Paradigm shifts Fear, uncertainty, doubt 14-05-2022 00:01 A paradigm shift for Argentina, global geopolitics, and cryptocurrencies. by Agustino Fontevecchia
POLITICS ‘I’ve got the power!’ 07-05-2022 00:19 There’s a civil war raging between President Alberto Fernández and his second-in-command, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner – and said conflict is tearing the ruling coalition apart at the seams. by Agustino Fontevecchia
SOCIAL MEDIA SALE Elon Musk’s Twitter Labyrinth 30-04-2022 01:17 Musk claims his intention is to guard Twitter’s role as “the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated” by protecting free speech. To do that he decided to buy the company for some US$44 billion and take it private. by Agustino Fontevecchia
ANALYSIS A bite of the digital apple 23-04-2022 00:01 The problem with Google and Faebook sucking the air out of the digital advertising market is that it has seriously deteriorated the quality of journalism worldwide. by Agustino Fontevecchia
Politics Waiting for Alberto and Cristina to figure it out 15-04-2022 01:40 The civil war between the Albertistas and Kirchneristas has paralysed Argentina’s political agenda. by Agustino Fontevecchia
Politics The ‘war’ against inflation – an Argentine classic 08-04-2022 23:30 Inflation has now become the key battleground for an embattled government that was naïve enough to declare a war against it as the world observes the brutal showdown between Russia and Ukraine. by Agustino Fontevecchia
POLITICS War of the Roses: an inevitable divorce for Alberto & Cristina? 01-04-2022 21:47 Plenty of scenarios have been circulating over the past several weeks as the ruling Frente de Todos coalition endures an internal civil war between Kirchneristas and Albertistas. by Agustino Fontevecchia
ANALYSIS It’s the inflation, dickhead 18-03-2022 21:00 In a country with a long history of uncontrollable price increases – including several bouts of hyperinflation – the last three administrations have failed miserably at controlling runaway price rises. by Agustino Fontevecchia
ANALYSIS Vaca Muerta: a failed opportunity that will cost Argentina 16-03-2022 21:13 When trying to explain why we fail as a country, look no further than the Vaca Muerta debacle. by Agustino Fontevecchia
RUSSIAN INVASION OF UKRAINE Putin’s war has laid many 21st-century paradigms to rest 04-03-2022 23:21 The fall of the Soviet Union and the end of modernism made us believe that mass warfare was no longer possible in ‘civilised’ places like Europe and the United States, where the major physical threat came from terrorism and global warming. Putin’s invasion has also laid that paradigm to rest. by Agustino Fontevecchia
Politics Playing with fire 12-02-2022 09:27 Despite claims of an historical “Peronist third position,” the reality is Argentina has an impossible debt with the International Monetary Fund and it needs all the support it can get to restructure it. by Agustino Fontevecchia
POLITICS A conversation with Professor Stiglitz 04-02-2022 23:10 The strong show of political support for Guzmán’s negotiating techniques from one of the world’s most renowned economists is the mirror image of what he’s suffered internally, particularly within the ranks of Frente de Todos. by Agustino Fontevecchia
IMF DEBT TALKS Guzmán’s wet dream 28-01-2022 22:14 It isn’t entirely clear whether this is a good or a bad agreement for Argentina, but there should be no doubts that the beleaguered nation needed to reach some sort of deal with the IMF ahead of an impossible debt calendar. by Agustino Fontevecchia
POLITICS: ANALYSIS Argentina, trying to sit at the ‘big boys’ table’ 21-01-2022 23:30 It’s a curious thing how Argentina manages to invite itself to the ‘big boys’ table’ just as things are about to get hairy. by Agustino Fontevecchia
Politics heating up Hypocrisy rules! 15-01-2022 03:00 The heatwave that hit the Southern Hemisphere and Argentina with particular virulence this week seems to have fried the circuits of more than just the systems controlling the energy grid in the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires by Agustino Fontevecchia
PARTY POLITICS & REVENGE ‘The Foot,’ the ‘Gestapo,’ and the dark basements of Argentina’s democracy 07-01-2022 22:56 Cristina and her acolytes abused the Judiciary to rid themselves of problems during their tenure. Unfortunately, Macri’s Cambiemos coalition followed in their exact same footsteps, despite having won elections on an anti-corruption platform. by Agustino Fontevecchia
