.

Coronavirus pandemic

BA City government studying restart of ‘low-risk activities’

02-06-2020 19:33 City Hall considering the restart of 'low-risk' activities, but says decision depends on evolution of virus over next few days; Re-opening of some shops and approval for running at night under consideration.

The President of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) of Bolivia, Salvador Romero (C), accompanied by the TSE Vice-President Maria Angelica Ruiz (L) amd vocal Daniel Atahuichi, speaks during a press conference to announce that the general election that was delayed over the coronavirus pandemic will take place on September 6 following an agreement with political parties, in La Paz on June 2, 2020. The election -- called after the annulment of a controversial poll in October -- was originally due to take place on May 3 but was postponed indefinitely in March with Bolivia in virus lockdown.

BOLIVIAN POLITICAL CRISIS

Pandemic-delayed Bolivian election set for September 6

02-06-2020 18:54 The election – called after the annulment of a controversial poll in October – was originally due to take place on May 3 but was postponed indefinitely in March with Bolivia in virus lockdown.

A health professional wearing full PPE (personal protective equipment) as a precautionary measure against the novel coronavirus, passes information about a COVID-19 patient through a window at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Santa Casa hospital in Belo Horizonte, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, on June 1, 2020. The pandemic has killed 373,439 people worldwide since it surfaced in China late last year, according to an AFP tally at 1900 GMT on Monday, based on official sources. In a grim new landmark, infections in Latin America and the Caribbean surge past one million.

Global pandemic

WHO warns of pressure on Latin American health systems

02-06-2020 15:21 Four of the 10 countries showing the greatest number of new Covid-19 cases over the last 24 hours were in Latin America, the World Health Organisation's emergencies director Michael Ryan said.

People observe social distancing as they take part in a demonstration in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, June 2, 2020, to protest against the recent killing of George Floyd, police violence and institutionalized racism.

Killing of George Floyd

World outrage grows at Floyd's death, France bans protest

02-06-2020 15:11 Unrest grows throughout the globe, as protesters denounce racial inequality in the United States over death of George Floyd.

Dr. Juliana Cassataro together with scientists from the Unsam Biotechnological Research Institute.

Vaccine development

Argentina joins the world race to develop a coronavirus vaccine

02-06-2020 13:05 Argentine scientists take first steps in developing an oral formulation to prevent infection from SARS-CoV-2. It will be the first initiative of its kind in Latin America.

by Enrique Garabetyan

US President Donald Trump holds a Bible while visiting St. John's Church across from the White House after the area was cleared of people protesting the death of George Floyd, on June 1, 2020, in Washington, DC.

KILLING OF GEORGE FLOYD

Trump threatens to mobilise military as violent protests grip United States

01-06-2020 23:10 Autopsy concludes George Floyd – the man whose shocking death has set off nationwide unrest – was suffocated by a police officer, contradicting a preliminary ruling, as tensions soar in the United States.

Nursing homes have been a particular area of concern for the government.

Coronavirus pandemic

More than 50 residents at two care homes test positive for Covid-19

01-06-2020 23:00 Forty individuals at a care home in Colegiales have been infected, along with another 12 at an institution in San Cristóbal.

Pedestrians and commuters wearing face masks amid the new coronavirus pandemic crowd a sidewalk near a bus stop in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, June 1, 2020. After two and a half months of Covid-19 related quarantine, some industries are allowed to reactivate under a scheme of five days' work and 10 days rest.

Global pandemic

Latin America ignores Europe and reopens, as virus peak nears

01-06-2020 22:44 Most South American countries have begun easing Covid-19 restrictions even as the region hurtles toward its viral peak, disregarding the example set by European nations that were battered earlier by the virus.

Handout photo released by Economy Ministry shows Martín Guzmán during a during a livestream event hosted by the US Chamber of Commerce in Buenos Aires on May 19, 2020.

DEBT RESTRUCTURING

Government extends debt restructuring deadline, again, until June 12

01-06-2020 22:39 The government has extended its deadline to restructure more than US$65 billion debt for the third time in a bid to seal a deal with its creditors.

US President Donald Trump.

