News of fernandez

Spin-doctor's assessment

Durán Barba praises Fernández's handling of coronavirus crisis

Yesterday 23:27 Political guru, who helped Macri to presidency in 2015, tells Juntos por el Cambio leaders to "think about the country" and "stand as Argentines, rather than as the opposition."

BLOOMBERG

Monetary stimulus goes straight back to Central Bank

08-04-2020 16:28 Money Central Bank is pumping into the moribund economy to provide cheap credit is finding its way straight back to its own coffers. Monetary base has increased by 619 billion pesos, or 34%, in the past 30 days.

Coronavirus pandemic

Scientists in Argentina decipher complete genome of SARS-Cov-2

08-04-2020 14:32 Work by ANLIS-Malbrán Institute specialists will allow experts to follow evolution of virus in Argentina, ensure quality of diagnosis and contribute to development of vaccine.

by Florencia Ballarino

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.

Coronavirus pandemic

Virus death toll rises to 55 in Argentina, as testing steps up

07-04-2020 16:02 More than 1,000 tests for Covid-19 now taking place each day, using123 laboratories across the country, says Health Ministry.

BLOOMBERG

Suspension of local debt payments shows not all bondholders are equal

06-04-2020 16:11 Plan to stop payments on some dollar-denominated debt burns investors who put their faith in domestic bonds, improves outlook for holders of international notes.

Coronavirus pandemic

Government postpones local debt payments due in dollars until end of year

06-04-2020 09:23 The government has issued a decree to defer close to US$9.8 billion in local dollar-denominated debt payments until 2021.

Argentina & the IMF

IMF to hold remote consultations with Argentina amid coronavirus pandemic

03-04-2020 11:21 The government announced this week that it intends to seek a new IMF programme that will allow the existing one to be refinanced until the country can tap debt markets again. The IMF’s normal yearly check-up, an Article IV review, will now likely take place remotely.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

35.5% of Argentines were living in poverty at end of 2019, says INDEC

01-04-2020 23:01 Some 16 million people were considered to be living below the poverty line at the end of 2019, according to official data published Tuesday.

Coronavirus pandemic

Government issues decree banning unjustified lay-offs for 60 days

01-04-2020 22:13 Short decree issued by government, signed by all Cabinet members, bans dismissals and layoffs "due to force majeure or the lack or diminishment of work” for the next 60 days.

Bloomberg

Government to press on with debt talks amid virus delays, says Guzmán

01-04-2020 08:33 The government is continuing negotiations with bondholders this week and next, and looking to present an offer at some point after that, Economy Minister Martín Guzmán tells reporters.

Coronavirus pandemic

Fernández fears Bolsonaro’s approach to pandemic will hurt Argentina

30-03-2020 18:55 President Alberto Fernández expresses concerns over his Brazilian counterpart's approach to the coronavirus pandemic, fearing its impact on locked-down Argentina.

Coronavirus pandemic

Fernández freezes rent prices, mortgage payments by decree

30-03-2020 16:44 Decree freezes price of rent and UVA mortgage payments for next three months, bans all foreclosures and evictions until September 30 without recourse to legal action.

Bloomberg

Argentina says it aims to avoid default amid lockdown extension

30-03-2020 16:27 President Fernández says country will still prioritise avoiding a default on its overseas debt, even though the already economy will be hampered by government-ordered lockdown until April 12.

Coronavirus pandemic

President Fernández extends mandatory quarantine period until April 12

29-03-2020 22:55 Alberto Fernández praises citizens for complying with shutdown, announces "preventative and obligatory" quarantine period for all citizens will be extended until midnight on Sunday, April 12.

Coronavirus pandemic

Death toll rises to 20, as officials confirm 75 new Covid-19 cases

29-03-2020 21:56 First cases confirmed in La Rioja and San Juan provinces, as total number of infected rises to 820. Latest fatality is 58-year-old male, no location given. President on verge of announcing extension to nationwide lockdown.

Bloomberg

‘I choose to take care of lives’: Fernández sacrifices economy to ward off virus

28-03-2020 10:36 President Alberto Fernández has won praise for his decision to go all-in in the fight against Covid-19, saying he will prioritise “lives” over the “economy” – and his approach stands in stark contrast to his peers in Mexico and Brazil.

Coronavirus Pandemic

Surveys show strong support for Fernández's handling of virus crisis

27-03-2020 15:26 Although economic concerns run high among the Argentine population, polling suggests most Argentines approve of Peronist leader's measures to mitigate the harms of Covid-19.

by Jennifer Heiman

Coronavirus pandemic

Government closes all border crossings until March 31

27-03-2020 02:23 Decree orders closure of all border crossings until March 31, shutting off access to citizens and visitors in bid to halt advance of the coronavirus outbreak.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Unemployment rate dropped to 8.9% in last quarter of 2019

27-03-2020 00:01 Argentina's unemployment rate fell in the fourth quarter of 2019, the INDEC national statistics bureau revealed Thursday, adding that underemployment rose.

Social cost of shutdown

Report: Shutdown will hurt Argentina's poorest families more than virus

26-03-2020 18:03 Report by IDESA institute argues shutdown and paralysis of economic activity in Argentina will "produce greater social costs than those of illness."

Mandatory quarantine period

Report: Nationwide lockdown set to be extended until Sunday 12 April

26-03-2020 17:39 Two more weeks of isolation for Argentines is on the cards, according to Casa Rosada sources, but government may ease restrictions in provinces that do not have infections.

Bloomberg

Argentina's recession to deepen as virus foils Fernández's plans

26-03-2020 16:50 Economists forecast deepening of economic contraction for the third year running, highlighting just how difficult it will be for President Alberto Fernández to change things.

