MILEI IN OSLO
President Javier Milei departed for Oslo on Monday evening to attend the ceremony awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to the Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, returning on Thursday morning, with his sister, Presidential Chief-of-Staff Karina Milei as his main company. His brief stay in Oslo also included scheduled Wednesday meetings with King Harald V and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre but these were cancelled, reportedly on the off-chance that a delayed Machado might show up during that time and to “give her space,” said officials. Santiago Peña (Paraguay), Daniel Noboa (Ecuador) and José Raúl Mulino (Panama) were other Latin American presidents to attend the ceremony and meet the Norwegian leaders. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro later rubbished “ridiculous” Milei and “the parasite” Mulino in particular for attending the ceremony. Relations with Venezuela have been tense throughout the Milei Presidency while last Monday marked the anniversary of the arrest in Caracas of Border Guard corporal Nahuel Gallo on espionage charges, a continuing detention which the government defines as a “forced disappearance.” Milei failed to meet Machado, with whom he has held telephone calls in the past, due to her late arrival owing to complications in her travel from exile with her daughter Ana Corina Sosa Machado receiving the prize in her name. Just before heading out to Norway, Milei received another Nobel Prize winner, Robert Merton (81 years young), co-winner of the 1997 Nobel Prize for Economics, at the Olivos presidential residence, clad in YPF overalls. Senator Bartolomé Abdala (La Libertad Avanza-San Luis), the provisional president of the upper house, was acting president during Milei’s absence since Vice-President Victoria Villarruel was in Spain.
LABOUR REFORM GOES TO CONGRESS
Upon his return from Oslo early Thursday, President Javier Milei signed the Labour Modernisation bill, which was promptly sent to Congress. Deregulation & State Transformation Minister Federico Sturzenegger, his second-in-command Maximiliano Fariña and Labour Secretary Julio Cordero were designated the official spokesmen to defend it. The bill will enter the Senate at committee stage next Tuesday with the aim of being approved this month, followed by the Glacier Protection Law, the 2026 Budget bill, the reform of the Criminal Code and the Law of Fiscal Stability. Later that day after a two-hour meeting, the CGT labour umbrella announced its rejection of “every point” of the labour reform for an “impoverished country without economic investment and suffering industricide,” announcing a Plaza de Mayo rally for next Thursday.
NOVEMBER INFLATION INCHES UP
Last month’s inflation was 2.5 percent, slightly up from October’s 2,3 percent, the INDEC national statistics bureau reported on Thursday, totalling 27.9 percent so far this year at an annual rate of 31.4 percent. The figure topped the average forecasts of private consultants. Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels (3.4 percent), Transport (three percent) and Food and beverages (2.8 percent), the latter driven by beef prices rising over six percent, were the main culprits. Core inflation (excluding regulated and seasonal prices) was 2.6 percent.
JUNTAS TRIAL ANNIVERSARY
The 40th anniversary of the verdict in the 1985 Trial of the Juntas was honoured by Argentina’s Judiciary last Tuesday in a ceremony attended by over 300 magistrates and their families and headed by Supreme Court Chief Justice Horacio Rosatti, who hailed the trial’s response to impunity. Neither the executive nor the legislative branches of government seemed to show much interest. Four of the six judges (León Arslanian, Ricardo Gil Lavedra, Guillermo Ledesma and Jorge Valerga Aráoz, of whom the former two spoke) were still alive 40 years later to be honoured but the late judges Andrés D’Alessio and Jorge Torlasco were also recognised. Supreme Court justice Carlos Rosenkrantz underlined that the judges also had the courage to acquit the innocent to ensure an impeccable trial. Fragments of the video recording over 500 hours of the trial were also projected.
NEXT TRIP LONDON?
The headline in Thursday’s edition of The Telegraph “Britain in talks with Argentina over lifting Falklands-era weapons ban,” accompanied by the information that Milei is set to visit Britain next April or May, raised eyebrows. Milei confirmed the contacts to the newspaper, saying: “There are no world powers without military power” although “in no way will we renounce territory.” British authorities at Downing Street and the Foreign Office denied the existence of “specific talks” to relax the limits on exporting arms to Argentina or the inclusion of Malvinas sovereignty while confirming bilateral conversations linked to defence issues. Milei has embarked on rearmament policies including the purchase of F-16 Fighting Falcon supersonic jets arriving from Denmark only last weekend.
