News of opinion and analysis

Deputy Máximo Kirchner visits Fudan University.

Airing IMF criticism, Máximo Kirchner deepens ties with China

Today 10:02 National deputy and La Cámpora leader slams International Monetary Fund’s recipes for “indebted countries” during visit to China.

by Ariel Maciel

Argentina's youth team coach Javier Mascherano reacts after losing against Nigeria during the Argentina 2023 U-20 World Cup round of 16 football match between Argentina and Nigeria at the Estadio San Juan del Bicentenario in San Juan, Argentina, on May 31, 2023.

FIFA U20 WORLD CUP

Critics swift to descend on Argentina’s youngsters – and their coach

Yesterdat 13:48 The dream is over for Argentina's young hopefuls. Coach Javier Mascherano is under fire, but beyond the hysteria, there were signs of promise in the Albiceleste's campaign.

by Dan Edwards

Brazil President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

BLOOMBERG - ANALYSIS

JP Spinetto: Lula’s dreams ignore Brazil’s economic reality

31-05-2023 21:01 Brazil’s president talks a lot about the need for a united political front in Latin America, but he should focus on trade and economic integration.

L-R) Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro, Suriname's President Chan Santokhi, Guyana's President Irfaan Ali, Colombia's President Gustavo Petro, Bolivia's President Luis Arce, Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Argentina's President Alberto Fernández, Chile's President Gabriel Boric, Ecuador's President Guillermo Lasso, Paraguay's President Mario Abdo Benítez, Uruguay's President Luis Lacalle Pou and Peru's Prime Minister Alberto Otarola pose for a family photo at the Itamaraty Palace in Brasília on May 30, 2023. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva called for South American unity Tuesday as he welcomed fellow leaders for a 'retreat' to strengthen ties in a region where left-wing governments are newly back in style.

ANALYSIS

Latin America's leaders and UNASUR: unity in the midst of divergence

31-05-2023 10:31 Everybody was onboard with unity at the meeting of South American leaders in Brasília, but the presence of Nicolás Maduro caused divergence.

by Eleonora Gosman

Brazilian president-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

FOREIGN POLICY & DIPLOMACY

Lula gathers South American peers with integration on agenda

28-05-2023 14:43 South American leaders meet in Brasília on Tuesday for an informal summit at which Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's government hopes to revive regional integration.

A trader watches a screen during market hours.

BLOOMBERG - ANALYSIS

Frantic push to solve sovereign debt crises irks Wall Street

28-05-2023 10:14 A shakeup is brewing in the US$1.6 trillion universe of emerging-market sovereign debt — whether Wall Street likes it or not.

EDITORIAL

Are 20 years really nothing?

27-05-2023 06:54 Those who expect a direct correlation between electoral success and economic growth would find Argentina again bucking the trend in the last 20 years.

As I see it

Things from cyberspace

27-05-2023 06:47 As well as having nightmares about what would happen to us were a self-programming AI machine to free itself from human control, researchers fear they could be providing evil humans with tools which, like nuclear bombs, would make it easier for them to cause great harm.

by James Neilson

ELECTIONS 2023

Anything can happen

27-05-2023 06:46 Uncertainty is the name of the game, as the supposed leading candidates fail to consolidate their leads and the newcomers outperform.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

CAMPAIGN COMMENTS

A no-win election

27-05-2023 06:45 The fact remains that the last three people to run Argentina have all opted to sit this election out. The only question here is what lies behind their “fear to tread.”

by Michael Soltys

International arrivals at Ezeiza International Airport in Buenos Aires Province.

IMMIGRATION TO ARGENTINA

Despite the tales of an Ezeiza exodus, immigrants keep arriving in Argentina

26-05-2023 12:04 It could be the lack of red tape, that famous Argentine hospitality, or even the weather. It could be love, adventure or access to the public health and education systems – even the possibility of receiving social handouts. Thousands of immigrants begin new lives in our country each year despite runaway inflation and economic turmoil. The only way out may be Ezeiza, as the saying goes, but immigrants keep arriving in Argentina.

by Sabrina Chemen

ELECTIONS 2023: ANALYSIS

Candidate without a ballot: CFK will campaign to ensure transfer of votes

23-05-2023 15:31 Cristina Fernández de Kirchner does not want an extended PASO campaign for the ruling party. In this election, the most important thing is the ‘floor,’ not the ‘ceiling,’ she believes.

by Rosario Ayerdi

Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, pictured before an interview with the C5N news channel.

