News of economy

US bans CFK, De Vido from entry over 'involvement in significant corruption'

22-03-2025 14:06 US State Department, under orders of Marco Rubio, issues statement confirming entry ban for former president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, former federal planning minister Julio de Vido and their immediate family members.

by Cecilia Degl'Innocenti

WASHINGTON'S BAN ON CFK

United States bars Cristina Fernández de Kirchner from entry due to graft case

22-03-2025 09:37 US Secretary of State Marco Rubio made the decision to ban Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and her immediate family, as well as former public works minister Julio De Vido, “for significant corruption,” according to a statement.

Chilean presidential candidate Evelyn Matthei.

POLITICS IN CHILE

Chile presidential candidate Evelyn Matthei lauds Argentina budget cuts

22-03-2025 09:13 “In Argentina, they’ve cut spending with a speed and determination that’s incredible,” says Chile presidential candidate Evelyn Matthei.

BEYOND THE HEADLINES

'Cepo' in review

22-03-2025 07:53 It might well be argued that the ‘cepo,’ the seemingly endless set of currency and capital controls, has been a bane of Argentina’s existence.

by Michael Soltys

As I see it

The old order is fighting back

22-03-2025 07:45 Milei has managed to apply a much-needed corrective to a political order that, until he took over, seemed to have been programmed to destroy both itself and the country.

by James Neilson

ANALYSING ARGENTINA

Autumn is coming for Javier Milei

22-03-2025 07:41 Last week, we discussed how an electoral agreement with the governor of Chaco signalled a possible pattern. This week, Chaco Governor Leandro Zdero received a 120-billion-peso transfer from the federal government. Just don’t tell the IMF.

by Marcelo J. García

POLITICS – ANALYSIS

Political hegemony turning to pathetic circus

22-03-2025 07:14 Market jitters have pushed the government into a defensive posture, in which Economy Minister Luis ‘Toto’ Caputo appears to have involuntarily flamed the fans of devaluation.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

Editorial

Forever Autumn?

22-03-2025 07:11 There is already too much polarisation in politics at large – instead of extremes clashing, there is a need to meet in the middle for a serious debate about a complex issue.

the week in review

Stories that caught our eye: March 14 to 21

21-03-2025 17:00 A selection of the stories that caught our eye over the last seven days in Argentina.

IMF DEBT TALKS

IMF to consider US$20-billion Argentina deal in informal meeting

21-03-2025 15:44 IMF intends to discuss a new loan for Argentina during an informal meeting between its staff and executive board next week in Washington.

ypf nationalisation case

Burford met with silence from Milei over US$16-billion YPF judgment

21-03-2025 10:33 Argentina faces a US$16-billion court judgment over its nationalisation of oil company YPF. But the firm that won the case says President Javier Milei won't talk to them.

People take part in a demonstration outside Congress during a national strike against the government of Javier Milei in Buenos Aires, on January 24, 2024.

LABOUR & POLITICS

CGT labour federation calls general strike on April 10

20-03-2025 20:10 The CGT umbrella union grouping on Thursday confirmed that it will call a general strike – the third of President Javier Milei’s time in office – on April 10.

IMF DEBT PROGRAMME

IMF deal will be agreed by mid-April, says Milei

20-03-2025 18:27 Lower house backs presidential decree authorising new deal with International Monetary Fund.

DEBT & MARKETS

Argentina waiting on yields to fall below 10% before debt market return

20-03-2025 12:26 Argentina is waiting for yields on its sovereign bonds to edge below 10% before exploring return to international capital markets, says government official.

Shoppers browse at the Tristan Narvaja market in Montevideo.

SCANDAL IN URUGUAY

Uruguay rocked by US$300 million in cattle fraud claims

20-03-2025 12:21 Urugauy is facing one of its biggest-ever retail investor fraud cases, with companies peddling cattle investments accused of bilking savers out of hundreds of millions of dollars.

'CRYPTOGATE' SCANDAL

Déjà vu? Another libertarian politician promotes ‘$LIBRA’ crypto token

20-03-2025 01:03 La Libertad Avanza lawmaker José Luis Espert says his account on the X social network was “hacked”; Post promoting ‘$LIBRA V2’ token made, just weeks after President Milei pushed same scam cryptocurrency.