KILLING OF GEORGE FLOYD

As cities simmer in the United States, a leadership test for Trump

01-06-2020 16:34 After a sixth night of at times violent unrest that saw chaotic scenes unfold right outside the White House, US president still has no plans to deliver address to the nation.

The artist Celos paints a mural in Downtown Los Angeles on May 30, 2020 in protest against the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died while while being arrested and pinned to the ground by the knee of a Minneapolis police officer.

KILLING OF GEORGE FLOYD

George Floyd: Who was the 'gentle giant' killed in US police custody?

01-06-2020 16:20 The black man who left Houston for fresh beginnings in Minneapolis, only to end up begging for his life before dying under the knee of a white policeman, was a generous soul laid off during the coronavirus crisis, according to his family and friends.

Protesters demonstrate against the mandatory quarantine the Argentine government has imposed for more than 10 weeks at the Obelisk.

Coronavirus pandemic

Protesters rally in Buenos Aires to demand end of Covid-19 lockdown

01-06-2020 16:10 Approximately 1,000 people gathered at the Obelisk on Saturday in downtown Buenos Aires to call for an end to the mandatory quarantine that's been in force since March 20.

Roger Federer has been confirmed at the world's top earning athlete in 2019.

Sports and wealth

Federer tops list of world's highest-paid athletes, with Messi third

01-06-2020 15:40 Tennis superstar Roger Federer tops Forbes list after earning US$106.3 million before tax in 2019. Argentina skipper Lionel Messi comes in at third with US$104 million, just behind Cristiano Ronaldo.

Police clash with demonstrators during a protest against fascism, President Jair Bolsonaro and to defend democracy in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sunday, May 31, 2020. Police used tear gas to disperse anti-government protesters in Brazil's largest city as they began to clash with small groups of demonstrators loyal to President Jair Bolsonaro.

BRAZIL UNDER BOLSONARO

Police disperse anti-Bolsonaro protesters in Brazil

01-06-2020 15:39 Police used tear gas to disperse protesters who gathered to march against President Jair Bolsonaro in São Paulo on Sunday, as well as in "Black Lives Matter" protests that took place Rio de Janeiro.

Pigeons take advantage of the lack of people in the Plaza de Mayo, with the Casa Rosada behind.

DEBT RESTRUCTURING

IMF backs Argentina's debt offer, saying only 'limited scope' to improve it

01-06-2020 15:21 IMF makes another public push to support the government’s debt restructuring offer, saying there's here’s little room to further increase payments to private creditors.

Hospital Perrondo.

Coronavirus pandemic

14-year-old girl from Chaco becomes Argentina’s youngest Covid-19 victim

01-06-2020 15:07 14-year-old girl from Chaco Province, who reportedly suffered from auto-immune disease, becomes Argentina's youngest victim yet from global pandemic.

Aerolineas Argentinas is committed to weathering the crisis without any layoffs for its 12,000 employees, according to the airline’s president Pablo Ceriani.

Bloomberg

Government to spend over US$880 million to prop up Aerolíneas Argentinas

01-06-2020 13:56 President of state airline, Pablo Ceriani, says budget shortfalls – which totalled US$680 million last year – will persist until demands rebounds in 2022, though no redundancies are on the cards.

Demonstrators protest the death of George Floyd, Sunday, May 31, 2020, near the White House in Washington. Floyd died after being restrained by Minneapolis police officers.

KILLING OF GEORGE FLOYD

United States heads into a new week shaken by violence and pandemic

01-06-2020 08:46 Protests triggered by the death of George Floyd, a black man who died after he was pinned at the neck by a white Minneapolis police officer sparks anger and demonstrations across the country.

Relatives bury the coffin of a suspected COVID-19 victim at the Nueva Esperanza cemetery, one of the largest in Latin America, in the southern outskirts of Lima on May 30, 2020.

Global pandemic

Number of coronavirus cases worldwide tops six million

31-05-2020 08:20 Latin American countries are bracing for difficult weeks ahead as the disease spreads rapidly across the region, even as much of the world exits lockdowns that have wrecked economies and stripped millions of their jobs.

Latam airlines planes sit on the tarmac at Santiago International Airport, in Santiago on May 26,2020.