POLITICAL INSIDER

Veep seeks square of unity instead of clamour for Cristina

20-05-2023 15:51 Vice-President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner will address the 25 de Mayo rally this week, but will not bless a new candidate for the October elections. She will repeat, however, that her name will not be on the ballot.

by Rosario Ayerdi

ELECTIONS 2023 – ANALYSIS

Politics in a labyrinth

20-05-2023 07:00 Cristina’s political renouncement was nothing more than the acknowledgement that winning a presidential election was statistically impossible and would cause more harm than good for her political cause.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

As I see it

The queen bee is leaving the hive

20-05-2023 07:00 Unfortunately for Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, and for the movement that sprung up around her, almost all her acolytes are minor figures, as are most of her allies.

by James Neilson

CAMPAIGN COMMENTS

Under the volcano

20-05-2023 07:00 If three-quarters of the disenchanted in Tierra del Fuego preferred to vote blank than for an explicitly libertarian candidate, who is to say this might not be replicated nationwide?

by Michael Soltys

A black-market currency exchanger in Buenos Aires holds two US 100-dollar bank notes and the equivalent in 1,000-peso bills.

BLOOMBERG - ANALYSIS

JP Spinetto: Argentina’s problem is economic malpractice, not the peso

17-05-2023 09:24 Dollarisation won’t bring much-needed stability to South America’s second-largest economy.

Economy Minister Sergio Massa, pictured at the AmCham Summit 2023.

ELECTIONS 2023

Lacking results, Massa tries to sustain a possible presidential bid

16-05-2023 16:39 With inflation soaring and damaging his chances of a run for the Casa Rosada, Argentina’s economy minister is shifting back to a political approach

by Rosario Ayerdi

Chinese yuan banknotes in a counting machine.

BLOOMBERG – ANALYSIS

Central banks use record amount of yuan via PBOC swaps

16-05-2023 10:59 Global central banks tapped a record amount of the Chinese currency in foreign-exchange swap lines in the first quarter, in another indication of the yuan’s growing international status.

What rough beast slouches towards Santiago to be born?

BLOOMBERG - OPINION

Eduardo Porter: Chile wants to know what comes after neoliberalism

16-05-2023 10:55 The poster child of the so-called 'Washington Consensus' is navigating its economic future without a compass. The path it chooses will shape debates over the role of the markets across Latin America and beyond.

President Alberto Fernández, pictured with Sergio Ziliotto and Gustavo Melella back in 2021.

ELECTIONS 2023

‘Super Sunday’ elections continue run of ruling party wins

15-05-2023 18:14 Peronist governors in the provinces of Tierra del Fuego, La Pampa and Salta returned for new terms.

Artwork for the SARS-CoV-2/Covid-19 virus.

OPINION & ANALYSIS

Research and behaviour: Gaps between production and use of scientific evidence

15-05-2023 11:02 There were documented warnings of an increasing likelihood of emerging infections or reinfections in a prevailing context of ecological and demographic changes.

by Martín A. Morgenstern

Patricia Bullrich, pictured in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Tuesday, April 25, 2023.

ELECTIONS 2023: PROFILE

Patricia Bullrich vows crackdown to halt sell-off

14-05-2023 08:06 Argentina is suffering economic carnage – this hard-liner thinks she has the solution.

Patricia Bullrich, Sergio Massa, Horacio Rodríguez Larreta.

ELECTIONS 2023

Potential presidents catch the eye at AmCham summit

13-05-2023 09:12 Four potential candidates put on their best faces for business community, pitching their plans – and conditions for running.

by James Grainger

CAMPAIGN COMMENTS

To vote or not to vote

13-05-2023 08:45 However cavalier the strongmen of these two inland provinces have been with constitutional limits in seeking multiple consecutive terms, the last-minute timing of the Supreme Court’s interruption of the electoral process is extremely unfortunate, lending itself easily to government outrage.

by Michael Soltys

As I see it

On planet K, the rule of law is undemocratic

13-05-2023 08:41 The attempt to impeach the four members of the Supreme Court is going nowhere, and the government’s predictably furious reaction is unlikely to enhance its image either here or in the rest of the world.

by James Neilson

Elections 2023

The Supreme Court’s political muscle

13-05-2023 08:35 The Supreme Court’s decision must be read purely in political terms, demonstrating that it won’t back down and has the intention to play hard ball in the political arena.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

A woman fills her trolley at a supermarket in Buenos Aires.

