News of cristina

AS I SEE IT

Corruption refuses to go away

Today 09:23 The Kirchnerites could soon have considerably less power than they have today. Without it, Cristina will find it impossible to break free from her chequered past.

by James Neilson

GUEST VOICE

It’s not Fabián Gutiérrez, it’s Santa Cruz

Today 09:15 Santa Cruz is a province with archaic laws, a dangerous political centralisation and a scary scope for discretion.

THE WEEK

What we learned this week: July 4 to July 11

Today 08:39 Stories that caught our eye over the past seven days in Argentina.

POLARISATION AT WHAT PRICE?

Argentina: Great at failing miserably at democracy

Today 08:19 What level of tolerance to dissent are we willing to accept? And at which point does the discussion about who thinks what shut out the underlying debates we should be having?

by Agustino Fontevecchia

JUNTOS POR EL CAMBIO

Opposition split over coalition’s reaction to Fabián Gutiérrez killing

Today 08:05 Reports emerge of unhappiness in Juntos por el Cambio coalition over controversial statement issued in wake of Fabián Gutiérrez’s death.

POLARISATION & POLITICS

So much for unity: La grieta returns with a vengeance

Today 07:42 Tensions between government and opposition soar in week Argentina celebrated Independence Day.

SANTA CRUZ PROVINCE

Fabián Gutiérrez, ex-secretary to Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, found dead

04-07-2020 17:30 Gutiérrez, a former private secretary to ex-presidents Néstor Kirchner and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, had last been seen in El Calafate on Thursday. At least four individuals have been arrested and three have admitted to the crime, says investigating judge.

ILLEGAL ESPIONAGE SCANDAL

The curse of power in Argentina

04-07-2020 08:06 Several of the major corruption cases of the K decade could end up being dropped due to procedural abuses, aiding the newfound lack of political motivation of most magistrates.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

SPECIAL INVESTIGATION

¿Qué pasa entre Alberto y Cristina?

04-07-2020 07:41 Pressure is growing on President Fernández to found his own ‘Albertismo’ movement, while Cristina Fernández de Kirchner sets the pace for both, with infighting channelled through their officials and allies – a tussle most recently exposed by the move on Vicentín.

THE LAST SEVEN DAYS

What we learned this week: June 20 to June 27

27-06-2020 08:53 A round-up of the stories that caught our eye over the last seven days in Argentina.

CRISTINA & ALBERTO

Is she winning?

27-06-2020 08:23 The major shock to the president’s credibility, though, was the failed expropriation of agro-giant Vicentín. Not only are a lot more people against the measure, but also the sensation that it’s of Cristina’s making, not Alberto’s.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

Gender Violence

NGO: More than 70 femicides in Argentina during quarantine period

26-06-2020 00:01 71% of the femicides took place in the victim's home, according to the latest report from the La Casa del Encuentro NGO.

by Nadia Galán

CORRUPTION & THE COURTS

Cuadernos: Judge pulls trial order against Fernández de Kirchner

23-06-2020 23:48 Citing a lack of evidence, Federal Judge Marcelo Martínez De Giorgi cancels trial order against vice-president related to a chapter of the 'Cuadernos' notebooks graft case related to the Techint multinational. De Vido also among beneficiaries.

BLOOMBERG

Resistance grows to government's plan to nationalise Vicentin

12-06-2020 02:05 President Alberto Fernández announced on June 8 that the state would nationalise soy giant Vicentin, which was the country's largest grain exporter until it hit a crisis at the end of last year.

BLOOMBERG – ANALYSIS

Argentina moves to nationalise one of world’s biggest soy suppliers

08-06-2020 23:25 President Alberto Fernández has dipped into the play book of his vice-president, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, with his plan to seize crop trader Vicentin SAIC.

ILLEGAL ESPIONAGE CLAIMS

AFI conducted illegal espionage on more than 400 journalists during Macri era

08-06-2020 00:12 Cristina Caamaño, government-appointed trustee of AFI federal intelligence agency, files complaint alleging officials conducted illegal espionage on 500 journalists, academics and business leaders, including two Buenos Aires Times staffers, during the Mauricio Macri administration's time in office.