View of a seat of a lawmaker from the ruling La Libertad Avanza ruling party during the debate on a decree by Argentina's President Javier Milei to obtain congressional backing for the signing of new debt with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) at the Chamber of Deputies in Buenos Aires on March 19, 2025.

IMF DEBT PROGRAMME

Milei wins lower house approval to agree new IMF loan

19-03-2025 17:52 Milei granted free hand in negotiations with International Monetary Fund over a new programme as lower house backs decree authorising talks.

Congress & Politics

Congress upholds Milei’s decree to back new IMF-Argentina deal

19-03-2025 17:44 Lower house lawmakers vote in favour of President Javier Milei’s emergency executive decree backing a new deal with the International Monetary Fund.

A delivery worker waits for an order outside a restaurant in Buenos Aires.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Economy extended expansion as new IMF accord nears

19-03-2025 17:27 Gross domestic product expanded 1.4% in the three months through December, compared with the previous quarter.

Passengers wait at a bus stop in Buenos Aires.

ANALYSIS: SHOCK THERAPY

Milei’s inflation miracle distorted by obsolete items in index

19-03-2025 17:12 Calls are getting louder for President Javier Milei’s government to redo the make-up of the consumer price index for the first time in two decades.

Football fans take part in a protest of pensioners against the government of President Javier Milei in Buenos Aires on March 12, 2025.

PENSION PROTEST

Political football: In defence of Argentina's forgotten pensioners

18-03-2025 17:54 The football fans who marched Wednesday in Buenos Aires with pensioners were accused of being "destabilisers" by the Argentine government, but they have managed to unite social discontent into an unexpected opposition without leadership.

'CRYPTOGATE' SCANDAL

A month on from ‘$LIBRA,’ Milei siblings at centre of judicial tug-of-war

18-03-2025 17:00 Investigation into alleged corruption, influence-trafficking and public ethics rules now the focus of a jurisdictional tussle.

by Alfredo Izaguirre

Movistar saw its market share dip to 23.7% in the 12 months through September.

PHONE MARKET

Telefónica becomes victim of Chile’s mobile phone curse

17-03-2025 16:32 Telefónica’s bonds tumble and investors question its commitment to Chile as it sells assets in Argentina and Colombia.

Labour unrest

Labour leaders plan general strike against Milei government

17-03-2025 09:10 CGT, Argentina's biggest umbrella union grouping, to call general strike for Tuesday, April 8; Details to be defined at the meeting this Thursday.

Shoppers browse products in a supermarket in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

ECONOMY – ANALYSIS

Argentina disinflation stalled despite strength of the peso

15-03-2025 10:52 Economists surveyed by Argentina’s Central Bank expect year-on-year inflation to plunge to 23% this year.

OPINION & ANALYSIS

Is Donald Trump good for Argentina?

15-03-2025 07:40 Trump’s new transactional and short-term economic order overlaps with a new gangster-style and hyper-materialistic political order.

by Jorge Fontevecchia

Chaco Province Governor Leandro Zdero and President Javier Milei.

POLITICS

Chaco and Milei’s electoral strategy for October

15-03-2025 07:36 Chaco shows that Milei is willing to seal alliances with the local political establishment — a.k.a. “the caste” — as it best suits them. And the Casa Rosada has leverage in this negotiation with the governors: cash.

by Marcelo J. García

POLITICS – ANALYSIS

Violence and institutional informality

15-03-2025 07:29 There are serious questions as to what happened on the streets outside Congress, but it clearly helped to distract the attention away from what was going on inside Congress and in the troubled port city of Bahía Blanca.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

State responds to Bahía Blanca flood damage.

EDITORIAL

Bahía Blanca as a wake-up call

15-03-2025 07:16 The devastation in Bahía Blanca should serve to sweep away any illusion that state responsibilities can be abdicated in the name of the laws of the market.

Shoppers at a supermarket in Buenos Aires.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Consumer prices rose 2.4% in February, reveals INDEC

14-03-2025 18:11 Inflation inches up, rising 0.2 points from 2.2% recorded previous month; Prices up 2.4% in first two months of year, by 66.9% over last 12 months.

A 'train of solidarity' prepares to leave for storm-hit Bahía Blanca.

THE WEEK IN REIVEW

Stories that caught our eye: March 7 to 14

14-03-2025 17:07 A selection of the stories that caught our eye over the last seven days in Argentina.

