News of economy

Economy Minister Luis Caputo (front) and President Javier Milei walk from the Casa Rosada Presidential Palace to the Economy Ministry after a meeting with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Buenos Aires on April 14, 2025.

Caputo confirms first peso-denominated debt sale in nearly a decade

Today 09:52 Argentina unveils first sale of peso-denominated debt in nearly a decade – a high-stakes test of international investor confidence.

Health Minister Mario Lugones meets US Health chief Robert F Kennedy.

MULTILATERAL WITHDRAWAL

Argentina ratifies WHO withdrawal during RFK Jr visit

Today 09:36 Argentina says it will reform healthcare model and reiterates decision to withdraw from the World Health Organization, as Trump's health secretary, vaccine-sceptic Robert F. Kennedy, visits Buenos Aires.

MARKETS & BONDS

Argentina claims return to global markets with peso bond sale

Yesterday 20:51 Argentina’s government will issue a five-year bond denominated in pesos that’s aimed at international investors who are allowed to purchase it in US dollars.

Ricardo Darín during an event for the series ‘El Eternauta’ at Centro Costa Salguero in Buenos Aires on April 29.

PRICE COMPLAINTS

Milei officials beef with Darín over price of a dozen empanadas

Yesterday 20:43 Actor Ricardo Darín draws Milei administration’s ire by complaining about the price of a dozen empanadas.

Price of speaking up?

Empanada attack: Milei’s defenders slam actor Ricardo Darín

Yesterday 16:53 Defenders of President Javier Milei’s government – including Economy Minister Luis Caputo – slam actor Ricardo Darín after he expresses concern over high prices in Argentina.

Public works have been suspended across Argentina.

MILEI’S AUSTERITY MEASURES

Six provinces demand over US$9 billion from national government

Yesterday 14:58 Provinces of Buenos Aires, La Pampa, La Rioja, Formosa, Santiago del Estero and Santa Fe – mostly all opposition controlled – are demanding US$9.376 billion in outstanding debt from President Javier Milei’s government.

by Gonzalo Martínez

POLITICS – ANALYSIS

Battle royale

24-05-2025 06:27 Politically, Milei is the son of fragmentation. Now, he’s consolidating his forces thanks to the weakness of dispersed opponents.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

Analysing Argentina

A whirlwind of votes, a black hole of dollars

24-05-2025 06:06 Argentines know their history, and they have enjoyed spending sprees in the past at the cost of the Central Bank, which invariably ended in economic catastrophe: in the late 1970s, in the 1990s, in the mid- and late 2000s. Milei will have to work hard to convince them that things will not be as they were.

by Marcelo J. García

MILEI'S MEASURES

Distrusting Argentines loath to bank their 'mattress dollars'

23-05-2025 18:08 Argentina's government estimates there are about US$200 billion so-called "mattress dollars" out there – five times the reserves of the Central Bank.

Argentina defender Cristian 'Cuti' Romero celebrates winning the Europa League title with his Tottenham Hotspur teammates.

THE WEEK IN REVIEW

Stories that caught our eye: May 17 to 24

23-05-2025 14:46 A selection of the stories that caught our eye over the last seven days in Argentina.

BUSINESS & INVESTMENT

Argentina signals to investors IMF cash to come despite reserves

23-05-2025 10:14 Argentina expects to receive a US$2-billion disbursement from the IMF next month, regardless of whether nation hits target for rebuilding foreign reserves.

Javier Milei and Luis Caputo are asking Argentines to bring their dollars out from their mattresses and to put them into the economy.

‘YOUR DOLLARS, YOUR DECISION’

Milei unveils plan to draw dollars out from under mattresses

22-05-2025 23:41 Government announces measures to encourage the use of undeclared savings; Decree on way and a bill to “protect savers.”

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.

POLITICS & LABOUR

Anger from unions as Milei expands limits on right to strike

22-05-2025 23:34 Civil society groups and trade unions in Argentina slam President Javier Milei's "unconstitutional" decree limiting the right to strike.

ARCA tax bureau chief Juan Pazo; Economy Minister Luis Caputo, Central Bank Governor Santiago Bausili.

NEW MEASURES

Milei’s revamp lets Argentines send US$43,700 – no questions asked

22-05-2025 19:33 ARCA tax agency will stop collecting large swathes of information from citizens and businesses, ranging from used car and home sales to everyday supermarket purchases, starting Friday.

