FOREIGN POLICY & DIPLOMACY President Milei cuts short international trip over Mideast crisis 13-04-2024 21:56 President Javier Milei is ending his international trip early to handle his country's response to the crisis in the Middle East.
POVERTY More hunger, less money: Soup kitchens count rations 15-02-2024 00:33 At community meal centres across Argentina, a dual crisis is biting: the influx of ever more hungry mouths to feed during an economic crisis, and a decision by President Javier Milei's new government to freeze their aid.
BOOKS & LITERATURE Is Argentina’s publishing industry at risk of extinction? 22-01-2024 08:05 The abrupt fall of demand from the domestic market, disproportionate increases of the price of paper and fuel, deferred payments in a context that is virtually hyperinflationary, the opening of imports and books on sale, the possible repeal of the Law for the Defence of the Book Industry, a lack of state purchases… a potent cocktail is attacking the entire ecosystem of Argentine books. by Gonzalo Santos
GRIPPED BY CRISIS In danger of extinction? Middle class slammed by crisis and austerity measures 16-01-2024 17:16 The removal of subsidies, rising rent and the increased costs of prepaid healthcare schemes and private schools are slamming the middle class, specialists warn. March will be a difficult month with the start of classes and the billing of basic public services shooting up. by Agustina Bordigoni
HOUSING CRISIS Tenants in Buenos Aires 'desperate' amid inflation and housing crisis 15-01-2024 15:09 Argentina's housing crisis, set against a backdrop of 211% inflation per annum, with rent charges soaring and prices increasingly set in dollars, is leaving tenants feeling helpless.
ARMED FORCES Military issue: The trauma affecting Argentina and its Armed Forces 01-01-2024 01:25 In countries such as Brazil, the United States or Israel, entering the military is often a prestigious and profitable career path, one frequently chosen by individuals across different social classes and strata. But in Argentina, where the shadow of the dark era of the 1976-1983 dictatorship looms large, mistrust of the military remains high. by Sabrina Chemen
CROSS-BORDER SHOPPING Uruguayans pile into Argentina to spend record US$1 billion 30-10-2023 11:11 Uruguayans are taking advantage of Argentina's deep economic crisis with food, vacations and shopping costing a fraction of the price back home.
ECONOMY & SOCIETY Trash is a lifeline for ‘los cartoneros,’ Argentina’s army of recyclers 20-10-2023 10:52 Argentina’s ‘cartoneros’ emerged in 2001, when the country experienced the worst economic, social and political crisis in recent history. Today, more than 150,000 people face the daily struggle of recycling rubbish in a nation stricken by crisis.
BLOOMBERG – ANALYSIS Recession, inflation, devaluation: Economic troubles in 5 charts 19-10-2023 13:46 Argentina’s next president will take over in the middle of a financial emergency — which is par for the course in one of the world’s most dysfunctional economies.
BUSINESS & REAL ESTATE Ex-Soros partner surfs Argentine crisis with real-estate empire 03-10-2023 12:43 Eduardo Elsztain avoided speculative investments in stocks, bonds and derivatives as he built up his empire over the last 30 years. Now his real-estate company IRSA Inversiones y Representaciones is booming, even as Argentina enters recession.
Living with inflation The Odyssey: Making it to the end of the month amid runaway prices 07-09-2023 12:56 Six Argentines share tips on living with inflation and coping with escalating prices. Recipes for trying to reach the end of the month are very varied, ranging from cutting back on car insurance, not buying clothes, wrapping up to save on gas or disposing of assets to cover debts. Many employees, including skilled workers, don’t manage to reach the end of the month, or at least not without taking on a little debt. by Agustina Bordigoni
DANCE & CULTURE In inflation-hit Buenos Aires, tango enthusiasts sway the blues away 06-09-2023 09:36 Many milongas have had to close amid spiralling inflation, but the biting economic crisis cannot keep tango enthusiasts from heading to the capital's dance halls.
ECONOMIC CRISIS Poverty bites in the Conurbano, but demands go beyond economic 09-08-2023 10:43 Argentina’s economic crisis spares no-one in Greater Buenos Aires. The youngest are the hardest hit. Across the Conurbano, demands are high, but local campaigners say the problems run deeper than soaring prices. by Ludmila Di Grande
BOOKS & LITERATURE Inflation woes reach book publishers as the price of paper surges 27-05-2023 06:31 Small publishers at the Buenos Aires International Book Fair discuss the challenges of coping with runaway inflation; Resistant readers help literary houses to survive crisis. by Api Dhadda
EDITORIAL April showers bring no May flowers 20-05-2023 07:00 There can be no doubt that inflation is public enemy number one.