POLITICS The end of Kirchnerism? 31-12-2021 10:55 The question of Kirchnerism’s resilience pierces the socio-political-economic ecosystem in Argentina, and will help determine the near future of the beleaguered nation. by Agustino Fontevecchia
THE FUTURE OF JOURNALISM The great dichotomy 10-12-2021 23:33 Journalism is still in the middle of its transformation into a new discipline, and media companies continue to face a critical situation, particularly in Argentina where economic crisis is the norm. by Agustino Fontevecchia
ECONOMIC CRISES 2001 to 2021: Ticking time bomb 03-12-2021 23:41 Fast forward to today from 2001 and Argentina’s massive debt pile is still front and centre of the political discussion, as is the IMF and the possibility of default. by Agustino Fontevecchia
post-election politics Check yo’ self before you wreck yo’ self 26-11-2021 23:13 With the election behind us, time for a deal with the IMF is running out. Argentina must make an interest payment in December and faces a tough payment calendar in the first quarter of 2022 that it is unable to face. by Agustino Fontevecchia
ELECTIONS 2021: ANALYSIS How to freak out the IMF, an Argentine story 20-11-2021 11:55 It is difficult to fathom an IMF that will ink a deal with a nation that upholds dual exchange rates, price controls, relentless monetary expansion, and massive energy and utility subsidies in the context of perpetual deficits and extremely high inflation. by Agustino Fontevecchia
Heightened uncertainty Deep in the rabbit hole, Argentina searches for its soul 12-11-2021 22:17 Once the dust settles, Argentina will find itself deeper in the rabbit hole it has lived in for nearly a century and with even less margin than it had in the past. by Agustino Fontevecchia
Greenwashing? Overseas trips and the green agenda 05-11-2021 17:59 Argentina’s international agenda had moderate pretensions. President Fernández needed to show himself as the proactive leader of a country that has a say in world affairs, even if we don’t. by Agustino Fontevecchia
Digital dystopia The lies behind Zuckerberg’s Meta & Google’s Goodness 29-10-2021 23:37 It is clear that the level of complexity behind managing and supervising content on the Facebook family of products is extreme, yet Zuckerberg simply doesn’t seem interested in it. by Agustino Fontevecchia
Politics The ‘Pact’ 22-10-2021 21:58 The real question isn’t about macroeconomics or philosophy, but rather about whether Team Mauricio and Team Cristina can actually leave aside their differences and work together. by Agustino Fontevecchia
Politics The Berni Headlock and the Cristina Shake 16-10-2021 00:01 Whether on purpose or not, the pan-Peronist coalition led by Alberto Fernández and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner is trying to drag the conversation away from the economic failures during their tenure in an attempt to claw back votes. by Agustino Fontevecchia
Facebook’s dilemma How to evade taxes while being a major global corporation in a globalised and digital world 09-10-2021 11:55 Facebook, Google, Amazon, and the largest technology companies out there, most of them headquartered in Silicon Valley but registered in tax havens like Ireland, have long bent the rules in order to innovate, but also to their own benefit. by Agustino Fontevecchia
POLITICS Filthy, dirty, sexy (monopoly) money 01-10-2021 23:04 Frente de Todos will put out all the stops to win back disillusioned voters in Peronist strongholds that didn’t go out to vote. by Agustino Fontevecchia
Chaos In Power Vive la résistance? 24-09-2021 21:44 Minister Guzmán’s courage and President Alberto’s newfound heroism could be part of the ‘resistance’ against the onslaught of Kirchnerism within the ranks of the Frente de Todos. by Agustino Fontevecchia
Cataclysm Sore losers 18-09-2021 00:01 The structural issues facing the Argentine political system are substantially more profound than the superficial and lightweight Alberto Fernández. by Agustino Fontevecchia
It’s PASO time! Sloppy seconds 11-09-2021 09:54 The PASO primaries have laid bare the intellectual vacuity of Argentina’s political class. by Agustino Fontevecchia
ELECTIONS 2021: PASO PRIMARIES Uneasy marriages, hawks and doves, and violent ultraliberals 04-09-2021 10:15 Defeating the enemy, it seems, is the only thing keeping both coalitions together. by Agustino Fontevecchia
ELECTIONS 2021 PASO Primaries: Round 1 27-08-2021 23:26 It will be a tough election for the pan-Peronist coalition in the Province of Buenos Aires. by Agustino Fontevecchia
