News of economy

Juan Manzur poses for a photograph in Buenos Aires City in August 2021.

President caves to Fernández de Kirchner in Cabinet reshuffling

Yesterdat 07:43 Appointments come just a day after Fernández de Kirchner called for an overhaul of the Cabinet in an open letter that blamed the president for poor results in last Sunday's PASO primaries.

Handout picture released by the Presidency shows President Alberto Fernández (right) participating in a virtual meeting with US President Joe Biden during the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate to galvanise efforts to confront the global climate crisis, in Buenos Aires, on September 17, 2021.

THE WEEK IN REVIEW

What we learned this week: September 11 to 18

17-09-2021 22:06 A selection of stories that caught our eye over the last seven days in Argentina...

Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, poses for a photograph at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday, January 23, 2020.

BLOOMBERG

IMF chief risks weakened authority after China-linked probe

17-09-2021 15:03 Kristalina Georgieva risks seeing her authority as head of the International Monetary Fund undermined, after being accused of influencing a report in China’s favour when she worked at the World Bank.

Economy Minister Martin Guzmán and President Alberto Fernández greet each other.

2022 BUDGET

Government forecasts 33% inflation, 4% growth in 2022 Budget

17-09-2021 14:07 Economy Minister Martín Guzmán meets deadline, submitting Budget bill to Congress at the last possible moment in the dead of night, as crisis raged in the ruling coalition.

CLIMATE CHANGE

Biden urges 'highest' ambition at UN climate summit

17-09-2021 13:39 President Alberto Fernández joins US President Joe Biden for virtual meeting designed to galvanise efforts to confront the global climate crisis.

President Alberto Fernandez (right) and Vice-President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.

CRISIS GRIPS GOVERNMENT

Crisis deepens as Fernández de Kirchner blasts president

17-09-2021 10:45 Vice-President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner has slammed President Alberto Fernández in an open letter, heightening the political crisis that has roiled the government since it lost an election Sunday.

A woman shops at a supermarket in Buenos Aires.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Inflation slowed to 2.5% in August, but still expected to clear 48% this year

17-09-2021 10:39 Prices have increased 32.3% so far in 2021, according to official data, and by 51.4% over last 12 months.

Aerial view of people protesting against on Avenida 9 de Julio, in Buenos Aires, on September 16, 2021.

Social unrest

Tens of thousands march for jobs in Buenos Aires

16-09-2021 22:44 Tens of thousands of people marched in the nation's capital on Thursday, demanding improvements to their economic lot as Argentina's economic turmoil continues.

Alberto Fernández and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.

POST-PASO FALLOUT

Fernández de Kirchner blasts president over ‘catastrophic’ loss

16-09-2021 21:26 Vice-President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner slammed President Alberto Fernández in an open letter on Thursday, heightening the extraordinary political crisis that has gripped the ruling Frente de Todos coalition.

DEBT TALKS

IMF ‘committed’ to reaching agreement with Argentina

16-09-2021 17:23 International Monetary Fund (IMF) is "committed" to reaching an agreement with Argentina, says spokesperson.

BUDGET 2022

Argentina's 2022 Budget sees primary deficit falling to 3.3%

16-09-2021 10:24 Budget bill, presented to the Chamber of Deputies just before midnight on Wednesday, forecasts inflation reaching 33% in 2022.

POST-PASO FALLOUT

Crisis grips Argentina's government, exposing split in ruling coalition

15-09-2021 21:49 Crisis broke out at rapid speed on Wednesday, as a flurry of resignations, urgent meetings and private phone calls laid bare a deep split in the ruling Frente de Todos coalition.

by James Grainger

President Alberto Fernández announces an extension of Covid-19 measures.

Bloomberg

Argentina 2022 Budget bill assumes an IMF deal, Fernández says

15-09-2021 17:42 First draft of next year's budget bill will be sent to Congress on Wednesday and it assumes the country will reach an agreement with the International Monetary Fund to refinance its record US$45-billion debt.

Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and Alberto Fernández.

Bloomberg

Cabinet revolt puts Fernández in political crisis

15-09-2021 17:33 Vice President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner’s closest allies in the Cabinet offered to resign on Wednesday, amid mounting political pressure on President Alberto Fernández’s government.t.

Interior Minister Eduardo 'Wado' de Pedro talks to the media during PASO primaries election night.