BLOOMBERG - ANALYSIS

Inflation continues to accelerate, surging to 108.8% in April

12-05-2023 16:49 Argentina consumer prices in April rose 8.4% month on month, 108.8% year-on-year; Peso has lost 13% against the dollar in parallel markets in April.

José Antonio Kast, presidential candidate of the Partido Republicano, speaks during an election night rally in Santiago, Chile, on Sunday, November 21, 2021.

RISE OF THE RIGHT

Chile's far right re-emerges after presidential defeat

11-05-2023 09:26 Led by conservative lawyer José Antonio Kast, an apologist for deceased military dictator Augusto Pinochet, Chile's Partido Republicano remains an enduring force.

BLOOMBERG – ANALYSIS

Argentina is going broke to stall a full-on currency collapse

10-05-2023 15:25 Battle to prevent peso from facing a total meltdown is leaving the Central Bank, by some estimates, broke.

Argentina fell from 29th to 40th place in Reporters without Borders' latest press freedom ranking.

MEDIA & SOCIETY

Argentina’s drops 11 places in press freedom ranking

08-05-2023 22:51 Reporters Without Borders calls out consolidation of media ownership, polarisation, gaps in public policy, and low pay as primary threats to press freedom in Argentina.

by Api Dhadda

The Tres Quebradas salt flat at Liex's 3Q lithium mine project near Fiambala, Catamarca Province.

BLOOMBERG - OPINION

Eduardo Porter: LatAm’s new lithium bounty unearths old problem

08-05-2023 11:31 From Mexico to Chile, governments still haven’t cracked the code on how to leverage natural resources into sustained, broad-based prosperity.

CAMPAIGN COMMENTS

Three’s a crowd

06-05-2023 06:47 Tomorrow is Jujuy’s turn to go to the polls together with La Rioja and Misiones – can lightning strike twice?

by Michael Soltys

POLITICS – ANALYSIS

Peronism’s identity crisis

06-05-2023 06:29 What is under discussion is much more than a candidacy. It is the search for a new leader who, on their own and without intermediaries, is competitive enough to assume power and unify Peronism.

by Gustavo González

As I see it

When nobody believes in anything much

06-05-2023 06:25 There is nothing much worth fighting for is proving to be a major problem in all developed countries.

by James Neilson

Top left: Gerardo Morales; Top right: Juan Manzur; Bottom left: Segio Uñac; Bottom right: Gustavo Sáenz.

ELECTION 2023: TWO SUPER-SUNDAYS

Eight provincial elections to watch with national impact

04-05-2023 00:23 The first two weekends of May come with several provincial elections in which Argentina’s two main coalitions (Frente de Todos and Juntos por el Cambio) can take the temperature of the hinterland. This Sunday will see gubernatorial elections in Jujuy, Misiones and La Rioja, followed by Tucumán, San Juan, Salta, La Pampa and Tierra del Fuego the next Sunday. In all cases the incumbent governments, whether belonging to one of the two main coalitions or provincial parties are tipped as favourites.

INTELLIGENCE SERVICES

Secrets of ‘Señora 5,’ the woman who manages Argentina’s spies

02-05-2023 13:18 Ana Clara Alberdi oversees the management of the agents of Argentina’s AFI intelligence services, but to most of the country, she is a complete unknown.

by Rodis Recalt

Santiago Peña celebrates his win in the Paraguayan election.

ANALYSIS: Paraguayan election 2023

Ruling party candidate scores big win in Paraguay vote

02-05-2023 00:40 Paraguayans elect new president from ruling right-wing Colorado Party, which has remained in power for nearly eight decades.

Economy Minister Sergio Massa; Vice-President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner; President Alberto Fernández.