Dirty politics A hatchet job for the perfect punching bag 21-08-2021 09:26 President Alberto’s hypocrisy will lower the count in the most populous electoral district of the nation, along with his pseudo-apology, and his subsequent backtracking. Yet, Alberto was chosen specifically for this reason: he’s the perfect punching bag. by Agustino Fontevecchia
Scandal Partying in Olivos 14-08-2021 07:22 The line between being an able negotiator with the capacity to speak “eye to eye” with almost anyone, and becoming a charlatan is a fine one, particularly in politics. by Agustino Fontevecchia
VACCINES FOR SALE? The Sputnik saga continues 07-08-2021 11:44 Several sub-national jurisdictions throughout Argentina have announced their own plans to procure Covid-19 vaccines. Both Buenos Aires City and the provinces of Buenos Aires, Cordoba, Mendoza, Salta and Jujuy have come out publicly with their plans to purchase the inoculations, yet not a single one has arrived to the country yet. by Agustino Fontevecchia
VACCINES FOR SALE? One million doses of Sputnik V and 18 million euros 31-07-2021 00:44 A failed deal to purchase one million doses of the Sputnik V vaccine has helped lift the curtain that shields the murky world of secondary markets for Covid-19 shots. by Agustino Fontevecchia
politics Sputniks, dollars and justice: three things we’re missing 24-07-2021 00:38 Over the past few weeks, the so-called “pax cambiaria,” or exchange rate stability, that allowed for a very sluggish decline in inflation and a timid recovery in economic activity has been disturbed by turbulence. by Agustino Fontevecchia
opinion and analysis Geopolitics and the ideological populism of Macri and Cristina 17-07-2021 11:23 Beginning to leave the Macri-Cristina grieta in the rearview mirror is a necessary condition for progress. by Agustino Fontevecchia
BIG TECH Is Facebook a monopoly? A few ideas to help the FTC out… 10-07-2021 08:20 For anyone operating in the same digital ecosystem as Facebook, it is painstakingly clear that Zuckerberg’s creation has excessive market power and uses it to its own benefit. The same can be said about Google and a few other Silicon Valley giants. by Agustino Fontevecchia
Cash money ‘Experts in regulated markets’ 03-07-2021 23:22 Argentina’s ‘experts in regulated markets’ are making big bets just at the right time. by Agustino Fontevecchia
CRISIS IN VENEZUELA Maduro, Guaidó and Alberto: the beginning of a new phase in Venezuela? 26-06-2021 00:33 Both sides of the Venezuelan grieta have publicly stated their intention to sit at the negotiating table. This is a massive step forward after years of deadlock. by Agustino Fontevecchia
Electoral dirt Porno-politics and Argentina’s digital rumour mill 19-06-2021 09:57 The rumour mill is working at full speed these days, and don’t expect it to die down – elections are around the corner. by Agustino Fontevecchia
Cryptocurrencies A crypto-revolution in Argentina 12-06-2021 00:17 Argentina’s economy is prime breeding ground for the crypto-world. And the populist promise of cheap energy here is a crypto-miner’s dream. by Agustino Fontevecchia
Politics & the pandemic Superclásicalisation 05-06-2021 00:38 In a nation of heated discussions and high passions, the political arena has mimicked the deep divisions of a football derby. by Agustino Fontevecchia
POLITICS & THE PANDEMIC What populism? 29-05-2021 11:24 Populism is cynical. Promises are made in exchange for a specific outcome, and not because they are fair or just. Taken to the extreme, this deepens polarisation. And we know that all too well. by Agustino Fontevecchia
Urgency vs. necessity Alberto’s ‘top priority’ 22-05-2021 09:35 The government’s current policies appear absolutely focused on the immediate. Many see the hand of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and Axel Kicillof. by Agustino Fontevecchia
Eurotrip Alberto Fernández’s European vacation 15-05-2021 15:35 The president’s good chemistry with some of Europe’s most important leaders shows once again that when he steps into his role as a moderate within the ruling Frente de Todos coalition, he gains ground. by Agustino Fontevecchia
Brain drain Is it time to leave or is Argentina worth it? 08-05-2021 00:06 Even more dangerous than outdated economics is the constant trench warfare that is Argentine politics, which begets disillusionment and feeds the brain drain. by Agustino Fontevecchia
Power & money Using Guzmán to undermine Alberto 01-05-2021 00:40 It goes without saying that if a minister is unable to dismiss an underling, a third-line official within his hierarchical structure, it’s the minister who should be abandoning ship. But it's not the economy minister’s authority that’s really at stake – it’s Alberto’s. by Agustino Fontevecchia