TRAVEL & TOURISM

Latin America's stricken airlines facing long haul to recovery

31-05-2020 08:11 IATA aviation body estimates it will take at least that time for the region's airlines to inch back to their pre-pandemic level for domestic and regional flights. Long-haul services to the United States and Europe will take until 2024 to come back, it predicts.

Interior Minister, Eduardo Enrique “Wado” de Pedro.

MINISTRY POSITIONS

Interior now rhymes with inferior

30-05-2020 10:49 Congress was Eduardo Enrique “Wado” de Pedro main training-ground, where he developed an image as the least abrasive of the La Cámpora leaders. He has mellowed considerably since his extreme youth when in 1997.

by Michael Soltys

Cristina´s evergrowing power in government decisions.

AS I SEE IT

Under cover of darkness

30-05-2020 10:43 Alberto has shown no signs of wanting to be his own man, whoever he may be. Far from rebelling against Cristina’s tutelage, he seems afraid to do anything that might displease her.

by James Neilson

Celeste Basaez was on a residency at a hospital in Barcelona, when Covid-19 hit Spain.

GLOBAL PANDEMIC

‘I chose to stay’ – Argentine med student details life on Spain’s Covid-19 frontline

30-05-2020 10:35 When the coronavirus pandemic hit, third-year med student Celeste Basaez, on residency in Barcelona, had a choice: head home or join her hospital’s fight on the frontlines against Covid-19.

by James Francis Whitehead

Economy Minister Martín Guzmán, pictured at his office inside the Economy Ministry in downtown Buenos Aires.

ECONOMY DEBT RESTRUCTURING

Argentina eyes new IMF programme in 2020

30-05-2020 10:25 Guzmán said that the new programme would focus on stabilising Argentina’s economy, which has been gripped by recession for two years.

Lacalle Pou in quarantine.

GLOBAL PANDEMIC

Uruguayan President Lacalle Pou heads into quarantine

30-05-2020 10:16 Uruguayan president heads into quarantine after attending meeting with someone with a confirmed diagnosis of Covid-19.

Trump severes ties with World Health Organisation.

GLOBAL PANDEMIC

Trump says the United States will cut ties with WHO

30-05-2020 10:04 Move likely to spark dismay, especially in other parts of the world where the coronavirus outbreak has yet to reach its peak.

Health controls in villas.

THE LAST SEVEN DAYS

May 23 - May 30: What we learned this week

30-05-2020 09:54 Noticeable stories from the last seven days in Argentina.

The size of the state and the uncertainty principle.

EDITORIAL

When the solution is the problem

30-05-2020 09:44 No country in the world can envisage the post-pandemic world with any clarity but, at the risk of going down the long-trodden road of Argentine exceptionalism, perhaps no nation carries uncertainty to the same extremes as here.

Measuring the temperature of Alberto Fernandez before entering to Misiones House of Government in Posadas, Misiones.

CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

Pandemic will peak in Argentina ‘at end of June,’ says minister

30-05-2020 09:35 Health Ministry officials confirm 717 new infections, taking total confirmed cases above 15,000. To date, 520 fatalities have been recorded from Covid-19.

The debt clock of new offers is ticking down for Economy Minister Martín Guzmán.

DEBT RESTRUCTURING

Government puts new offer on table as debt talks heat up

30-05-2020 09:26 Argentina’s dollar bonds jump as government makes new offer, rejects another. Guzmán warns, however, that there's still "an important way to go" before deal is reached.

Complainers will complain.

POLITICS & THE PANDEMIC

Lockdown: complainers will complain

30-05-2020 09:16 The debt drama will escalate if the talks fail to make progress and some bondholders decide to accelerate the situation, which could see them eventually taking the republic to court in the middle of a pandemic that is crippling for the economy.

by Martín Gambarotta

Judicial reforms will accelerate in coming days and weeks as the “new normal” of Covid-19 gives way to “the usual” political agenda. This is past policy adopted by previous governments.

SPIES AND LIES

Once again, time is going backwards

30-05-2020 09:09 Alberto’s Frente de Todos coalition is walking in his predecessor’s footsteps, perpetuating the never-ending cycle of institutional reform of the Judiciary and the intelligence agencies.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

Barra violence doesn´t stop with pandemic virus.