TIERRA DEL FUEGO

Patagonian province on war footing over Milei’s threat to industry

22-05-2025 16:06 Residents of the far-south province of Tierra del Fuego are fighting to save their jobs after President Milei delivered a blow to its local manufacturing activity.

POLITICS & LABOUR

Milei redefines essential services by decree, limits right to strike

22-05-2025 15:35 Argentina’s government tightens limits on right to strike and expands list of “essential services or activities” that must provide “minimum service” during industrial action.

BUSINESS & FINANCE

Telecom Argentina sells debt amid Telefónica takeover scrutiny

22-05-2025 13:51 Telecom Argentina SA is tapping international debt markets to smoothe its acquisition of Telefónica SA’s local unit.

Economy Minister Luis Caputo at the AmCham 2025 Summit in Buenos Aires.

AMCHAM SUMMIT 2025

Investments, remonetisation, reforms – doubts of US business leaders

22-05-2025 09:31 Milei’s RIGI incentives do not convince, the 'quasi-whitewash' needs "rationality" and reform bills into 2026. Electoral atmosphere at this year’s AmCham Summit and business optimism.

by Eugenia Muzio

BUSINESS & FINANCE

MercadoLibre CEO steps aside after 25 years for chairman job

22-05-2025 08:53 Billionaire founder Marcos Galperin will step down as CEO of e-commerce and financial services giant Mercado Libre in January 2026.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Argentina’s economy grew less than expected in March

21-05-2025 23:09 Argentina’s economy grew less than expected in March, reveals INDEC data.

A worker counts US$100 US banknotes at a currency exchange house in Buenos Aires.

ECONOMY & POLITICS

Milei, Caputo eye dollars under the mattress

21-05-2025 22:59 Convinced that inflation and the dollar will not cause problems, Milei and Caputo want to advance with a new currency whitewash with peculiar characteristics. Banks and supermarkets will no longer need to inform taxman of movements of clients.

SUBSIDIES SLASHED

Rich face higher energy bills after Milei subsidy cut

21-05-2025 15:12 President Javier Milei will cut energy subsidies for all gated communities in the Greater Buenos Aires region.

A combine harvester cuts through a field of soybean plants San José de la Esquina, Argentina.

AGRICULTURE & ECONOMY

Milei stumbles in bid to unchain farmers as soy tax break ends

21-05-2025 13:35 Economy Minister Luis Caputo announces that tax cut for exports of soy and corn will end as planned.

Lack of driving licence plates in Argentina.

ANALYSIS: SHOCK THERAPY

Milei’s cuts have Argentines driving new cars with paper licence plates

21-05-2025 13:03 The Milei administration is downsizing the National Mint, known as Casa de Moneda, cutting nearly 40 percent of its staff. In addition to outsourcing the printing of money, private companies have been tapped to take over licence-plate production for cars.

President Javier Milei appears at the AmCham Summit in Buenos Aires.

AMCHAM SUMMIT 2025

‘Invest because Argentina is very cheap,’ Milei tells business leaders

20-05-2025 19:55 President Javier Milei tells business leaders today that “those who bet on Argentina will come out winning,” as he headlines the AmCham Summit 2025 in Buenos Aires.

ELECTIONS 2025: BUENOS AIRES CITY

30% in the City – just how well did La Libertad Avanza do?

20-05-2025 16:34 All the polls point to an Argentina split down the middle. Within those two universes increasingly extreme stances coexist on both sides.

'CRYPTOGATE' SCANDAL

President shuts down unit investigating crypto scandal

20-05-2025 14:46 Closing investigative unit probing 'Cryptogate' scandal ends the government’s internal investigation into the matter.

Argentina's President Javier Milei speaks during the EFI 2025 Economic Forum in Buenos Aires, on April 30, 2025.

'CRYPTOGATE' SCANDAL

Milei shutters office investigating ‘cryptogate’ $LIBRA scandal

20-05-2025 10:54 Government says special unit – set up by President Javier Milei and also disbanded by him – probing allegations related to controversial cryptocurrency scandal shuttered after completing its “assigned task.”

This handout picture released by Codelco shows Codelco's President Maximo Pacheco (R) and SQM's President Ricardo Ramos shaking hands after signing an agreement in Santiago on May 31, 2024. Chile's state-owned Codelco, the world's largest copper producer, and SQM, one of the world's leading lithium producers, sealed an agreement on Friday to create a giant company to exploit lithium, a key metal for the energy transition.