POLITICS – ANALYSIS Peronism’s identity crisis 06-05-2023 06:29 What is under discussion is much more than a candidacy. It is the search for a new leader who, on their own and without intermediaries, is competitive enough to assume power and unify Peronism. by Gustavo González
CAMPAIGN COMMENTS Out of the pink (house) and into the blue 29-04-2023 06:55 In a country where the urgent almost invariably displaces the important, Alberto Fernández’s premature entry into “lame duck” status has had immediate consequences. by Michael Soltys
EDITORIAL Bucking the trend or a new weight for the peso? 29-04-2023 05:41 The giddy oscillations of parallel exchange rates and the relentless acceleration of prices are moving too fast to leave any margin for gradualism, thus making shock treatment inevitable.
BLOOMBERG – FEATURE Argentina cracks as peso plunge raises risk of messy devaluation 28-04-2023 12:39 Argentina is moving closer to a breaking point as the government’s desperate measures fail to halt a plunge in the peso, raising the risk of a currency devaluation.
BLACK TUESDAY Massa’s disobedience, Kirchnerite fury and inflation fears 26-04-2023 11:05 Economy Minister Sergio Massa will force a political debate in the wake of exchange rate crisis. Kirchnerism once again points finger at agricultural producers. by Ariel Maciel
ANALYSIS Panic in Silicon Valley 18-03-2023 03:12 The global economy has stepped on another landmine. Increased instability will hurt Argentina, as it did after 2008. by Agustino Fontevecchia
Inflation Rises Inflation hit 94.8% in 2022, highest rate in 32 years 12-01-2023 17:34 INDEC reveals that prices increased by 5.1% in December, continuing the general downward trend but accelerating slightly from the preceding month.
EXCHANGE MARKET Argentina’s black-market peso slumps to record ahead of holidays 29-12-2022 15:33 Argentina's black market exchange rate plunged to a record low this week, with the blue dollar hitting 357 pesos per greenback.
FOREIGN POLICY Peru political crisis threatens to widen Latin America rifts 15-12-2022 16:40 President Dina Boluarte's administration says it has received the backing of governments in Chile, Ecuador, Uruguay and Costa Rica, underlining split over Peru's political crisis in the region.
Political relativity Time slows down in the Argentina of the Fernandezes, Massa & Macri 12-11-2022 07:09 Over the last few months, it’s felt as if time has slowed down in Argentina, once again. by Agustino Fontevecchia
As I see it Time is fast running out 12-11-2022 07:04 Argentina’s unhappy plight owes much to the ruling class’s strong adherence to the fixed-term political system which is enshrined in the Constitution. by James Neilson
EDITORIAL Storms amid a drought 12-11-2022 06:17 In the context of a lethal global cocktail being compounded by so many urgent socio-economic problems here, it seems incredibly absurd that judicial issues should continue to dominate the local political agenda.
INTERVIEW / PERIODISMO PURO Eduardo Levy Yeyati: ‘Devaluation is political kryptonite’ 02-09-2022 12:00 Economist, public policy specialist and dean of the Government School of Torcuato Di Tella University Eduardo Levy Yeyati on the challenges facing Sergio Massa and Argentina’s economy. by Jorge Fontevecchia
Food Security Wind blows in favour of Argentina’s GM crops 24-08-2022 15:18 Genetically modified crops, which have for years been heavily criticised by environmentalists, are benefitting from new technological developments and health and safety approvals overseas.
Deposit decline Argentines withdraw US$1 billion from bank accounts amid turmoil 23-08-2022 21:23 More than US$1 billion of dollar deposits have been withdrawn since former economy minister Martín Guzmán resigned in July.
EDITORIAL Biting (or braving) the bullet 19-08-2022 13:24 The renunciation of populist utility bill freezes should be hailed. The Frente de Todos government is at least knocking on the door of the real world even if it has yet to make an entrance.
EDITORIAL Credibility gap the widest of all 13-08-2022 06:52 Massa is widely assumed to model his ambitions on Brazil’s Fernando Henrique Cardoso but even subordinating all else to that goal does not automatically make his policies more predictable.