HOOLIGAN VIOLENCE

Barra violence continues in Argentina – with or without football

30-05-2020 08:58 Failed assasination attempt on Boca hooligan Marcelo ‘El Manco’ Aravena shows that not even a global pandemic and the cancellation of matches can stop barra violence.

by Dan Edwards

GGG.

FEATURE-LENGTH INTERVIEW

Ginés González García: ‘This is not a dictatorship of the infectologists’

30-05-2020 08:34 Three-time health minister, veteran doctor and specialist in public healthcare, Ginés González García is leading the country’s fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. In an interview with Jorge Fontevecchia, he discusses the lockdown, the hunt for a vaccine and what comes next for Argentina.

by Jorge Fontevecchia

Economy Minister Martín Guzmán, pictured at his office inside the Economy Ministry in downtown Buenos Aires.

DEBT RESTRUCTURING

Government, creditors move closer to a deal as deadline looms

30-05-2020 08:29 While still at odds over several key issues, the latest changes in the proposals by the government and two groups of creditors published Thursday signal the difference between both sides is narrowing.

In this file photo US President Donald Trump speaks during the daily briefing on the novel coronavirus, which causes COVID-19, in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, DC on April 20, 2020.

Global pandemic

Trump says United States is 'terminating' relationship with WHO

29-05-2020 18:12 Trump accuses Geneva-based WHO of being a "puppet" of China, and said the funding freeze would become permanent unless it made "substantive improvements."

Mauricio Macri pauses during a press conference after the primary elections last year

FORMER PRESIDENT

Macri, ex-spy agency chiefs face probe over alleged illegal espionage

29-05-2020 16:47 Former president Mauricio Macri indicted as part of investigation into claims more than 80 individuals – including journalists and politicians – were victims of illegal espionage from AFI spy agency during his 2015-2019 government.

Incoming Central Bank chief Miguel Angel Pesce.

BLOOMBERG

Argentina would ease currency controls if debt talks are successful

29-05-2020 14:56 Central Bank leaders implemented new controls Thursday night, restricting companies’ access to the foreign exchange market to pay for obligations overseas in dollars or other currencies.

Why is Uruguay beating Latin America’s coronavirus curse?

BLOOMBERG - OPINION

Why is Uruguay beating Latin America’s coronavirus curse?

29-05-2020 13:10 Stricken neighbours take note – Uruguay has not only contained the outbreak, it has done so without a lockdown, harsh quarantines or heavy-handed policing.

by Mac Margolis

Hernaldo Gutíerrez, wearing a protective face mask, waits in line to receive free fruits and vegetables from produce vendors who are donating their time and products to those facing hardship because of lost income due to the new coronavirus pandemic, in Quillicura, on the outskirts of Santiago, Chile, Wednesday, April 29, 2020.

Global pandemic

Disease that began among rich shifts to Latin America's poor

29-05-2020 13:04 The virus, initially brought to the region largely by wealthy citizens or visitors coming from Europe and the United States, is now increasingly concentrated in poorer neighbourhoods, where residents have few means of protecting themselves.

View of the Obelisk during the lockdown imposed by the government against the spread of the new coronavirus, Covid-19, in Buenos Aires, on May 26, 2020.

DEBT RESTRUCTURING

Government improves debt offer, rejects counter-proposal

29-05-2020 02:41 Debt talks heat up: Government rejects one offer then makes another, offering to trim payment moratorium to two years instead of three. Guzmán says there's still "an important way to go" before a deal will be reached.

Renovation works are carried out on a street in Buenos Aires City, during the coronavirus pandemic.

BLOOMBERG

Creditors submit new debt offer as deadline draws closer

28-05-2020 23:36 Two bondholder groups jointly submit proposal that focuses on providing the country with front-loaded cash flow relief in excess of US$36 billion over nine years.

Economy Minister Martin Guzmán.

DEBT RESTRUCTURING TALKS

Argentina aiming to sign new IMF programme in 2020, says Guzmán

28-05-2020 23:30 "It is something that is going to happen in the course of 2020," says Economy Minister Martín Guzmán.

The federal capital in quarantine.