Handout photo released by Argentina's Presidency press office showing Argentine President Javier Milei (2-R) posing with Security Minister Patricia Bullrich (2-L) the President spokesman Manuel Adorni (L) and ruling party legislator Jose Luis Espert at the "Expoagro" agricultural exhibition in San Nicolas de los Arroyos, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, on March 14, 2025.

FALLOUT FROM PENSION PROTEST

Milei promises jail for ‘sons of bitches’ who caused violence in protest

14-03-2025 16:43 President Javier Milei promises to jail the "sons of bitches" who provoke street riots after Wednesday’s protest by pensioners, supported by football fans, turned violent amid repression from security foces.

The offices of the former Agencia Federal de Inteligencia (AFI), now renamed the Secretaría de Inteligencia de Estado (SIDE).

POLITICS & ECONOMY

Milei boosts budget of SIDE intelligence services by 7.3 billion pesos

14-03-2025 09:14 More funds for discretionary “reserved spending” for intelligence services; Increase in intelligence funding comes just days after President promised funds for storm-hit Bahía Blanca.

Residential buildings outside the Vaca Muerta shale patch in Añelo, Neuquén Province, Argentina.

ENERGY & GAS

Petronas is evaluating exit from Argentina shale oil venture

13-03-2025 23:39 Petronas has begun a process that may result in a sale of its 50 percent stake in La Amarga Chica, a venture with state-run YPF in the oil production heartland of Vaca Muerta.

Images from clashes between pensioners, football fans and sympathisers and the security forces during a protest near Congress on March 12, 2025.

CLASHES WITH SECURITY FORCES

More than 120 detained, 20 injured as pensions protest turns violent

13-03-2025 01:54 Protesting pensioners joined by football supporters for anti-austerity demonstration; Security forces clash with hooligans; 124 detained and at least 20 injured in one of the most violent demonstrations against Milei’s austerity measures.

by Zella Milfred

A police officer uses pepper spray during a protest of pensioners supported by football fans against the government of President Javier Milei in Buenos Aires on March 12.

POLITICS & ECONOMY

Milei faces fresh protest from football club fans over austerity

13-03-2025 00:25 Weekly protest against President Javier Milei’s austerity against pensioners takes aggressive turn.

People choose donated clothes in Bahía Blanca, 600 km south of Buenos Aires on March 10, 2025.

BAHÍA BLANCA DEVASTATION

Milei pledges 200 billion pesos for Bahía Blanca after criticism

13-03-2025 00:20 President insulted during surprise visit to Bahía Blanca, deluge-stricken city devastated by last Friday’s storm; Milei announces US$184 million in funding, but local authorities say reconstruction could cost up to US$400 million.

A kiosk worker uses his mobile phone during a power outage in Buenos Aires on March 5, 2025.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Inflation in Buenos Aires City slowed to 2.1% in February

12-03-2025 16:26 Consumer prices slowed by one point last month from January; Inflation in capital in first two months of year totals 5.3%.

President Javier Milei and presidential chief-of-staff Karina Milei, joined by Security Minister Patricia Bullrich, visit Bahía Blanca.

TRAGEDY IN BAHÍA BLANCA

Five days on, Milei travels to storm-hit Bahía Blanca

12-03-2025 15:21 President insulted during surprise visit to Bahía Blanca, city devastated by last Friday’s storm; Reconstruction could cost up to US$400 million, says local authorities.

Diners at a restaurant in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

ANALYSIS: SHOCK THERAPY

Argentines ditch dining out as Milei’s policies strengthen peso

12-03-2025 13:58 President’s self-titled “shock therapy” of economic policies are making the country’s currency so expensive it’s doubled dinner tabs at restaurants that were booming not so long ago.

Shoppers at a Big Box supermarket in Brasília, Brazil.

INFLATION WOES

Brazil prices jump the most since 2022 in fresh blow to Lula

12-03-2025 11:53 Official data released Wednesday by Brazil's government showed consumer prices shot up 1.31% in February, the monthly biggest rise since March 2022.

An overvalued Argentine peso encourages shoppers to travel across the border to stock up on goods in Chile.

ECONOMY

Surge in Argentine tourists fuels Chile retail earnings

11-03-2025 16:06 Argentina's strong peso encouraged 2 million people to travel to Chile last year, boosting earnings for retailers and airlines on the other side of the border.

IMF DEBT PROGRAMME

Milei signs executive decree to back Argentina’s IMF programme

11-03-2025 14:18 President signs emergency decree to mandate a new deal between Argentina and the International Monetary Fund.

