News of ministry

FOOTBALL & CORONAVIRUS

Football clubs granted permission to restart training by government

06-08-2020 14:50 Health Ministry confirms safety protocols for returning of football training, with clubs due to play in Copa Libertadores set to restart first.

BLOOMBERG - OPINION

Mohamed A. El-Erian: Argentina's debt proposal deserves support

07-07-2020 01:35 It would be in neither side's long-term interest to allow the theoretical best to be the enemy of the attainable good – what is now on the table warrants support by both Argentina and its creditors.

CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

Argentina records highest number of Covid-19 fatalities in single day

04-07-2020 08:14 Health Ministry officials confirm deaths of 52 individuals – Argentina’s highest daily toll to date. With 2,845 people having tested positive over the last 24 hours, infections are continuing to accelerate.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

INDEC: Economy contracted by 5.4% in first quarter of 2020

23-06-2020 20:37 Unemployment rose to 10.4% in the first three months of the year, before the coronavirus lockdown kicked in, national statistics bureau reveals.

EXPROPRIATION OF VICENTIN

Vicentin’s expropriation and how to break bad news

20-06-2020 09:26 A Peronist expropriation, and maybe even nationalisation, sounds like the best way to burn a lot of money straight into inefficient bureaucracy and corruption.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

Coronavirus Pandemic

Officials debate future of quarantine, likely to limit public transport

15-06-2020 16:10 National, Buenos Aires City and provincial health ministers meet to debate future of quarantine and preventative steps to tackle Covid-19, as officials in Chaco announce return to stricter lockdown in province.

BLOOMBERG

Argentina would ease currency controls if debt talks are successful

29-05-2020 14:56 Central Bank leaders implemented new controls Thursday night, restricting companies’ access to the foreign exchange market to pay for obligations overseas in dollars or other currencies.

MINISTRY POSITIONS

Production in a context of reduction

02-05-2020 10:58 Although always working with centre-left administrations, Kulfas has no political militancy or factional loyalty with his presence in the Cabinet entirely due to his personal links to President Fernández, as a leading member of his Grupo Callao think tank.

by Michael Soltys

Investigation in Brazil

Bolsonaro names allies to head police, justice ministry in Brazil

28-04-2020 11:50 But in blow to far-right leader, Supreme Court of Brazil authorises investigation of allegations of illegal interference of the police agency by the outgoing justice minister.

CORONAVIRUS QUARANTINE

Nationwide lockdown: Limited resumption of activities starting Monday

18-04-2020 09:10 Government to allow select activities in provinces without ‘viral circulation,’ confirms Cabinet Chief Santiago Cafiero; BA Province Governor Kicillof tests negative for coronavirus.

Sex and coronavirus

Health Ministry expert recommends 'virtual sex' for locked-up lovers

17-04-2020 16:59 Things got spicy at the daily Health Ministry briefing on Friday, as Dr José Barletta told citizens not to have shag strangers during the shutdown and to wash their hands thoroughly after a little sexy time at home.

MINISTRY POSITIONS

Social policy collides with scandal

11-04-2020 10:42 Born in the Greater Buenos Aires district of Morón, Social Development Minister Daniel Fernando Arroyo has made social policy his exclusive focus since starting his university studies (UBA) more than three decades ago.

by Michael Soltys

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.

Food-purchase scandal

Government under fire for overpaying on food purchases

07-04-2020 17:12 Social Development Minister Daniel Arroyo asks official responsible for overpaying for foodstuffs to resign, amid fierce criticism from opposition.

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.

MINISTRY POSITIONS

Science joins global hunt for vaccine

28-03-2020 10:48 The Science, Technology and Productive Innovation Ministry was created on the very first day of the Cristina Fernández de Kirchner presidency in 2007. In the ensuing eight years of that controversial regime, it is difficult to find any initiative of hers which commanded approval across so wide a spectrum.

by Michael Soltys

Coronavirus pandemic

Virus death toll rises to six with fatalities in Mar del Plata, Chaco

24-03-2020 15:19 71-year-old, who returned to country from Spain on March 9, dies in Mar del Plata; Chaco records second death from Covid-19 after 53-year-old passes away in Resistencia.

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.

Bloomberg

Central Bank to pause run of rate cuts

12-03-2020 22:33 Central Bank plans to keep its policy rate unchanged, as it weighs the impact of sell-off on world markets.

RATE CUT

Central Bank cuts interest rate to 38%

06-03-2020 08:00 In its statement, the Central Bank’s committee said cooling prices justified the rate cut but that the economy wasn’t in the clear yet.

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."

Bloomberg

BlackRock, Pimco fly to Argentina for private talk on debt

04-03-2020 16:58 Some of Argentina’s largest creditors flew to Buenos Aires for talks with Alberto Fernández’s government this week.

Bloomberg

Creditors offered bond swap ahead of key peso debt payment

04-03-2020 16:04 Argentina offers investors a swap that debt for new bonds maturing in 2019, in a move that could allow the government to avoid increasing money supply.

MINISTRY POSITIONS

Education, pay talks and class struggle

29-02-2020 11:28 The prospect of classes starting almost everywhere this Monday and last Wednesday’s return of national collective bargaining to the chronic problem of teacher pay for the first time since 2017 are ample reason to make education the choice for today’s “Ministry Positions” column.

by Michael Soltys

MINISTRY POSITIONS

Veteran moved back to Defence

23-02-2020 15:38 Agustín Rossi has returned to the Defence Ministry he previously headed between 2013 and 2015. This familiarity with the post might seem reason enough for the appointment within a Cabinet where such experience is in relatively short supply – but the real aim of this move might well have been to ease him out of a position where he has far more years under his belt...

by Michael Soltys

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.