Coronavirus pandemic

Lockdown in Buenos Aires could last 'another 6 to 10 weeks'

28-05-2020 17:30 City Government Cabinet Chief Felipe Miguel implies quarantine period could last until late July, start of August.

Workers wearing protective gear lower the casket of a Covid-19 victim at the Vila Formosa cemetery in São Paulo, Brazil, on Wednesday, April 29, 2020. Brazilians are resuming a measure of normal life just as Covid-19 deaths are spiking to hundreds per day, turning their country into a global hotspot.

Global pandemic

Latin America now accounts for roughly 40% of daily coronavirus deaths

28-05-2020 13:39 The statistics are chilling: Brazil has more cases than any country except the United States and some models forecast that deaths, currently at 25,000, could more than quadruple in coming months.

A man in Colombia uses the Coronapp application in Medellín. The activation of this App is a mandatory requirement to enter the three shopping malls allowed to reopen on May 25 in Medellín, as part of a tryout pilot programme that hopes to activate economic activities after the lockdown.

Coronavirus pandemic

Virus apps expose tension between privacy and need for data

28-05-2020 00:48 Track-and-trace technology is being touted as a silver bullet that will allow economies to reopen and people to emerge from home confinement, but many fear personal data will be abused for political or commercial gain – and even outright oppression in authoritarian states.

A man looks out the window of his house at the Villa 1-11-14 shantytown during the lockdown imposed by the government against the spread of the new coronavirus on May 26, 2020.

Coronavirus pandemic

Argentina's coronavirus death toll reaches 500

28-05-2020 00:31 Over the last 24 hours, 10 new fatalities and 706 infections were registered in Argentina. Health Minister Ginés González García, leading fight against pandemic in country, spends night in hospital after experiencing numbness in left arm, but condition is not related to virus.

Doctors protest demanding greater availability of PPE during the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic and for a wage increase in Buenos Aires, on May 27, 2020

CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

Doctors rally for better wages and protection during pandemic

28-05-2020 00:07 Protest at the Obelisk sees dozens of doctors demand better wages and greater availability of personal protective equipment.

Handout photo released by Buenos Aires Province Government shows the inside of a Toyota factory in Zárate, Buenos Aires Province, on May 27, 2020 during the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic.

BLOOMBERG

Argentina's primary deficit balloons amid coronavirus lockdown

27-05-2020 23:52 Argentina's primary deficit soared in April as the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic forced the government to introduce fiscal stimulus and income slumped.

A government medical worker, in a joint operation with military police, checks a passenger on a boat in the Melgaco bay, southwest of the island of Marajo, Para state, Brazil, on May 27, 2020. People onboard small boats, ferries and ships on the river had their body temperature checked as authorities try to combat the new coronavirus.

Global pandemic

Brazil tops 25,000 virus deaths

27-05-2020 22:54 Health Ministry confirms 1,086 new deaths in the past 24 hours, lifting death toll to above 25,000.

This handout pictured made available by FC Barcelona shows Barcelona's Argentine star Lionel Messi (centre) and teammates attending a training session at the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper in Sant Joan Despi on May 25, 2020.

FOOTBALL & CORONAVIRUS

Messi looking forward eagerly to 'weird' La Liga restart

27-05-2020 16:37 Messi, who after a few weeks confined like the rest of Spain by the coronavirus pandemic, is training with Barca again ahead of a planned resumption of La Liga behind closed doors on the weekend on June 12.

Paul Singer in 2016, owner of Elliott Management Corporation, one of the main "Vulture Fund" in litigation with Argentina

BLOOMBERG

Default prompts a Paul Singer sequel in credit default swap decision

27-05-2020 16:30 Paul Singer's investment firm Elliott Management Corp is one of 14 companies that will decide whether credit-default swaps were triggered by last week’s failure to meet a payment deadline.

Handout photo released by the Presidency shows President Alberto Fernández (centre) and Buenos Aires Province Governor Axel Kicillof (second left) posing with employees from the Toyota production plant in Zárate on May 27, 2020.

Coronavirus pandemic

Automobile industry restarts production with limited shifts

27-05-2020 16:26 Sector returns to work after receiving authorisation from the government to restart production with limited shift patterns.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.