A man sleeps outside Constitución train station in Buenos Aires on March 10, 2025.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

UCA observatory says poverty rate reached 41.6% last year

11-03-2025 13:39 New report from respected poverty watchdog, which measures figure on a "multidimensional" basis rather than purely cash, warns of challenges facing Argentina.

by Agustina Bordigoni

OPINION & ANALYSIS

Transportation electrification is coming, but will it spark a broader shift?

11-03-2025 11:19 From the heart of Buenos Aires to remote corners of Patagonia, the electrification of transportation is gaining momentum, driven by a convergence of innovation, government support and a broad push for modernisation.

by Heliana Veronica Higbie

President Javier Milei, pictured during the inauguration of the 143rd ordinary session of Congress at the National Congress building in Buenos Aires on March 1, 2025.

IMF DEBT PROGRAMME

Milei issues decree to take new IMF deal through Congress

11-03-2025 09:55 President issues decree seeking green light from Congress to move forward with rejigged IMF agreement; Repayments would be pushed out over 10 years with a grace period of four and a half years.

People walk through flooded waters the day after a heavy storm in Bahía Blanca, 600 km south of Buenos Aires on March 8, 2025.

FLOODING IN BAHÍA BLANCA

Rescuers searches for two young girls lost in Bahía Blanca floods

10-03-2025 17:44 Locals have been shaken by the uncertain fate of two little girls – aged one and five – who appear to have been swept away in flash flooding.

A glass of wine at a vineyard in Mendoza.

WINE INDUSTRY

Argentina’s annual wine exports near US$1-billion mark

10-03-2025 14:12 Nation is now the world's ninth-largest wine consumer; Export market worth US$933 million last year, making Argentina 11th-largest exporter by volume worldwide.

IMF DEBT TALKS

Milei says IMF deal will wipe out inflation

09-03-2025 09:04 President Javier Milei says new IMF programme is a move to "exterminate inflation" in Argentina.

Argentine veteran reporter, radio presenter and host Marcelo Longobardi.

INTERVIEW / PERIODISMO PURO

Marcelo Longobardi: ‘Milei’s conduct with journalists identical to Kirchners’

08-03-2025 06:00 Veteran reporter, radio presenter and host Marcelo Longobardi – whose incisive criticism led both the Kirchner and Milei governments to force him off the air – offers a critical analysis of the state of journalism in Argentina.

by Jorge Fontevecchia

Presidential Chief-of-Staff Karina Milei flew this week to Canada to lead the country’s delegation to one of the largest mining shows on Earth.

ANALYSING ARGENTINA

Exit rigging, enter RIGI

08-03-2025 06:00 Argentina has, many times in its recent past, seen long-term sustainability ruined by short-term objectives.

by Marcelo J. García

The political “iron triangle” that run the show.

POLITICAL ANALYSIS

Challenging Milei’s ‘iron triangle’

08-03-2025 06:00 The Donald holds the keys to Milei’s future.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

Traffic chaos during a power cut in Buenos Aires.

the week in review

Stories that caught our eye: March 1 to March 7

07-03-2025 10:42 A selection of the stories that caught our eye over the last seven days in Argentina.

Argentine peso banknotes in a cafe in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

NEW IMF PROGRAMME

‘Devaluation not the solution,’ says Caputo on IMF deal

06-03-2025 22:27 End of April target set; Deal could include US$20 billion in funds, says Wall Street bank.

HEALTH & ECONOMY

Milei government eliminates Argentina's national cancer institute

06-03-2025 21:15 In a statement, Argentina's Health Ministry announced the closure of the Instituto Nacional del Cáncer because of a "duplicity of tasks" and to have "greater control of actions."

TRADE WARS

Trump changes tack on some tariffs, but steel, aluminium remain

06-03-2025 18:20 Mexico and Canada given grace period, but levies on imported metals and agricultural products look set to hit Argentina hard.

Javier Milei appears at the Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Maryland on February 22.

IMF DEBT TALKS

Wall St sees Argentina getting up to US$20 billion in IMF deal

06-03-2025 00:01 Negotiations between Milei’s government and the IMF appear to be nearing the final stages.

IMF DEBT TALKS

Adorni says Argentina aiming for new IMF loan deal by end April

05-03-2025 23:43 New deal with IMF "should be completed in the first four months of the year," Presidential Spokesperson Manuel Adorni tells reporters.