POST-PASO FALLOUT

Interior Minister Eduardo 'Wado' de Pedro offers resignation, others set to follow

15-09-2021 14:25 Interior Minister Eduardo ‘Wado’ de Pedro offers resignation to President Alberto Fernández; As many as four other Cabinet officials also expected to quit.

BLOOMBERG

Priciest food since 1970s is a big challenge for governments

15-09-2021 10:41 Governments across the world know that rising food costs can come with a political price. The dilemma is whether they can do enough to prevent having to pay it.

President Alberto Fernández talks to the press after casting his vote in the PASO primaries.

BLOOMBERG

Argentina to boost welfare payments ahead of November midterms

14-09-2021 17:26 Measures are likely to include an increase to minimum social security payments and aid to low-income parents.

Shoppers at a supermarket in Buenos Aires.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Monthly inflation cools more than expected to 2.5%

14-09-2021 17:21 Consumer prices rose 2.5 percent in August from a month earlier, the lowest level since July 2020.

POST-PASO FALLOUT

Guzmán's position as economy minister not at risk, despite PASO defeat

14-09-2021 17:08 Government sources insist that results of PASO primaries show that blame needs to be shared around and assure that economy minister will remain in place.

by Fernando Nolé

President Alberto Fernández greets children at an event in Almirante Brown, Buenos Aires Province.

POST-PASO FALLOUT

Casa Rosada draws up post-PASO measures, no plans for reshuffle

14-09-2021 16:52 Fernández administration drawing up host of measures designed to boost consumption and improve purchasing power.

President Alberto Fernández arrives at a polling station in Puerto Madero to cast his vote in the 2021 PASO primaries.

PASO PRIMARIES 2021

Fernández administration enters its most challenging period yet

14-09-2021 16:05 Following poor results in last Sunday's PASO primaries, the margin for a Frente de Todos comeback looks slim.

Tabata Amaral is a rising star in Brazil’s political landscape, where women account for only 15 percent of the nation’s congressional seats.

BLOOMBERG

Gender quotas fail to boost women in Latin American politics

14-09-2021 13:22 The progress of women in politics has stalled in one of the world's most economically unequal places.

The World Bank headquarters in Washington, DC, USA, May 20, 2021.

BLOOMBERG

Debt load threatens Latin America jobs recovery, World Bank says

14-09-2021 12:06 Latin America’s heavily-indebted corporations are likely to delay rehiring workers during the recovery from last year’s slump, according to the World Bank.

People use the Salvadoran government's electronic wallet Chivo, after bitcoins were put into circulation throughout the country as legal currency, in Sensuntepeque, El Salvador, on September 9, 2021. The Salvadoran government created the electronic wallet Chivo app so that Salvadorans abroad can send remittances to their relatives without paying transfer agency fees.

CRYPTOCURRENCIES

El Salvador president says half a million using new bitcoin wallet

14-09-2021 11:56 There are now more than half a million people using El Salvador's bitcoin wallet, President Nayib Bukele said Monday.

President Alberto Fernández poses outside the Moncloa Palace in Madrid on May 11, 2021, during his recent European tour.

PASO 2021: OPINION & ANALYSIS

Facing up to defeat

14-09-2021 10:09 The defeat was logical enough, but in Argentina, the logical does not always happen.

by Rosendo Fraga

President Alberto Fernández exits a helicopter with First Lady Fabiola Yáñez near the Casa Rosada, the morning after defeat in the PASO primaries.

MARKET REACTION

Argentine bonds, stocks gain after vote signals change ahead

13-09-2021 21:00 Prices for the government’s most traded dollar-denominated bond jumped almost four percent to the highest since January, while the cost to insure its debt against default fell to a three-week low. The Global X MSCI Argentina exchange-traded fund added 2.2 percent.

Argentines went to polling stations across the country on Sunday to cast their votes in the PASO primary legislative elections, September 12, 2021.

BLOOMBERG

Argentina’s US$45-billion IMF talks hit by Fernández election loss

13-09-2021 16:29 The Argentine government’s election loss on Sunday weakens Economy Minister Martin Guzmán’s negotiating power with the International Monetary Fund, according to one of the nation’s former representatives with the Fund.

BLOOMBERG

IMF taps Credit Suisse’s Goldfajn for Western Hemisphere role

13-09-2021 15:09 International Monetary Fund taps Ilan Goldfajn, chairman of Credit Suisse Group AG in Brazil and a former Central Bank president in that country, to lead its Western Hemisphere Department.

Cattle graze on a free-range ranch in Rosario, Argentina, on Friday, June 4, 2021.

