CARLOS MENEM (1930-2021) The first post-modern president 20-02-2021 07:56 Menem was the emblem of Argentina’s eternal aspiration to be a First World cosmopolitan society. by Gustavo González
BLOOMBERG Professionalism returns to the White House with Biden 23-01-2021 09:43 Policy expertise and political savvy are already on display. That’s a welcome contrast to Trump, but no guarantee of success.
NEW SERIES And that reminds me… 09-01-2021 07:28 Yours truly has been a columnist in this newspaper since its very first edition in four different incarnations. A new year, a new column. by Michael Soltys
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
Coronavirus pandemic New poll points to lockdown fatigue in Buenos Aires City 15-08-2020 08:33 Eight out of 10 people admit to quarantine fatigue while also expressing fear of Covid-19 contagion, a University of Belgrano opinion poll has revealed.
HUMAN RIGHTS Portland's Wall of Moms builds on a long protest tradition 13-08-2020 00:38 Kelsy Kretschmer, associate professor of sociology at Oregon State University, explains why the Wall of Moms protest group attracted so much attention in the coverage of the Black Lives Matter protests in Portland, and how the group draws on a long tradition of mothers’ movements around the world.
BLOOMBERG - OPINION For Argentina, reaching a debt deal was the easy part 10-08-2020 15:50 Many analysts foresee the IMF agreeing to reschedule the loan to its biggest debtor. Nonetheless, the Fund’s imprimatur will come with conditions. by Mac Margolis
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.
BLOOMBERG – OPINION Covid-19’s toll will rewrite Latin America's future 01-07-2020 23:22 The multiple crises assailing Latin America might not go entirely to waste, but to achieve lasting salutary change, the region must address the systemic vulnerabilities laid bare by the pandemic. by Mac Margolis
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
Coronavirus pandemic Covid-19: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly 08-05-2020 16:06 In the depths of quarantine tedium, this writer unearthed two movies whose titles have an uncanny pertinence in these surreal times. by Thomas Manning
Bloomberg - Opinion Helicopter money won’t ease Latin America’s pandemic pain 08-05-2020 09:25 Along with Covid-19, a fever of wonkery has broken out over how to reverse the collective economic contraction and to carry on once the health emergency has passed. As the worst of the pandemic is yet to come. by Mac Margolis
UNITED STATES I'm a small business owner in the US – will I get a coronavirus bailout too? 01-05-2020 12:16 The US government’s US$350-billion loan fund has run dry – yet many big businesses have been awarded millions. by * Reprinted with kind permission from the author.
AS I SEE IT The virus is winning on all fronts 25-04-2020 12:02 What might be just about tolerable for a couple of months most definitely would not be if, as seems more than probable, the “emergency” that allegedly justifies such stringent measures drags on for many years to come. by James Neilson
ARGENTINA’S DEBT WOES Pay no more 25-04-2020 11:57 Argentina is staring default in the face once again. The country has been here before, but never with the world economy cracking up in the middle of a pandemic. by Martín Gambarotta
CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC Face mask days 18-04-2020 10:47 Argentina’s coronavirus quarantine has been extended until April 26 and the use of facemasks is now compulsory in many parts of the country, including Buenos Aires City. by Martín Gambarotta
MINISTRY POSITIONS Labour’s love not lost, but whither jobs? 18-04-2020 10:41 The mission impossible of defending employment against the pandemic will make the Labour, Employment and Social Security Ministry a hot seat in the months and years to come. by Michael Soltys
AS I SEE IT The world prostrate before its new overlord 18-04-2020 10:23 Without a working economy, no society – no matter how kind-hearted its members and benevolent its leaders – will be able to care for those who fall sick, whether from the coronavirus or many other ailments. by James Neilson
AS I SEE IT Waiting for the end 11-04-2020 11:02 Covid-19 is here to stay and we will have to get used to living with it, just as we have with whatever causes the common flu, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, pneumonia, diabetes and many other deadly ailments. by James Neilson
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
A WEEK IN THE PANDEMIC A long-haul plight 11-04-2020 10:28 Is anybody paying attention to Argentina’s debt drama with the entire world economy hurting so badly from a virus? by Martín Gambarotta
THE GLOBAL PANDEMIC We don’t have what it takes to face this economic crisis 11-04-2020 08:18 It is difficult to envision how Argentina, the region and the world will come out of this mess unless a generalised, global set of solutions is put on the table. by Agustino Fontevecchia
LA GRIETA Y LA PANDEMIA Between a Rocca and a hard place 04-04-2020 09:54 The trade unions still consider themselves to be the backbone of Peronism and Fernández is leaning heavily on the labour machine to pull through the crisis. by Martín Gambarotta
AS I SEE IT Making the most of the coronavirus 04-04-2020 09:36 It is generally agreed that, until the emergency is over, it will be better to give President Alberto Fernández and his team the benefit of the doubt, unless they start making decisions that could have ruinous consequences. by James Neilson
CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC Hitting the reset button to avoid a new Great Depression 04-04-2020 08:17 So far so good, it seemed. Yet the emergence of partisan bickering this weekhas tainted what appeared to be one of the most successful state and political reactions to the coronavirus crisis, amplified by the botched responses of countries like Spain and Italy, and leaders like Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro. by Agustino Fontevecchia
Coronavirus pandemic Pandemic may give traditional media a new lease of life 30-03-2020 19:54 The coronavirus pandemic and the need for reliable information has triggered a surge in traditional mainstream media audiences.
