News of economic crisis

Fernández rules out devaluation, bank-deposit freeze at IDEA

17-10-2020 10:13 Peronist leader sticks to his guns over government policies, telling business leaders that his government is “convinced that this is the path.”

FINANCE

Analysts keep eye on reserves as uncertainty pushes blue dollar to 160

10-10-2020 10:05 Central Bank buys dollars for first time since mid-September, as uncertainty pushes blue dollar sky-high.

THE WEEK

What we learned this week: October 3 to 10

10-10-2020 09:56 Our pick of the stories from the last seven days in Argentina.

EDITORIAL

Uncertainty amid the malaise

10-10-2020 09:41 Burning as all these problems are, literally so in the case of the fires and metaphorically in the case of the economic and monetary crisis and the coronavirus pandemic, none of them are really being faced by a government seeking or obsessed with another agenda.

POLITICS & THE PANDEMIC

Coalitions or collisions?

10-10-2020 09:27 It’s too early to tell if this stress will snowball into a breakdown leading to, say, a sweeping Cabinet reshuffle sponsored by the Kirchnerites, forcing out members of the president's inner circle.

by Martín Gambarotta

FOREIGN (AND DOMESTIC) POLICY

Venezuela: Argentina's old/new problem

10-10-2020 09:07 It doesn’t really matter whether Cristina is calling the shots, whether her henchmen are acting independently, or if Alberto is acting out of his own accord, trying to please his vice-president and keep his coalition united. The end result is the same: increased uncertainty, which ultimately feeds Argentina’s risk thermometer: the dollar-peso exchange rate.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

DEBT RESTRUCTURING

Creditors reiterate support for debt swap

22-08-2020 10:05 Ad Hoc Group of Argentina Exchange Bondholders says members will be entering Argentina’s debt swap proposal to the tune of almost US$5 billion on Monday.

AS I SEE IT

The opposition takes to the streets

22-08-2020 09:58 These days demonstrators are well-behaved men and women who wear facemasks not for fear of getting recognised by the cops, but because they have no desire to get infected by the coronavirus.

by James Neilson

JUDICIAL REFORM

Opposition applies pressure ahead of judicial reform battle

22-08-2020 09:53 Juntos por el Cambio calls on Fernández administration to withdraw its judicial reform bill, which is set to enter Congress next week.

A WEEK IN ARGENTINA

What we learned this week: August 15 to 22

22-08-2020 09:46 Stories that seized our attention and caught our eye over the last seven days in Argentina.

EDITORIAL

It’s also the economy, stupid

22-08-2020 09:39 Why is anybody even talking about judicial reform? Putting the economy back on track evidently requires more than successful debt negotiations.

INTERVIEW

Joseph Nye: ‘Trump is the United States’ biggest problem’

22-08-2020 08:51 Harvard professor, ranked by one survey as the most influential international scholar in the world, says that Donald Trump is more of a threat to the United States than Beijing.

by Leandro Dario

THE LAST SEVEN DAYS

What we learned this week: August 8 to 15

15-08-2020 11:05 Stories that caught our eye over the last seven days in Argentina.

JUDICIAL REFORM

In the oven

15-08-2020 09:59 What’s troubling, and could mark a complete breaking point between the ruling coalition and the opposition, is the president’s judicial reform bill.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

COPING WITH THE PANDEMIC

Slum priests, jack-of-all-trades in Buenos Aires’ villas

08-08-2020 09:59 Local church leaders take on all tasks, as they help to keep residents and their communities afloat during the coronavirus pandemic.

DEBT, DEFAULT. DEAL

Goodbye default my old friend

08-08-2020 08:44 The ultimate question is if this agreement will spare Argentina the ordeal of holdout bondholders – Guzmán will have conjured a miracle if there are none to worry about once this deal is done.

by Martín Gambarotta

EDITORIAL

Judicial reform and jumping the queue

01-08-2020 09:07 The judicial reform bill announced this week suffers all the problems of Caesar’s wife – it must not only be honourable but seen to be so, a challenge which neither its context nor origin nor timing favour.