ON CAPITAL FLIGHT

Cristina & Macri’s pornographic obsession with the dollar

06-06-2020 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

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

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

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

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.

CORRUPTION & THE COURTS

Opposition outcry as Anti-Corruption Office withdraws from CFK graft case

15-05-2020 15:38 Argentina’s Anti-Corruption Office says it is withdrawing as a plaintiff in the Hotesur and Los Sauces hotels money-laundering case involving Vice-President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and her two children.

Congress & Covid-19

Historic session as Congress meets 'virtually' for first time

14-05-2020 09:12 In a historic session, Congress met 'virtually' for the first time on Wednesday, as lawmaking restarted for the first time since Argentina entered a mandatory nationwide lockdown on March 20.

VICE-PRESIDENT

Cristina Fernández de Kirchner files ‘lawfare’ writ with IACHR

05-05-2020 23:22 Télam confirms former president has filed writ before Inter-American Commission on Human Rights accusing previous Macri government of "political discrimination and persecution."

CONGRESSIONAL RETURN

Senate to return to activity on May 13 after CFK bends for opposition

05-05-2020 16:30 Vice-President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner chooses May 13 for the year’s first Senate session, following negotiations with the opposition over the rules for virtual procedure.

DEBT RESTRUCTURING

Bonds gain after debt restructuring proposal, but some investors left cold

18-04-2020 08:50 Markets and analysts react as Economy Minister Martín Guzmán asks bondholders to accept three-year grace period, cut of 62% on bond interest and 5.4% on debt capital.

TWO HOURS WITH THE PRESIDENT

Alberto Fernández: ‘Every time I speak, I’m saying the truth – I don’t lie’

18-04-2020 08:14 In a feature-length interview, Argentina's president addresses the coronavirus pandemic and opens up about his private life and relationship with both Peronism and Radicalism, explaining why he is more a child of hippie culture than Peronist doctrine.

by Jorge Fontevecchia

Ex-president's return

Cristina Fernández de Kirchner keeps a low profile amid virus pandemic

10-04-2020 18:21 Vice-president will still not return to frontline of politics, despite her 14-day quarantine period coming to an end. However, this week, she did meet with President Alberto Fernández and is regularly in contact with Buenos Aires Province Governor Kicillof and regional mayors about the pandemic.

CORRUPTION & THE COURTS

Ex-VP Boudou, jailed for corruption offences, granted house arrest

07-04-2020 18:44 Court granted house arrest to Boudou, who was vice-president during the second presidential term of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner from 2011 to 2015.

NUNCA MÁS

Quarantined Argentines use balconies, networks to remember 1976 coup

24-03-2020 16:51 Today marks the anniversary of the 1976 military coup, but with a mandatory quarantine in place to help contain the spread of the coronavirus, Argentines are finding other ways to mark the day.

Coronavirus Quarantine

Cristina Fernández de Kirchner returns to Argentina with daughter Florencia

20-03-2020 14:19 Vice-president, who flew to Cuba to visit her daughter as the coronavirus outbreak hit, says the two of them will enter into isolation upon return to Buenos Aires.

Coronavirus Outbreak

Phoneline for quarantine violations receives 1,500 reports on first day

18-03-2020 20:15 #134 phoneline set up by Security Ministry flooded with calls from concern citizens, as coronavirus panic sets in.

by Cecilia Devanna

Coronavirus pandemic

Cristina Fernández de Kirchner heads to Cuba, despite coronavirus crisis

17-03-2020 09:55 67-year-old vice-president leaves Argentina to visit daughter in Havana – ignoring Alberto Fernández's call for all those aged over 65 to remain in self-isolation at home.

Cross Kirchnerite

Boudou: ‘Macri's was the most corrupt government in history’

10-03-2020 21:57 Jailed former vice-president Amado Boudou renews talk of 'lawfare,' criticises farming sector strike and alleges Mauricio Macri persecuted his opponents to cover up corrupt exploits.