AS I SEE IT When togetherness is anti-social 28-03-2020 11:37 Life and the economy are intertwined. Without money, people starve. In an unpleasantly short time, desperation can breed violent anarchy. by James Neilson
LIFE IN THE PANDEMIC Alberto the anchorman 28-03-2020 11:25 With millions staying at home, watching television is now a national sport once again, and the president has turned himself into the anchorman of an anxious nation. by Martín Gambarotta
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
GUEST VOICE This is much more than just a health pandemic 28-03-2020 08:47 We are facing not only a health epidemic but a new wave of structural poverty which especially hits the daily lives of the most vulnerable. by Agustín Salvia
GLOBAL PANDEMIC Coronavirus: poverty and ethics 28-03-2020 08:17 Assuming social distancing enforced through differing levels of quarantines is indeed the necessary initial response to the pandemic, how would one deal with the more than 320,000 households in a state of “critical overcrowding” in Argentina? by Agustino Fontevecchia
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
As I see it The world turned upside down 21-03-2020 10:28 How long can this cooperative mood, which reportedly prevails in most countries, last? by James Neilson
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
LIFE IN THE TIME OF COVID-19 Few certainties in a pandemic that touches all of us 21-03-2020 08:52 Life in the time of coronavirus will take some getting used to. An inelegant attempt to make sense of the incomprehensible. by James Grainger
BOLIVIAN POLITICAL CRISIS Morales protégé, Luis Arce, leads in polls head of Bolivian election 16-03-2020 22:32 The candidate of ex-president Evo Morales' MAS party, Luis Arce, has a commanding lead in opinion polls ahead of the May 3 presidential election in Bolivia
OPINION AND ANALYSIS The oil shock of 2020 appears to be here – and the pain could be wide and deep 16-03-2020 10:53 The world is again undergoing an oil shock. This is a big deal, not only for the global economy, but for geopolitics, the future of transport and efforts to mitigate climate change.
AS I SEE IT The human herd stalked by a virus 14-03-2020 10:19 So far, Argentina has been relatively free of infection from this particular virus, but Alberto Fernández’s government has decided to join the rest of the world and take suitably stringent measures. by James Neilson
AS I SEE IT Growth put on the backburner 29-02-2020 11:33 When in opposition, Peronists and others with broadly similar points of view like to pretend that the country is several times richer than the available data would suggest. by James Neilson
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
DEBT RESTRUCTURING Guzmán’s long March 29-02-2020 08:56 Argentina’s president is trying to sort out the country’s debt problems politically. Still, in the end, it will all be about money – the success of the ‘gently does it’ approach hinges on the bondholders accepting a considerable haircut. by Martín Gambarotta
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
ARGENTINE FOOTBALL Man City’s ban sparks dreams of prodigal sons 23-02-2020 16:41 UEFA bombshell greeted with glee in Argentina, but calm down, the top stars are not returning home anytime soon. by Dan Edwards
THE IMF AND ARGENTINA With the IMF on our side... 22-02-2020 12:57 The bondholders still don’t know what kind of a haircut they will be asked to suffer but Guzmán is trying to meet a March 31 deadline. A long next month lies ahead. by Martín Gambarotta
GUEST VOICE China and Argentina’s marriage of convenience 22-02-2020 11:12 Research shows that Argentina has entrenched its historic role as a raw material exporter, with little respect for environmental norms.
OPINION IMF, Argentina re-engage in crucial test of resolve 22-02-2020 10:19 Here are seven things to know at the beginning of what is likely to be a protracted, loud and knotty process.
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
MINISTRY POSITIONS Transport taken off the fast track 15-02-2020 11:29 As a Radical backed by one of the last entries into the Frente de Todos coalition, Mario Meoni seems to lack the political momentum to make any footprint, while the fiscal pressures from the debt crisis dominating the agenda are already making themselves felt. by Michael Soltys
AS I SEE IT Groundhog Day all over again 15-02-2020 11:17 Argentina’s many economic problems have less to do with greedy speculators, whether local or foreign, than with the corporatist model Juan Domingo Perón consolidated almost three-quarters of a century ago. by James Neilson
CORRUPTION Selective amnesia, ‘lawfare’ and ‘political prisoners’ 15-02-2020 09:47 What was originally a small headache is escalating to migraine status for President Fernández. Internal fissures between the fringe fanatical Kirchnerites and more moderate Peronists has reached the top levels of governments by Agustino Fontevecchia