AS I SEE IT

Alberto, Cristina and a sinking economy

25-07-2020 09:45 Macri’s experience suggests that Alberto’s chances of convincing the moneymen that it would be in their interest to lend Argentina a hand right now are close to zero.

by James Neilson

DEBT RESTRUCTURING TALKS

Markets rally on hopes debt talks are ‘too close to fail’

25-07-2020 09:32 Three largest creditor groups join forces in negotiations, rejecting government's "final" offer and submitting their own counter proposal.

TOURISM & TRAVEL

Neuquén the first province to kick off plans to revive tourism

25-07-2020 08:07 Officials begin to roll out schemes to boost sector, especially in Argentina’s inland provinces.

PROFILE

Guzmán takes on Wall Street

25-07-2020 08:01 Argentina’s Stiglitz-groomed debt chief has taken on a task many would have turned down. And as talks with bondholders enter a crucial stage, the stakes are higher than ever.

CRISIS IN VENEZUELA

Fernández plays down talk of foreign policy shift on Venezuela

18-07-2020 10:08 President reiterates government’s rejection of economic sanctions against Venezuela, days after Argentina condemned human rights abuses in troubled nation.

CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

Dr. Maureen Birmingham: ‘This is an opportunity to transform Argentina’s health system’

18-07-2020 09:29 The World Health Organisation and Pan American Health Organisation’s representative in Argentina explains how the UN agency is providing support to officials and what post-pandemic changes need to be made to the health system.

by Jennifer Heiman & Anina Hoffman

POLITICS & THE PANDEMIC

Coalitions under stress

18-07-2020 08:37 Political rivals are accusing each other of being “haters” – but of course, one person's hater is another person's hero. The pressure, however, is not just external.

by Martín Gambarotta

PERIODISMO PURO / INTERVIEW

Hernán Lacunza: ‘We can’t reset the economy every four years, as we’ve been doing since 1945’

18-07-2020 08:30 Former finance minister Hernán Lacunza on Argentina’s debt restructuring efforts, the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, inflation and more.

by Jorge Fontevecchia

CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

UN: Argentina could lose 850,000 jobs in 2020 amid virus crisis

27-06-2020 07:59 Child poverty in Argentina could reach 58% by the end of the year, warns United Nations in new report.

by Lorena Rodríguez

100 DAYS OF QUARANTINE

100 days of quarantine

27-06-2020 07:48 On March 20, President Alberto Fernández told the nation in a televised address that all citizens would enter a mandatory quarantine period in an effort to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Though restrictions in some regions have now been loosened, many Argentines are today waking up this morning to their 100th day of lockdown. Here’s a look back at how the pandemic has changed our lives.

by Michael Soltys

CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

Fernández tightens AMBA lockdown until July 17 amid virus surge

27-06-2020 07:36 Government cranks up coronavirus lockdown in capital, as Peronist leader calls on citizens in Buenos Aires metropolitan to respect restrictions and ‘return to isolation’ until July 17.

POLITICS & THE PANDEMIC

Lockdown limbo

06-06-2020 09:32 Coronavirus has put everyday life, or the remnants of it, in a loop. Home is where the office lies.

by Martín Gambarotta

KEY STORIES FROM THE LAST SEVEN DAYS

May 31- June 6: What we learned this week

06-06-2020 09:12 A round-up of frontpage stories from the last week in Argentina.

ECONOMY AND CULTURE

Choice of Ramón Carrillo for 5,000-peso bill sparks controversy

23-05-2020 08:04 Health secretary under Perón set to be featured on new banknote, but local Jewish community leaders express anger given his historic links to Nazi Danish doctor Carl Peter Vaernet.