LAWFARE AND GOVERNMENT

Lawfare reloaded: Cristina, Macri & Alberto

07-03-2020 10:25 It is imperative that corruption accusations are investigated thoroughly, both under the Kirchner and Macri administrations. Grave accusations are thrown around loosely in Argentina, yet there are few instances in which they have actually gone to trial.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

CORRUPTION & THE COURTS

Ex-VP Michetti faces questions over renovation works at Senate

06-03-2020 14:01 Former vice-president Gabriela Michetti among three individuals accused of defrauding public administration in a criminal complaint related to unfinished renovation works.

Interview

BBC correspondent Jonny Dymond: 'It's very difficult to ignore Argentina'

06-03-2020 11:54 Ahead of next week's BBC World Questions panel debate in Buenos Aires, Royal Correspondent Jonny Dymond discusses global commonalities, Harry and Meghan and swotting up on Argentina.

by Anina Hoffman

AGRO POLICY

Government officially ramps up taxes on soybean exports

05-03-2020 17:28 Argentina, world’s biggest exporter of the soy products and tariffs, hikes duties from 30% to 33%.

CORRUPTION & THE COURTS

Court orders ex-planning minister Julio de Vido's release

05-03-2020 14:11 Court orders veteran Veteran Kirchnerite official and ex-federal planning minister's release, saying he has been "detained for a period longer than the maximum legal term of two years."

Abortion rights

Argentina braces anew for abortion battle

05-03-2020 07:00 In his first speech to Congress upon the arrival of a new legislative session, Alberto Fernández vowed to begin a project to legalise abortion in the coming weeks. Campaigners on both sides are preparing for another showdown.

AGRO POLICY

Government to hike duties on soy products, but not corn or wheat

03-03-2020 12:19 Higher rate on soy would be President Fernández’s second farm-tax hike since he took office in December, in a reversal of the agriculture-friendly bias of the previous administration.

SPEECH TO CONGRESS

Fernández vows to send abortion bill to Congress ‘in next 10 days’

01-03-2020 23:42 Peronist president says he will seek to legalise abortion, reform the Judiciary and make Argentina’s debt burden sustainable, as he opens new sessions in Congress.

As I see it

Political unprisoners

23-02-2020 16:53 The notion that some people are entitled to remain above the law is shared, or regarded as unimportant, by such a large proportion of the electorate that disabusing it seems well-nigh impossible.

by James Neilson

BLOOMBERG: OPINION

Argentina’s government needs to speak with one voice on debt

21-02-2020 08:38 Before Argentina can come up with a solid economic plan, it needs a credible political pact. That takes a government which speaks with one voice, mutes the palace incendiaries and treats debt and economic recovery not as a passion play but as part of a national business plan.

by Mac Margolis

CORRUPTION & THE COURTS

Fernández revokes Macri decree creating witness protection agency

20-02-2020 16:51 DNU, issued in final days of Macri's time in office, would have seen responsibilities for witness protection taken away from Justice Ministry in favour of a specialist, autonomous agency.

Abortion rights

'19F': Pro-abortion activists prepare to renew call for legalisation

17-02-2020 16:26 Third annual '19F' march, led by the National Campaign for Legal, Safe and Free Abortion, will take place this Wednesday from 5pm before Congress.

JUDICIARY

Two months into Fernández’s term, change is afoot for Argentina’s Judiciary

15-02-2020 10:34 Vacancies, nominations and reviews: Winds of change begin to sweep through Comodoro Py federal courthouse as the government begins to size up judicial reform.

by Luciana Bertoia

DEBT RESTRUCTURING

Cristina raises stakes for Argentina's crucial talks with IMF

15-02-2020 09:17 Vice-president lays into IMF, as government officials welcome mission team to Argentina.

Kirchners in Cuba

CFK shares first photo with daughter Florencia in Havana

11-02-2020 12:20 Vice-president shares first image in months of her filmmaker daughter, who has been in Cuba for nearly one year receiving medical treatment.

LAWFARE?

Political prisoner debate engulfs Frente de Todos coalition

10-02-2020 17:19 “It bothers me that they say I have political prisoners, because I don't have them,” President Fernández declares in interview with local radio station.