RATE CUT

Central Bank lowers key rate to 40%, extending cuts

19-02-2020 18:15 Central Bank chief Miguel Pesce justifies the rate cuts as a tool to help turn around Argentina’s economy, which is expected to contract for the third straight year in 2020.

MINISTRY POSITIONS

Public works, private pockets...

01-02-2020 09:23 The revival of a Public Works Ministry after almost three decades suggest a direct defiance of the accumulation of court corruption cases during the Macri years.

by Michael Soltys

RATE CUT

Central Bank cuts key interest rate for fifth time since December 10

30-01-2020 21:29 Rate floor cut to 48 percent on Thursday from 50 percent. Central bank chief Miguel Pesce has lowered it from 63 percent since taking office December 10.

MINISTRY POSITIONS

The politics of security

25-01-2020 11:28 Curiously enough, ever since the ministry’s birth in late 2010, Argentina’s “top cop” has always been a woman apart from six months.

by Michael Soltys

First Foreign Trip

Symbolic and strategic: Fernández picks Israel for first foreign trip

17-01-2020 00:12 President’s decision to visit Jerusalem next week welcomed by Jewish community in Buenos Aires.

by Joseph Charney

FERNÁNDEZ'S FIRST MONTH

Fernández walks tightrope as he celebrates first month in office

09-01-2020 20:00 A month into his presidency, Peronist leader has embarked on an ambitious and risky juggling act in a bid to drag Argentina out of its worst economic crisis in almost 20 years.

Envoy in Buenos Aires

Foreign Ministry withdraws 'special' status of Guaidó's envoy in Argentina

07-01-2020 16:10 Government officials retract "special mission" status granted to Elisa Trotta Gamus, who was feted by former president Mauricio Macri as opposition leader's ambassador in Buenos Aires.

Ley de Solidaridad

Cafiero: Government will approve emergency economic measures today

23-12-2019 17:23 "The enactment will be today," says Cabinet Chief.

DIPLOMACY

Mexico's ambassador to Argentina resigns after book theft allegation

23-12-2019 14:22 Ambassador Óscar Ricardo Valero resigns post, as relatives say he may have suffered behavioural changes due to a brain tumour.

INTERVIEW

Argentina is in 'virtual default,' declares President Fernández

23-12-2019 08:53 "It is not the same as 2001, but it is similar," Fernández said in an interview with TV programme La Cornice. "Today we are in virtual default."

BLOOMBERG – ANALYSIS

Fernández secures sweeping powers to conduct debt talks

22-12-2019 22:29 President will now have more authority to negotiate with creditors, raise worker salaries and hike taxes. Government secured passage with concessions including lower export taxes on oil, gas and mining, and tax relief for small farmers.

SANTIAGO MALDONADO

Santiago Maldonado case: Minister plans to review actions of security forces

20-12-2019 14:21 “There was a lot of negligence in the operation,” says Sabina Frederic. New security minister orders report into Border Guard's actions during time of late artisan's disappearance.

NEW CABINET

Meet Martín Guzmán, Argentina's next economy minister

09-12-2019 14:07 New economy minister, who is close to Nobel-Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz, is seen as a critic of the International Monetary Fund.

Cabinet

Fernández appoints Martin Guzmán as economy minister

06-12-2019 19:57 "I have great confidence in him. He's a young man who is very prepared, and we have worked together for weeks," says Fernández.

TRANSITION 2019

Sandleris confirms resignation as Central Bank chief

05-12-2019 06:58 Central Bank chief confirms he will resign post ahead of December 10 handover. Argentina's monetary institution has had 61 presidents in the 84 years since its founding.

Transition 2019

Health Ministry veteran González García to return, confirms Fernández

04-12-2019 17:07 Ginés González García will serve for a third time as nation's health minister, president-elect confirms – and he says he will reinstate the abortion protocol struck down last month by President Macri.

BLOOMBERG

Argentina running dangerously low on dollars to pay back debt

12-11-2019 17:18 Argentina must repay US$5 billion by the end of 2019. It doesn’t have much to work with.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Central Bank alters 2019 forecasts: 3% drop in GDP, inflation at 55.6%

05-11-2019 14:15 Monthly survey carried out by Central Bank downgrades forecasts for Argentina's economy.

CURRENCY CONTROLS

Central Bank tightens 'cepo,' sets US$50 limit on cash advances abroad

31-10-2019 22:10 The move comes three days after the Central Bank sharply tightened currency exchange controls to stem a surge in capital flight.

VENEZUELANS IN ARGENTINA

Venezuelans in Argentina flee one crisis and now fear another

25-10-2019 09:37 Venezuelan who emigrated to Argentina fears that a victory by Peronist leader Alberto Fernández this weekend would deliver a crisis like the one back home.

ENVIRONMENT

Environment drops off radar after four years of contradictions

19-10-2019 08:09 Experts say the Macri administration is trying to have it both ways when it comes to environmental policies. And worryingly, the outlook doesn’t look much better under a potential government led by Alberto Fernández.

by Fermin Koop

San Juan

First charges in ARA San Juan case confound relatives of missing crew

17-10-2019 15:43 Three Navy officials will testify in court next week before Federal Judge Marta Yáñez, though their alleged crimes have not been made public, nor were relatives of the victims notified beforehand.

CENTRAL BANK

Sandleris asks for 'basic consensus' to ensure Argentina grows

16-10-2019 08:29 "If we manage to build basic consensus, our economy can leave behind instability and crisis, so that we can begin to grow steadily and begin to lower inflation," declares Central Bank chief.

DIPLOMACY

Argentina formally recognises envoy of Venezuela's Guaidó's as ambassador

15-10-2019 09:38 Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie designates Elisa Trotta as the "maximum authority of Venezuela in Argentina," officially confirming her as ambassador.