ENVIRONMENT

Study: Animal-based food generates nearly twice the emissions as plant

13-09-2021 13:47 Animal farming accounts for twice as many greenhouse gas emissions as plants grown for consumption, according to a study published Monday that mapped agricultural activities worldwide.

Voters wait in line to cast ballots outside of a polling station during the primary elections in Buenos Aires on Sunday, September 12, 2021.

BLOOMBERG

Bonds rally on opposition gains in primary vote

13-09-2021 11:22 Argentine bonds rose on Monday morning after opposition candidates performed better than expected in the PASO primary elections.

President Alberto Fernández delivers a speech from the Frente de Todos bunker in Chacarita after the government's loss in the PASO primaries.

ELECTIONS 2021: PASO PRIMARIES

Fernández admits to 'errors' as he reacts to PASO loss

13-09-2021 01:10 "Evidently, we have not done something right” – President Alberto Fernández faces up to a defeat in Sunday’s PASO primaries.

President Alberto Fernández and candidate for deputy representing Buenos Aires Province Victoria Tolosa Paz.

Bloomberg

Frente de Todos dealt big blow in primary election

13-09-2021 00:26 Argentina’s ruling coalition dealt a big blow in primary election serving as early test for President Alberto Fernández government’s two years into office.

President Alberto Fernandez casts his vote during the PASO primary legislative elections, in Buenos Aires City on September 12, 2021.

ELECTIONS 2021: PASO PRIMARIES

Voters deal setback to Alberto Fernández's government

13-09-2021 00:12 Voters in Argentina’s PASO primaries dealt a strong setback to President Alberto Fernández and his government on Sunday.

President Alberto Fernández speaks to members of the media after casting a ballot at a polling station during the primary elections in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Sunday, September 12, 2021.

BLOOMBERG – ANALYSIS

The PASO primaries could be a non-event – or a game changer

12-09-2021 19:06 Primary election will serve as early test on the political strength of President Alberto Fernández’s ruling coalition.

Cinthia Fernández made waves outside Congress this week with a viral video.

THE WEEK IN REVIEW

What we learned this week: September 4 to 11

11-09-2021 15:22 A selection of the stories that caught our eye over the last seven days in Argentina.

ELECTIONS 2021: PASO PRIMARIES

What’s at stake in Argentina’s PASO primaries?

10-09-2021 14:12 Argentines take to the polls on September 12 in a PASO primary vote that will measure the political strength of the federal Peronist government and the opposition ahead of midterm elections on November 14.

Travellers will certify their vaccination record when overseas using ‘Mi Argentina’ app, the government has announced.

TRAVEL & TOURISM

Vaccination will be certified via 'Mi Argentina' app while overseas

10-09-2021 02:19 Travellers will certify their vaccination record when overseas using ‘Mi Argentina’ app, says government.

Images from the final days of campaigning ahead of the PASO primaries.

ELECTIONS 2021: PASO PRIMARIES

Government, opposition ramp up rhetoric in final days of campaigning

09-09-2021 17:00 President Alberto Fernández closes the Frente de Todos campaign by telling voters that the ‘worst of the pandemic is over’; Opposition hopefuls, led by María Eugenia Vidal in the capital, adopt a strong anti-government tone.

BLOOMBERG

In home of Malbec, eyes turn toward idled US$5-billion potash mine

09-09-2021 14:52 Mendoza Province in talks with some of world’s top producers of potash to revive Río Colorado mine.

BLOOMBERG – ANALYSIS

The problem with Latin America’s rate hikes: they barely work

09-09-2021 14:25 From Brazil to Mexico, banks tighten faster than global peers; Unstable politics and off-the-books economies limit the impact

CULTURE

Funding gap forces British Council to scale back

09-09-2021 14:12 The British Council, which promotes UK cultural and language relations overseas, will scale back its work in 20 countries due to a pandemic funding shortfall. Offices in a number of nations to be shuttered, including Chile and Uruguay, according to reports.

MERCOSUR TENSIONS

Lacalle Pou: Uruguay and China in talks over bilateral free-trade deal

08-09-2021 16:28 Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou says his government is “in a hurry” to close a FTA with China – a development that’s sure to increase tensions with other Mercosur member states.

In this file photo taken on February 28, 2021 Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele delivers a press conference at a hotel in San Salvador.

CRYPTOCURRENCIES

In world first, bitcoin becomes legal tender in El Salvador

07-09-2021 08:39 El Salvador officially becomes the first country in the world to accept bitcoin as legal tender.