MINING & INDUSTRY

Rio Tinto invests in major Chilean lithium project

19-05-2025 20:56 Chile's state-owned copper giant Codelco announced a partnership on Monday with British-Australian miner Rio Tinto to extract lithium from the Maricunga salt flat.

This photograph taken on December 7, 2021, shows a sign of the World Health Organisation (WHO) at its headquarters in Geneva.

GLOBAL HEALTH

WHO guiding body gets to grips with budget beset by US pullback

19-05-2025 13:38 World Health Organization begins talks to grapple with US$1.7-billion funding gap following US decision to not pay its membership dues.

President Javier Milei and Presidential Spokesperson Manuel Adorni, pictured in an election day photograph shared by the latter online.

POLITICS – ANALYSIS

Milei wins big in Buenos Aires City vote, dethroning Macri

18-05-2025 22:56 Javier Milei cements his hold on Argentina’s political right months before pivotal midterm elections.

Globant headquarters in Montevideo, Uruguay.

BUSINESS & INVESTMENT

Globant suffers record intraday drop as tariffs dent earnings

17-05-2025 09:42 Globant shares plunged as much as 33% on Friday, the worst drop since the company went public in 2014, before paring some of those losses.

Analysing Argentina

Re-election in 2027? It’s Milei’s to lose

17-05-2025 06:53 Milei has at hand all the variables that will determine his future. Winning or losing will depend on how he handles them. The more pragmatic and less ideological, the better.

by Marcelo J. García

Editorial

All politics is local

17-05-2025 06:49 Tomorrow’s candidates should be judged as monitors of local governance rather than as projections of any national party. But before advising voters as to their perspective when casting their ballots, it is imperative to urge them to vote in the first place.

Argentina's President Javier Milei embraces Presidential Spokesperson and legislative candidate Manuel Adorni during his closing campaign rally in Buenos Aires on May 14, 2025. Buenos Aires City will hold legislative elections on May 18.

THE WEEK IN REIVEW

Stories that caught our eye: May 9 to 16

16-05-2025 17:21 A selection of stories that caught our eye over the last seven days in Argentina.

Argentina’s Justice Minister Mariano Cúneo Libarona has announced the closure of 13 programmes launched by the former Women, Gender & Diversity Ministry, including the MenstruAR scheme.

POLITICS & HUMAN RIGHTS

Argentina scraps ‘ideological’ programmes for women, LGBT community

16-05-2025 13:32 Justice Minister Mariano Cúneo Libarona denounces initiatives as “absurd waste” – among defunded programmes are a plan to distribute menstrual hygiene products and another to provide support for families of gender violence victims.

by pixlr

Triangulation: Mileis, Macris, Kirchnerites?

POLITICS – ANALYSIS

More to lose than to win

16-05-2025 10:15 In the City, the battle for first place is less interesting than the struggle between the Mileis and the Macris.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

POLITICS & ECONOMY

Milei delays ‘mattress dollars’ plan due to election

16-05-2025 10:06 Presidential Spokesperson Manuel Adorni says “economic announcement the National Government had prepared for today has been postponed.”

JOSÉ 'PEPE' MUJICA (1935-2025)

‘Pepe’ Mujica and politics as tool for transformation

15-05-2025 14:26 José ‘Pepe’ Mujica, the former president of Uruguay, has passed away at the age of 89, leaving behind a legacy of social and economic transformation. During his administration, Argentina’s neighbour experienced historic growth, with inclusive policies that reduced poverty and promoted human rights.

by Cecilia Degl'Innocenti

CRISIS BITES

Two minimum wages now cover eight days of family expenses

15-05-2025 00:39 With the national wage council talks deadlocked, the Milei government has again unilaterally established the basic pay increase for registered workers, passing from 296,832 pesos in March to 302,600 pesos in April – a raise of 5,768 pesos.

by Agustina Bordigoni

Shoppers browse products in a supermarket in Buenos Aires.

BLOOMBERG - ANALYSIS

Inflation slowed in April amid currency policy change

14-05-2025 16:52 Annual inflation slowed for a 12th month to 47.3%, reports INDEC; Price increases were led by food and non-alcoholic beverages.

People sit in a restaurant in Buenos Aires on May 8, 2025.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Post-cepo boost for Milei as monthly inflation slows to 2.8%

14-05-2025 16:45 INDEC’s first update of inflation index since removal of currency controls shows that consumer prices rose 2.8% in April, slightly slower than analysts' expectations.

Argentina’s currency has been trading below the midpoint of the 1,000 to 1,400 pesos per dollar band the government initially set on April 11.