Evita Argentina pays tribute to icon Eva Peron on 70th anniversary of death 27-07-2022 16:33 Argentina celebrated Eva Peròn on the 70th anniversary of her premature death this week, despite continued economic crises.
SUPREME COURT Cristina at it again with her own VAR against judiciary 25-07-2022 17:41 Vice-President blasts Supreme Court for convicting her in advance and compounding economic crisis, presidential defence.
As I see it Ports in a storm 25-07-2022 15:56 Why is Boris Johnson out of office, but Alberto Fernández clings on? The simplest answer to that question lies in the difference between parliamentary and presidential democracy. by James Neilson
ECONOMIC CRISIS Inflation hits 64% year-on-year, analysts fear worse yet to come 14-07-2022 19:05 No respite from price hikes in Argentina: Inflation hit 5.3% in June, increases totalled 36.2% in first half of this year.
ANALYSIS Argentina’s economic signals need stronger backing, analysts say 13-07-2022 12:28 Analysts say moderate, prudent policy signals that Economy Minister Silvina Batakis announced Monday lack political support, face execution risks and won’t fix the country’s structural problems.
Markets Argentine debt plumbs new depths as political tensions mount 11-07-2022 15:43 Even by the standards of Argentina’s debt crisis and default of 2020, the nation’s sovereign bonds are now trading at unprecedented lows.
EDITORIAL Leaps in the dark 09-07-2022 06:00 Always subordinating economic policy to electoral strategy in classic populist style, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner seems convinced that a 2023 election irretrievably lost with Martín Guzmán’s IMF orientation can be turned around with an extreme transformation.
Another week in Argentina Resignation, transition, succession: Inside Guzmán's last days and Batakis' first 08-07-2022 09:48 The economy minister’s decision to step down, the reaction to it and how the government found a replacement – inside a momentous week in Argentina. by Juan Luis González
LIVING IN CRISIS Nervous buying and price hikes in Argentina amid inflation fears 07-07-2022 23:49 Economic turmoil has provoked a wave of fear, triggering a surge in the value of the dollar on Argentina's parallel exchange markets and a sharp rise in prices.
FINANCIAL TURBULENCE Argentina's bonds, currency plunge on Batakis' first day in office 05-07-2022 17:04 Argentina’s global bonds fell the most since they were issued nearly two years ago as Silvina Batakis assumes office.
NEW MINISTER SWORN-IN Batakis sends message to markets as she’s sworn-in as economy minister 04-07-2022 22:17 Argentina’s new economy minister Silvina Batakis says she believes in “fiscal balance” and says Argentina needs “more exports” and to “revalue our currency.” Vowing to talk to the IMF soon, she says that the government's segmentation plan to alter subsidies for public utilities will continue.
Bloomberg Batakis takes reins of Argentina’s economy as markets tumble 04-07-2022 21:34 Silvina Batakis declares that she "believes in fiscal balance" as she is sworn-in as economy minister.
BLOOMBERG Analysts: Argentina's IMF deal at risk with new economy minister 04-07-2022 15:08 Analysts say Argentina's US$44-billion programme with the International Monetary Fund may be in jeopardy after President Alberto Fernández chose leftist economist Silvina Batakis as the country's new economy minister.
BLOOMBERG Argentina’s black market peso sinks on economy minister shake-up 04-07-2022 14:16 Argentina’s black market exchange rate tumbled on Monday after left-leaning economist Silvina Batakis was appointed as the new economy minister.
New minister named Fernández and CFK chose Silvina Batakis as Argentina's new economy minister 03-07-2022 22:55 After lengthy negotiations at the Olivos presidential residence, President Alberto Fernández appoints Silvina Batakis to replace Martín Guzmán, who resigned amid a crisis in the ruling Frente de Todos coalition.
Currency crisis The fateful 30th month of the Fernández-Fernández administration 02-07-2022 07:00 President Alberto Fernández has been hit by a crippling run on the peso that has stretched out over several weeks during the 30th month of his Presidency, as an exhausted economic model has failed to generate confidence and Central Bank reserves. by Agustino Fontevecchia
AND THAT REMINDS ME… Crisis, more than a middle name 02-07-2022 07:00 Few keywords have been more constant throughout my 34 years of newsroom experience than “crisis.” by Michael Soltys
EDITORIAL Muddling and meddling in the middle of the year 02-07-2022 07:00 If 1974 saw the death of the founder of the Peronist movement 48 years ago yesterday, the current head is looking hardly more alive politically – and far more nominal in his authority.