Bloomberg

Argentina needs 10-year plan for IMF deal, says Vidal

06-09-2021 21:44 Argentina needs a long-term plan to stabilise its battered economy and a decade-long program with the International Monetary Fund can help achieve that goal, says María Eugenia Vidal.

President Alberto Fernández speaks at a campaign event in Chaco.

ELECTIONS 2021: PASO PRIMARIES

Fernández: Clear choice between 'two models' in upcoming elections

06-09-2021 15:36 President Alberto Fernández declares in op-ed that citizens face a stark choice between “two models” at the ballot box next Sunday.

President Jair Bolsonaro has urged Brazilians to come out in force on Tuesday to show their support for his government. It’s shaping up to be an all-or-nothing gauge of his chances of re-election that has Brazil bracing for potential clashes.

BRAZIL UNDER BOLSONARO

Brazil on edge as Bolsonaro tells his base to take to the streets

06-09-2021 13:54 President Jair Bolsonaro has urged Brazilians to come out in force on Tuesday to show their support for his government. It’s shaping up to be an all-or-nothing gauge of his chances of re-election.

The Paraná, South America's second-longest river, has dropped to its lowest level since the 1940s, baffling experts and leaving environmentalists concerned.

ECONOMY & ENVIRONMENT

Paraná river at historic low: natural cycle or climate change?

04-09-2021 10:52 South America's second-longest river has dropped to its lowest level since the 1940s, baffling experts and leaving environmentalists concerned.

GUEST VOICE

The challenge of reducing the gap between exchange rates

04-09-2021 10:39 Continuing the current chasm is a recipe threatening economic revival and halting investments.

by Miguel Kiguel

A woman sunbathes next to the Paraná River.

THE WEEK IN REVIEW

What we learned this week: August 29 to September 4

04-09-2021 10:05 A selection of stories that caught our eye over the last seven days in Argentina.

President Alberto Fernández (right) and French President Emmanuel Macron, pictured during their last meeting in May 2021.

EU-MERCOSUR DEAL

Macron says France 'will continue' to oppose EU-Mercosur trade deal

03-09-2021 21:31 French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday that Paris maintains its opposition to the trade agreement agreed between the European Union and Mercosur.

Aerial view of raspachin (coca leaf collector) Karen Palacios and her daughter working at a coca field in the mountains of El Patía municipality, Cauca department, Colombia, on May 5, 2021.

LONG READ

Colombia's illicit coca economy helps communities thrive

03-09-2021 00:01 In the mountains and jungles of southwestern Colombia, peasants and migrantstoil determinedly in fields of coca despite the dangers and persecution they suffer.

NO AGREEMENT

Top food firm Molino Cañuelas files for bankruptcy

02-09-2021 16:43 Molino Cañuelas, one of Argentina's leading food producers, has filed for bankruptcy proceedings after years of disputes with creditors.

Lomas de Zamora surrogate judge Luis Armella on Wednesday enjoined Karina Moyano, daughter of veteran trade unionist Hugo Moyano, to hand over to the courtroom 600,000 pesos and US$434,000 within the framework of money-laundering charges.

COURTS

Court tells daughter of Hugo Moyano to return cash seized in raid

01-09-2021 20:22 Judge tells Karina Moyano, daughter of veteran trade unionist Hugo Moyano, to hand over 600,000 pesos and US$434,000 within the framework of money-laundering and drug-trafficking probe.

Bloomberg

Argentina's stocks rally as opposition gains ground on Fernández

01-09-2021 18:08 Argentine stocks are jumping amid growing speculation that allies of President Alberto Fernández are poised for a poor showing in midterm elections scheduled for November.

An employee inspects computers used to mine Bitcoins at the mining showroom of the Doctorminer company in Caracas on August 18, 2021.

CRYPTOCURRENCIES

Cheap electricity a boon for bitcoin mining in cash-strapped Venezuela

01-09-2021 12:55 In crisis-stricken Venezuela, crypto mining presents an economic opportunity for a lucky few, made possible by one of the world's lowest electricity prices.

DEBT SWAP DEAL

Buenos Aires Province scares creditors into accepting bond restructuring

31-08-2021 15:41 La Plata announced Monday that it had managed to restructure almost all its US$7.1 billion of defaulted debt, swapping it for new securities valued at just over 50 cents on the dollar. But some creditors say in practical terms they had no other choice than to accept the deal.