ANALYSIS: SHOCK THERAPY

How Milei keeps peso strong ahead of midterm vote

14-05-2025 12:00 President Milei's government doubles down on a strong peso strategy, making it the cornerstone of his midterm election campaign.

OBITUARY

The guerrilla fighter who became Uruguay's president

13-05-2025 17:17 'Pepe' Mujica, the former left-wing guerrilla who spent more than a decade in prison before becoming president of Uruguay, was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer in April 2024, which later spread to his liver.

Apple’s iPhone 16 costs more than US$2,000 in Argentina.

TECH PRICE ATTACK

Milei is scrapping tariffs that put US$2,000 price tags on iPhones

13-05-2025 14:10 The tariffs led to some iPhones costing more than US$2,000 in Argentina, a price so high many locals would pay less to fly to Miami and buy a mobile phone there.

Presidential spokesperson Manuel Adorni.

ECONOMY & POLITICS

Argentina to scrap mobile phone import tariffs, cut tech taxes

13-05-2025 13:20 Presidential Spokesperson Manuel Adorni says cheaper electronics will reduce crime, smuggling and lower prices for consumers.

Xi Jinping, China’s president, left, and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Brazil’s president, shake hands during a signing event at the Alvorada Palace in Brasília, Brazil, on Wednesday, November 20, 2024.

TRADE & COMMERCE

Lula and Xi to ink new deals as Brazil shrugs off Trump’s trade threats

13-05-2025 08:51 Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and China’s Xi Jinping are set to ink new trade-related agreements in Beijing on Tuesday.

BONDS & MARKETS

Argentina debt upgraded by Fitch in fresh boost for Milei

12-05-2025 17:23 Argentina’s credit score was raised by Fitch Ratings in a boost for President Javier Milei's government.

A container ship at the Yokkaichi Port in Yokkaichi, Japan.

TRUMP'S TARIFF WAR

Trump’s priority list for tariff talks includes Argentina

11-05-2025 09:10 The Trump administration’s first trade talks involve an eclectic mix of major exporters and smaller economies.

The Central Bank of Argentina in Buenos Aires

CENTRAL BANK MANOUEVRES

Argentina halts private bond sale amid pressure on peso rate

11-05-2025 09:02 Argentina’s Central Bank intervened to stop a dollar bond sale by Banco Supervielle halfway through the trading day on Friday.

OPINION & ANALYSIS

New songs and Peronism

10-05-2025 07:50 Kirchnerism has no lyrics for its new songs – every intervention by CFK against Milei is always geared to the economic terrain, but from the perspective of his collapse and not improving on his achievements.

by Jorge Fontevecchia

EDITORIAL

Clean slates – for greenbacks only

10-05-2025 07:25 At least two of this week’s main news items may be considered further setbacks in the fight against corruption. Every suspicion of a meticulously manipulated Senate result instead of free votes of conscience, while those complying with the conditions of last year’s tax whitewash might ask themselves why they went to all that trouble – a black week for removing the stain of corruption with no guarantee against more to come.

Electric buses hit the streets of Buenos Aires City.

THE WEEK IN REIVEW

Stories that caught our eye: May 2 to 9

09-05-2025 17:51 A selection of the stories that caught our eye over the last seven days in Argentina.

Albanesi controls Generación Mediterránea, which has an important network of power plants.

BUSINESS & INVESTMENT

Argentine utility Albanesi approaches creditors after missed bond payment

09-05-2025 16:41 Generación Mediterranea SA and Central Térmica Roca SA are approaching bondholders to resolve a dispute over US$19 million in due interest.

BUSINESS & INVESTMENT

JPMorgan to rent 20 floors in historic Buenos Aires office deal

09-05-2025 15:50 JPMorgan Chase & Co signs lease to rent 20 floors on a two-building campus in Núñez set to open in 2026.

Books about Argentina's President Javier Milei are displayed for sale at the Buenos Aires International Book Fair at La Rural exhibition centre in Buenos Aires on May 7, 2025.

FERIA DEL LIBRO 2025

Milei phenomenon dominates 49th edition of Buenos Aires book fair

09-05-2025 08:47 The 49th edition of Feria Internacional del Libro de Buenos Aires has been – as was the case last year – dominated by President Javier Milei and his impact.

Soybeans are loaded onto a ship on the Paraná River in Rosario, Argentina.