WORLD

Martin Wolf: ‘This is potentially a hinge moment in history’

02-05-2020 08:25 Martin Wolf, chief economics commentator for the Financial Times, discusses the economic fall-out from the coronavirus pandemic, in an exclusive interview with Perfil’s Jorge Fontevecchia.

by Jorge Fontevecchia

Coronavirus pandemic

Pandemic prompts fears for the future from crisis-weary citizens

22-03-2020 16:02 The coronavirus outbreak has paralysed the global economy – and that could not have happened at a worse time for Argentina...

Virus panic

After a US$1-trillion wipeout, emerging markets bank on stimulus

02-03-2020 13:22 With the world reeling from one of the biggest risk sell-offs since the 2008 global financial crisis, more coronavirus-fueled declines in emerging markets may only be tempered by the prospect of coordinated central bank action or large fiscal stimulus.

Bloomberg - Long Read

Money manager expects crisis to worsen as Argentina's bonds blow up

14-02-2020 13:49 Investment fund Franklin Templeton’s star money manager, Michael Hasenstab, interprets government's move to delay a US$1.4-billion local bond payment as a sign that the economic slowdown is only going to worsen.

ECONOMIC CRISIS

Dying becomes a luxury as economic downturn hits home

06-01-2020 23:20 The cost of buying, renting and maintaining graves and tombs is so high that many in Argentina are opting to cremate their loved ones instead.

Emergency Bill

González García: 'Argentina's health system in a critical state'

19-12-2019 15:17 Health minister delivered his comments during a presentation to a congressional Budget and Treasury committee, as lawmakers debate Fernández administration's legislative package.

RECORD CREDIT-LINE

Macri administration has used 83% of IMF loan to pay off external debt, data shows

25-11-2019 17:21 Data from Treasury says 83% went towards paying off debt accrued during the first three years of his presidency, with remainder used to service payments on national debt and fuel imports.

WASHINGTON CALLING

Trump phones Fernández: 'Your victory has been talked of around the world'

01-11-2019 18:11 After five days of silence, the United States president congratulates his new Argentine counterpart. The IMF deal and future cooperation were discussed. “We need to do things together,” Fernandez tells Trump.

DEMONSTRATION

Protesters march against IMF in downtown Buenos Aires

31-10-2019 19:44 First social protest since the election of Alberto Fernandez sees hundreds march through downtown Buenos Aires.

Bloomberg

Macri extends olive branch to Fernández over economy

28-10-2019 14:40 At a meeting Monday morning, the two discussed plans to steer the nation out of the looming economic crisis.

Election 2019

Peronists expect return to power in polarised election

25-10-2019 20:26 Citizens await results of approaching presidential election in the midst of an economic crisis, including rising rates of poverty and inflation. Potential leftist win could mark a significant departure from trend of increasing conservative governments in the region.

POVERTY

Streets of Buenos Aires the last refuge of those hit hardest by crisis

25-10-2019 15:24 Homelessness has increased markedly during Argentina's worst economic crisis since 2001 and the capital's growing population of street-dwellers are finding it increasingly difficult to get by.

AS I SEE IT

Crunch time is about to arrive

19-10-2019 13:36 For most of the country’s political leaders, trade unionists, businessmen and other influential personalities, the traditional way of doing things is perfectly natural and the ideas they cling to are only common sense.

by James Neilson

World

WhatsApp tax sparks protests in Lebanon

18-10-2019 15:28 In the midst of a massive economic downturn, the government imposed taxes on the free messaging service. Widespread outcry ultimately compelled the government to reverse its policy within hours, but protests have yet to cease.

POVERTY

Food on the table the priority for nation’s poorest

13-09-2019 23:34 Talk of the exchange rate and the dollar is mostly absent in Villa 21-24, the urban face of Argentina’s economic crisis.

ECONOMY

Lacunza calls for new deadlines for IMF debt repayments

28-08-2019 18:30 In a press conference on Wednesday, the finance minister expressed the government's intent to negotiate a new debt restructuring with the IMF.