BEEF EXPORTS

Government extends beef export limits, producers threaten response

31-08-2021 15:23 Argentina’s government on Tuesday extended beef export restrictions until the end of October, prompting an angry response from producers.

Mercedes D'Alessandro, Argentina's national director of gender, equality and economy, speaks during an interview in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Wednesday, August 25, 2021.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Argentina’s women left behind in post-pandemic jobs recovery

31-08-2021 13:23 As Argentina’s economy recovers from last year’s crash, young men who lost their jobs are being re-hired at a much faster pace than young women.

Aerial file photo taken on August 28, 2019 of the Esperanca IV informal gold mining camp, near the Menkragnoti indigenous territory, in Altamira, Para state, Brazil, in the Amazon basin.

ENVIRONMENT

Illegal mining on Brazil indigenous land up 500% in a decade

30-08-2021 21:53 Illegal mining expanded by nearly 500% on protected indigenous reservations in Brazil in a decade, and by more than 300% on protected park lands, according to a new study.

Buenos Aires Province Governor Axel Kicillof.

BLOOMBERG

Buenos Aires Province to restructure 98% of bonds in debt deal

30-08-2021 16:04 Deal caps Argentina’s most recent round of debt restructurings, after nearly every province reached deals with bondholders over the past 12 months and the national government restructured its own US$65 billion in securities a year ago.

BLOOMBERG

Cuba lays groundwork to legalise cryptocurrency transactions

30-08-2021 10:43 Communist government is trying to legalise and regulate the growing use of cryptocurrencies on the island as citizens ramp up transactions to evade state controls.

A homeless family is seen by tents at Patio do Colegio, in São Paulo downtown, Brazil, on August 19, 2021.

POVERTY & THE PANDEMIC

Pandemic pushes new homeless onto São Paulo's streets

29-08-2021 10:33 São Paulo is facing a homelessness crisis, as recent prices become too heavy of a burden for an increasingly impoverished population.

THE WEEK IN REVIEW

What we learned this week: August 21 to 28

27-08-2021 21:26 A selection of some of the stories that caught our eye over the last seven days in Argentina.

BUSINESS

Pandemic helps deliver e-commerce boom in Argentina

27-08-2021 21:20 New data from the CACE (Cámara Argentina del Comercio Electrónico) shows invoicing doubled in the first half of the year, reaching 630 billion pesos.

by Lorena Rodríguez

In Buenos Aires, it’s known that many of these game-changing businessmen were trained at the Instituto Tecnológico de Buenos Aires (ITBA), a great developer of local talent.

ECONOMY

The secrets of ITBA, the cradle of Argentina’s unicorns

27-08-2021 21:17 Luis Paolini directs Business Management at the Instituto Tecnológico de Buenos Aires (ITBA), teaching a select group of around 30 students with a priority on critical mentality.

by Lorena Rodríguez

BLOOMBERG

Paraguay seeks to wind down stimulus as economy bounces back

27-08-2021 12:27 Paraguay will continue to dial back pandemic stimulus next year as a fast growing economy cushions austerity measures that have proved unpopular in other South American countries.

Covid-19 vaccines

Pfizer-BioNTech ink vaccine deal with Brazil manufacturer

26-08-2021 14:42 Production will start next year and at full capacity will produce 100 million finished doses.

An indigenous man from the Pataxo tribe paints the body of a colleague at a protest camp in Brasilia, Brazil on August 25, 2021. Thousands of indigenous protesters gathered in the Brazilian capital bearing bows and arrows and traditional headdresses as the Supreme Court prepared to take up a case Wednesday that could eliminate reservations on their ancestral lands.

BRAZIL UNDER BOLSONARO

Indigenous protest as Brazil high court hears land case

25-08-2021 14:04 Thousands of indigenous protesters gather in the Brazilian capital as the Supreme Court prepared to take up a case that could eliminate reservations on their ancestral lands.

Passengers pass through Ezeiza international airport.

Coronavirus pandemic

Government could reopen border to foreign tourists next month

24-08-2021 14:41 Government could re-open country’s borders to foreign tourists next month, according to Casa Rosada sources.

A shopper checks prices with a vendor at a marketplace in Lima, Peru.

BLOOMBERG

Peru’s economy rebounds by record 42% after slump last year

24-08-2021 09:00 Peru's GDP grew 41.9% in the three months through June from the same period a year earlier, when the nation suffered the most severe contraction of any major economy due to the Covid-19 pandemic.