AGRICULTURE & ECONOMY

China is said seeking Argentina crops as it skirts US tariffs

09-05-2025 08:31 China signed a letter of intent with exporters in Argentina to buy about US$900 million of soybeans, corn and vegetable oil.

ANALYSIS: SHOCK THERAPY

Corporate defaults start piling up as Milei policies kick in

07-05-2025 12:28 As Javier Milei removes the distortions that once characterised Argentina’s economy, companies that bulked up on debt by exploiting exchange rate gaps are hurting.

Colombia's President Gustavo Petro speaks next to the sword of Liberator Simón Bolívar during a May Day (Labour Day) rally, marking International Workers' Day, and in defence of his government reforms in Bogotá on May 1, 2025.

GEOPOLITICS & DIPLOMACY

Colombia moves to join China's Belt and Road

07-05-2025 11:19 Colombian leader Gustavo Petro says he will sign a "letter of intent" to join the Belt and Road Initiative, a central pillar of his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping's bid to expand Beijing's economic and political clout overseas.

Germany's newly elected Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

EU-MERCOSUR TRADE DEAL

Merz tells France Mercosur trade deal must be ratified 'quickly'

07-05-2025 11:13 New German chancellor Friedrich Merz says EU countries should "quickly" ratify a free-trade deal with the Mercosur bloc that has met with staunch opposition from France.

This illustration picture shows a 100 US dollar banknote on top of Argentinian pesos, in Buenos Aires on October 10, 2023.

'Blanqueo permanente'?

Experts say Argentina’s dollar thirst could open door for illegal funds

06-05-2025 12:26 Experts raise concerns about legal and tax consequences of using undeclared money after Economy Minister Luis Caputo urged Argentines to take their dollars out and "remonetise" the economy – without having to answer questions.

by Eugenia Muzio

Greater numbers of older adults are continuing to work into their later years, or looking for work, out of necessity.

TWO SIDES OF SAME COIN

Postcards of a crisis: youth unemployment and working into old age

06-05-2025 12:20 According to data from Argentina's Human Capital Ministry, 19.4% of young people aged 18 to 24 are unemployed. Meanwhile, greater numbers of older adults are continuing to work into their later years, or looking for work, out of necessity.

by Agustina Bordigoni

Chief Executive Officer for DLocal Ltd, Pedro Arnt.

BUSINESS & INVESTMENT

DLocal CEO sees e-commerce firms rushing into Milei’s Argentina

06-05-2025 10:29 Head of payment services provider DLocal says firm is seeing seeing renewed activity in crisis-prone Argentina.

MINING & INDUSTRY

Lundin Mining reveals largest copper find in 30 years in Argentina

05-05-2025 17:27 BHP Group’s joint-venture partner Lundin Mining Corp declares companies’ Filo del Sol project in South America to be the largest discovery of copper in three decades.

NEW ECONOMIC MEASURES

Caputo: Argentines should spend dollars without 'explanations'

05-05-2025 15:31 Argentina’s Economy Minister Luis Caputo calls for “cultural shift” in which citizens should be able to spend dollars without “having to provide explanations” over what they buy or origin of funds; Government to introduce measures to facilitate circulation of greenbacks.

Javier Milei during the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland, on February 22.

TRADE TALKS

US official quietly visits capital as Argentina pushes for tariff exemptions

05-05-2025 15:06 Senior US trade envoy quietly visits Buenos Aires as Argentina’s pushes for exemptions to Donald Trump’s import tariffs.

Editorial

Will April showers bring May flowers?

03-05-2025 07:45 Critics of the exit from the ‘cepo’ currency and capital controls argue that it opens the door to speculative peso-dollar shuffles. Whether or not they are right will go much further towards defining the outcome of the October midterms than any cultural battles.

ANALYSING ARGENTINA

Milei’s Macri mirror

03-05-2025 07:14 Javier Milei and Luis Caputo want the economy to be booming when the country goes to vote in October. The question is how much it will cost them – and the country.

by Marcelo J. García

As I see it

When the machines stop working

03-05-2025 07:00 A growing proportion of decisions that affect people will be made by artefacts that can be hacked either by individuals working for hostile regimes, religious zealots who disapprove of Western ways or mere mischief-makers who get a kick out of provoking turmoil.

by James Neilson

Anti-IMF and anti-Milei protesters during a CGT rally in Buenos Aires on April 30, 2025.

the week in review

Stories that caught our eye: April 25 to May 1

01-05-2025 17:00 Our (almost a weekly) round-up of what you need to know about Argentina.