POWER OUTAGE

Massive blackout in Buenos Aires amid sweltering heatwave

05-03-2025 17:55 More than 600,000 people were left without electricity Wednesday as massive power outage hits Buenos Aires and its southern suburbs – even the Casa Rosada was affected.

Mario Lugones, Argentina's health minister, and the statement from resigning doctors.

public health crisis

Doctors resign from Health Ministry scheme over ‘dismantling’ of programmes

05-03-2025 16:59 Healthcare professionals working on Health Ministry programmes to tackle HIV, leprosy and tuberculosis resign en masse, stating: "We will not be part of a Ministry where essential programmes are unable to meet the basic obligations set by law."

US Democrat Representative of Texas Al Green (L) disrupts US President Donald Trump as he spoke to a joint session of Congress at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on March 4, 2025.

UNITED STATES POLITICS

Trump addresses tense US Congress after pausing aid to Ukraine

05-03-2025 13:48 Ukrainian flags of protest, a MAGA hat of support and disruptive shouts fill the halls of the US Congress during President Donald Trump’s speech Tuesday.

Argentina's Central Bank has slowed its monthly peso depreciation to 1% from 2%.

ANALYSIS: SHOCK THERAPY

All the currency, capital controls Milei needs to end this year

05-03-2025 12:00 Javier Milei has taken several steps to ease restrictions during his first year in office, but he entered 2025 with few indications that there will be a quick unwinding of the rules.

ROYALTIES ROW

Milei government deregulates collection of author’s royalties

05-03-2025 10:46 President Javier Milei government orders deregulation of the collection of authorship royalties in Argentina, whose processing was previously obliged to pass through a society for artists but can now be transmitted without intermediation.

BILATERAL TRADE

Trump says he is open to a trade deal with Argentina

04-03-2025 15:39 US President Donald Trump responds positively to question speculating over likelihood of US-Argentina free-trade deal.

President Donald Trump delivered on his threat to hit Canada and Mexico with sweeping import levies and doubled an existing charge on China.

Global trade

Trump escalates global trade war, sparking tit-for-tat tariffs

04-03-2025 12:27 Confirmation of the levies lays to rest doubts Trump would actually follow through on his repeated threats to upend global economic ties to counter what he casts as imbalanced trade.

President Javier Milei arrives at the National Congress building to deliver his speech marking the inauguration of the 143rd ordinary session of Congress in Buenos Aires on March 1, 2025.

'CRYPTOGATE' SCANDAL

Milei denies role in 'cryptogate' after 'pay for access' reports

03-03-2025 09:36 The La Libertad Avanza leader said he posted about the cryptocurrency in "good faith" and denies wrongdoing.

Argentina's President Javier Milei smiles during the inauguration of the 143rd ordinary session of Congress at the National Congress in Buenos Aires on March 1, 2025.

POLITICS & ECONOMY

President to seek Congress support for IMF deal ‘in coming days’

03-03-2025 09:03 Milei’s request to Congress is a key step because IMF agreements are required by law to be approved by legislative branch to be enacted.

President Javier Milei gestures as he speaks during the inauguration of the 143rd ordinary session of Congress at the National Congress in Buenos Aires on March 1, 2025.

MERCOSUR TENSIONS

Milei: Mercosur bloc ‘has only enriched Brazilian industrialists’

02-03-2025 11:28 Argentina’s President Javier Milei declares in speech to Congress that Mercosur trade bloc has “only enriched Brazilian industrialists,” warning he will take his nation out of trade bloc if it prevents free-trade deal with United States.

President Javier Milei leaves the National Congress accompanied by Vice-President Victoria Villaruel after delivering his speech to Congress at the inauguration of the 143rd ordinary session of Congress in Buenos Aires on March 1, 2025.

POLITICS & CONGRESS

Milei promises more cuts, says 'chainsaw' symbolises ‘change of era’

02-03-2025 11:19 “We are the best government in Argentina’s history,” declares President, as he brushes off absences from opposition governors and deputies to hail his government’s economic measures and promise further “chainsaw” cuts lie ahead.

ANALYSIS

Milei feels the heat of the $LIBRA scandal

01-03-2025 07:18 Milei is doubling down. Not only does he deny any wrongdoing, he’s also trying to push forward with his own agenda.

by Agustino Fontevecchia