Bloomberg

New York lawmakers’ last-minute move may cost Argentina dearly

27-05-2020 15:29 Investors could sue the country for full repayment if debt restructuring discussions turn sour, and that’s when an expensive quirk of New York state law could become a big problem.

Just seven properties were sold in April, amid the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Just seven properties were sold in Buenos Aires City in April

27-05-2020 15:05 Just seven properties were sold in the capital last month amid the coronavirus lockdown – a 99.7 percent drop in comparison with the same month last year.

Workers disinfect a stairway in attempt to help contain the spread of the new coronavirus, in La Paz, Bolivia. Even amid a global pandemic, there’s no sign that corruption is slowing down in Latin America. Perhaps the biggest case is in Bolivia, where the health minister was arrested amid allegations that officials bought 170 ventilators at inflated prices.

Corruption

Spread of coronavirus fuels corruption in Latin America

27-05-2020 13:20 Even amid a global pandemic, there’s no sign that corruption is slowing down in Latin America. Perhaps the biggest case is in Bolivia, where the health minister was arrested amid allegations that officials bought 170 ventilators at inflated prices.

Aerial view of Villa 31, one of the largest slums in Buenos Aires, taken on May 23, 2020 during the Covid-19 novel coronavirus pandemic.

RATINGS AGENCIES

S&P, Fitch officially lists Argentina as in default

27-05-2020 00:34 Argentina’s ninth default on external debt is now official after Fitch and S&P cut bond ratings to default status.

Workers carry a bag with the body of a Covid-19 victim out of a refrigerated container before its cremation at the El Angel crematorium, in Lima on May 21, 2020.

Global pandemic

Peru reports record daily surge in virus cases

27-05-2020 00:05 Peru's Health Ministry said 5,772 new cases had been confirmed in the previous 24 hours, bringing the overall number to 129,751.

Children from the Educandos riverside community play during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic in Manaus, Brazil on May 26, 2020. The Nossa Senhora Perpetuo Socorro church has been handing out masks to impoverished members of its community to assist in the fight against the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Global pandemic

Brazil leads daily global virus death toll for fifth straight day

27-05-2020 00:04 Brazil reported the highest daily Covid-19 death toll in the world Tuesday with 1,039 people killed, the fifth straight day the country has topped the list.

BLOOMBERG

Government struggles to stop precious dollars draining away

26-05-2020 16:18 Foreign currency reserves dropped to a four-year low last week, totalling less than they did when the International Monetary Fund started its mega-loan programme with Argentina in 2018.

This image, allegedly taken from video at one of the weddings, circulated on social media on Monday.

QUARANTINE BREACH

Eight arrested after police raid orthodox Jewish wedding in Once

26-05-2020 16:07 Eight people – the bridal couple, the rabbi and five of the 150 guests, including the parents of the couple and the best man – were arrested by police after breaching quarantine to host wedding.

Same-sex newlyweds Alexandra Quiros (L) and Dunia Araya (R) pose during their wedding in Heredia, Costa Rica, on May 26, 2020. Costa Rica legalised same-sex marriage on May 26, becoming the first Central American country to do so and sparking an emotional response from rights campaigners as the first weddings were held overnight.

SAME-SEX MARRIAGE

Costa Rica legalises same-sex marriage in first for Central America

26-05-2020 15:53 Celebrations were cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic, but a special programme about LGBT rights was broadcast on public television and online after a court ruling came into force at midnight.

On 25 de Mayo, around 150 protesters demonstrated in the Plaza de Mayo, holding up signs carrying slogans such as "Freedom", "No to the new world order" and "We want to work."

Coronavirus pandemic

First anti-lockdown protest takes place in Buenos Aires

26-05-2020 15:41 Around 150 demonstrators rallied at the Plaza de Mayo on the 25 de Mayo holiday, protesting the lockdown introduced to tackle the coronavirus pandemic and the halt in economic activity.

A pedestrian wearing a protective mask walks in front of the Casa Rosada in Buenos Aires.

BLOOMBERG

Argentine bonds rise after default as investors await deal

26-05-2020 15:04 Bonds due in 2036 climb 2.3 cents to 33.2 cents on the dollar. Famed century bond follows suit, jumping 3.3 cents to also trade at 33 cents.