EXPORT DUTIES TRIMMED
Economy Minister Luis Caputo last Tuesday announced a reduction of grain export duties amounting to one or two percentage points, proclaiming it on social media as “a new step on the road to fiscal relief for the agricultural sector, advancing in the permanent reduction of export duties and their by-products” and underlining that he would continue in that direction “in the degree that the macro-economic conditions permit.” Cabinet Chief Manuel Adorni added that the “road will always be lowering taxes while always respecting fiscal balance.” Caputo further said that “lowering export duties seeks to make agro-industry more competitive … as responsible for almost 60 percent of our exports.”The reductions are from 26 to 24 percent for soy and from 24.5 to 22.5 percent for soy by-products, wheat and barley from 9.5 to 7.5 percent, maize and sorghum from 9.5 to 8.5 percent and sunflower seed from 5.5 to 4.5 percent, carrying a fiscal cost of US$500-700 million. Nevertheless, the reductions had yet to appear in the Official Gazette at press time, holding up exports.
BOND SALE AT A PRICE
The government secured US$1 billion from a midweek bond sale, thus accelerating its return to bond markets but the annual interest rate of 9.26 percent was higher than expected by Economy Minister Luis Caputo. The tender for BONAR 2029N drew offers totalling US$1.42 billion, of which US$1 billion were accepted. The sale, the first in almost eight years since the Mauricio Macri Presidency, “demonstrated the confidence of investors in the improved economic fundamentals,” according to the Economy Ministry. Argentina’s country risk rating currently stands at around 630 points. The money will go towards repaying the US$4.5 billion falling due next month, which the government hopes to pay off with new debt while keeping Central Bank reserves stable.
AFA STILL UNDER FIRE
The crackdown on the AFA Argentine Football Association due to its links to the Sur Finanzas company (under investigation for multi-billion tax evasion and money-laundering) simmered on into this week with around 35 Federal Police raids on 17 different clubs, including the two Avellaneda rivals Racing and Independiente as well as San Lorenzo and Argentinos Juniors, apart from the AFA headquarters at Ezeiza. The clubs duly issued statements in protest. The raids were ordered by judge Luis Armella and prosecutor Cecilia Incardona. Other searches at a private gated community took place Thursday.
NEW HUMAN RIGHTS SECRETARY
Last Wednesday (Human Rights Day internationally), the government appointed Joaquín Mogaburu to replace the resigning Alberto Baños as Human Rights undersecretary in the Justice Ministry. The new official graduated in history and law from UCA Catholic University and has an extended judicial career.
FRESH LLA PURGE
La Matanza municipal councillor Leila Gianni was expelled from La Libertad Avanza last Thursday for "lacking any real commitment to our ideas." Gianni, a former Peronist, rejects her expulsion and antagonised her libertarian colleagues by forming her own Alianza Libertad Republicana caucus with two PRO councillors.
BUMPER LONG WEEKEND TOURISM
During the long weekend due to Monday’s public holiday for the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, almost 1.4 million tourists spent nearly 250 billion pesos with a daily average of 85,000 pesos per person, according to the estimates of the CAME retailers’ association. The CAME data were more exactly 1.38 million people spending 249.37 billion pesos. The Atlantic coast, Córdoba and Misiones (with the Iguazú waterfalls) were the main hotspots in the last long weekend of the year. Coastal reserves were topping 60 percent by Sunday while the Andrés Calamaro concert in La Plata found the Buenos Aires provincial capital almost fully booked. The long weekends throughout the year have mobilised a total of 13.3 million tourists spending almost three trillion pesos.
ANNIVERSARY GAFFE
To celebrate the halfway mark of the Javier Milei Presidency, the government presented new seals to all its ministries with symbolism designed to “reinforce the fundamental values” of unity, modernisation, sovereignty, protection, justice and work but the innovations not only introduced elements of the institucional iconography of the United States (such as an eagle for the Security Ministry) but also confused the national coat of arms with that of Buenos Aires Province. Deputy Carlos Castagneto (Unión por la Patria-Buenos Aires Province) also deplored the absence of the Malvinas Islands from a map featured on the Foreign Mionistry seal.
SCULPTURE BLOOMS AGAIN
The La Floralis Genérica sculpture, one of this city’s tourist attractions, blooms again after two of its petals were virtually destroyed by a storm in late 2023. Buenos Aires City Mayor Jorge Macri described the restoration of the petals, each weighing three and a half tons of aluminium and steel, as “extremely difficult,” promising new lighting for the sculpture. In order to celebrate restoration of the Floralis, there will be food fairs and musical shows as from noon today in the Plaza de las Naciones Unidas.
CUARTETO NOW UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE
The cuarteto, that emblematic dance music characterising the popular culture of Córdoba, was officially recognised as the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) during its 22nd session celebrated in the Indian capital of New Delhi last Tuesday, joining tango, filite porteño and chamamé as popular Argentine cultural expressions enjoying this status.
POLO HUG
President Javier Milei last Saturday watched the final of the 132nd Argentine Polo Open in which La Natividad-La Dolfina defeated Ellerstina-Indios Chapaleufú by a score of 16-14 in a tight match, afterwards hurling himself into an effusive and rather bizarre embrace with star player Adolfo Cambiaso. Milei had previously also watched the semi-final.
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