Coronavirus Pandemic

Virus death toll rises to eight, after deaths in CABA, Resistencia

25-03-2020 18:05 Argentina suffers its worth statistical day of the coronavirus pandemic to date, recording two new deaths and a record-high 117 confirmed cases in 24 hours. Officials are awaiting the results of tests on a ninth potential death.

Coronavirus Pandemic

World Bank lends US$300 million to Argentina to tackle virus

25-03-2020 16:41 Disbursement intended to strengthen social security system and minimise the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

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 pandemic

Coronavirus in Argentina: Worst yet to come, quarantine may be extended

24-03-2020 12:03 Extension of nationwide lockdown is "a possibility" admits President Fernández, as experts warn the number of confirmed cases will double or treble in the coming weeks as testing is decentralised.

DEBT TALKS

Government warns creditors that virus crisis will delay 'uncertain' recovery

23-03-2020 08:11 "The debt is not payable due to the critical situation in the country, in a context in which interests have grown rapidly," he said.

GLOBAL CRISIS

Coronavirus outbreak could be an opportunity for Alberto Fernández

21-03-2020 09:26 Fernández and his Cabinet had only one tangible mission upon taking power: renegotiating Argentina’s massive debt pile in terms that would give the economy time to “get back on its feet.”

by Agustino Fontevecchia

CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

Government pledges financial support for low-income sectors

21-03-2020 08:02 The government announced on Tuesday six new measures to diminish the economic fallout from the coronavirus crisis for the lowestincome sectors.

NATIONWIDE LOCKDOWN

Argentina begins unprecedented nationwide lockdown

21-03-2020 07:52 Argentina awakes to new reality, as Alberto Fernández announces “preventative and compulsory” lockdown of Argentina until March 31 in bid to stop the spread of coronavirus.

Coronavirus pandemic

President Alberto Fernández's letter to Argentines on coronavirus shutdown

20-03-2020 14:55 Read President Alberto Fernández's letter to the Argentine people, detailing the motives for his decision to order a nationwide lockdown in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.

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 pandemic

President Fernández orders nationwide lockdown in bid to contain virus

20-03-2020 00:15 Alberto Fernández announces "preventative and compulsory" lockdown of Argentina, from midnight tonight until March 31, in bid to stop the spread of coronavirus.

Coronavirus pandemic

New daily high pushes number of confirmed Covid-19 cases to 97

18-03-2020 22:23 A new new daily high of 19 new cases of the Covid-19 coronavirus have been recorded in Argentina, officials announce, lifting the total number of confirmed diagnoses to 97.

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

Argentina to build 8 emergency hospitals to help fight coronavirus, says Fernández

18-03-2020 13:28 “We are going to work tirelessly to complete the projects quickly,” the president promised after announcing multi-million-peso measures to tackle the pandemic.

Coronavirus pandemic

Number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Argentina rises to 79

17-03-2020 19:44 Fourteen new diagnoses of coronavirus confirmed; Salta, Jujuy and Santa Cruz register their first cases.

Coronavirus pandemic

Football in Argentina finally set to be suspended after days of debate

17-03-2020 15:09 Copa de Superliga postponed after intervention after Tourism and Sports Minister Matías Lammens calls for AFA and Superliga chiefs to stop "all categories" of football in Argentina.

Coronavirus pandemic

Fernández vows to clamp down on virus price gouging

17-03-2020 12:04 Peronist president says he will put "AFIP to work against speculators," saying he will not "tolerate rogues taking us for fools."

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.

Coronavirus pandemic

New rules for remote working introduced in bid to slow virus

17-03-2020 08:31 Officials unveil a new battery of measures to combat the spread of the coronavirus, including exempting public and private employees from "non-essential sectors" and parents of schoolchildren from travelling to their workplace.

Coronavirus Pandemic

Education minister tells Argentina's students: 'It's not a vacation’

16-03-2020 15:13 Education Minister Nicolás Trotta announces plans to cope with school shutdown, after government suspends all classes until March 31 due to coronavirus pandemic.

Coronavirus pandemic

Government 'evaluating mandatory quarantine, across country,' says Fernández

15-03-2020 11:53 President Alberto Fernández says officials are analysing the application of a mandatory quarantine throughout country in a bid to slow spread of coronavirus outbreak. Potential school closure to be assessed today.

Coronavirus pandemic

11 new confirmed coronavirus cases, lifting total in Argentina to 45

14-03-2020 19:54 Daily update confirms new cases in Santa Fe, Chaco, Buenos Aires City and Buenos Aires Province.

DEBT TALKS

Washington backs Alberto on debt but fears the ‘CFK risk’

14-03-2020 10:08 The United States government is backing President Alberto Fernández’s debt restructuring efforts and hopes he will emerge strengthened after a successful outcome.

by Patricia Valli

CORONAVIRUS CONSEQUENCES

Coronavirus casts another shadow over Argentina’s economy

14-03-2020 08:48 Consultancy firms predict outbreak will deepen economic turmoil in 2020, shaving as much as 0.5% off GDP

by Fermin Koop

Coronavirus pandemic

Fernández leads urgent meeting on Covid-19 with ministers and virus experts

13-03-2020 13:13 Government officials and experts huddle for talks on crisis as Argentina draws up measures to tackle the virus.

Coronavirus outbreak

Schools will remain open 'for the moment,' says education minister

13-03-2020 12:38 As the government introduces emergency measures to tackle the coronavirus pandemic, Nicolás Trotta confirmed today that schools will remain open – for now.

CADENA NACIONAL

Fernández announces measures to contain spread of coronavirus

13-03-2020 02:00 Fernández declares health emergency and all flights from Europe, the United States, Japan, South Korea, China and Iran suspended for 30 days; 14 days isolation ordered for 'at risk' citizens.