POLITICAL INSIDER

Alberto, CFK and Massa: three different strategies for upcoming elections

30-04-2023 09:07 Sergio Massa’s management is supported by Vice-President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, but she has not blessed his candidacy. President Alberto Fernández insists that he will present his own hopeful, but the economy minister’s battle against inflation and currency crises – and how they play out – could be the deciding factor.

by Rosario Ayerdi

CAMPAIGN COMMENTS

Out of the pink (house) and into the blue

29-04-2023 06:55 In a country where the urgent almost invariably displaces the important, Alberto Fernández’s premature entry into “lame duck” status has had immediate consequences.

by Michael Soltys

POLITICS – ANALYSIS

Hanging on in quiet desperation

29-04-2023 05:35 The chain of events that will be most consequential in delivering the next inhabitant of the Casa Rosada have already been set in motion. They are irreversible.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

As I see it

Waiting to step into Alberto’s shoes

29-04-2023 05:14 No matter who wins the electoral contest that is getting underway, he or she will face the dilemmas that Alberto refused to confront.

by James Neilson

BLOOMBERG – FEATURE

Argentina cracks as peso plunge raises risk of messy devaluation

28-04-2023 12:39 Argentina is moving closer to a breaking point as the government’s desperate measures fail to halt a plunge in the peso, raising the risk of a currency devaluation.

BLOOMBERG

Chile, one of the world’s lithium leaders, looks like a shakier source

28-04-2023 12:28 The state plans to take control in Chile, which boasts unmatched reserves of the battery metal.

Argentina's President Alberto Fernandez meets with Chinese Premier Xi Jingping on the sidelines of the G20 Leaders Summit in Bali, Indonesia, November 2022.

BLOOMBERG – ANALYSIS

Edward Porter: What Xi Jinping wants in Latin America

28-04-2023 11:29 China is not interested in turbocharging the region’s industrial development. But neither are its investments seeking to challenge the United States.

BLOOMBERG - ANALYSIS

Argentina slams on the brakes, keeps foot on accelerator

27-04-2023 23:10 Argentina's Central Bank just raised its rate by 1,000 basis points. What appears to be a sharp brake is too little too late. And it won't save the peso.

Economy Minister Sergio Massa talks with IMF Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath.

DEBT PROGRAMME IN DOUBT?

Argentina and IMF go back to drawing board on debt deal

27-04-2023 23:04 As an exchange rate crisis ravages the strength of the peso, spokespeople from the International Monetary Fund and the government confirm that “constructive” talks are underway to redraw terms of Argentina’s US$44.5-billion debt programme.

Big spending politicians: Juan Schiaretti, Martín Lousteau, Horacio Rodríguez Larreta, Gerardo Morales.

ELECTION 2023

Córdoba leads way as politicians splash cash on social media

26-04-2023 22:59 Data showing the biggest spenders on Meta over the last 90 days reveals huge investments from Córdoba; Schiaretti and Lousteau coughing up the most, though keep an eye on ‘satellite’ accounts used to hide spending.

by Julian D'Imperio

Vice-President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.

EAGERLY AWAITED APPEARANCE

Clamour for ‘Cristina 2023’ increases ahead of speech

26-04-2023 16:25 Kirchnerites are ready to reignite their calls for Vice-President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner to declare her presidential candidacy.

by Rosario Ayerdi

BLOOMBERG - ANALYSIS

Argentina's parallel currency slides as cracks widen

26-04-2023 15:49 The country will hold elections later this year. Whoever wins will inherit an economic disaster.

One in four people in Argentina only use the public system, a new poll has showed.

HEALTH & SOCIETY

Public v private: 1 in 4 solely use state healthcare in Argentina

26-04-2023 13:49 One out of every four solely uses the public healthcare system, though more use private schemes exclusively. The commercial system is more used by men and more women have had to adjust their choices due to inflation.

by Sabrina Chemen

Central Bank Governor Miguel Ángel Pesce and Economy Minister Sergio Massa.

BLACK TUESDAY

Massa’s disobedience, Kirchnerite fury and inflation fears

26-04-2023 11:05 Economy Minister Sergio Massa will force a political debate in the wake of exchange rate crisis. Kirchnerism once again points finger at agricultural producers.

by Ariel Maciel

Argentina's Central Bank, in Buenos Aires City.

Mercado Sin Bozal

Amid FX turmoil, government moves to contain 'bomba cambiaria'

26-04-2023 10:35 Savers are taking precautions and some financial institutions are beginning to take note of the withdrawal of dollars.

Social Development Minister Victoria Tolosa Paz stages a rally in Ensenada, Buenos Aires Province, accompanied by Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero, Security Minister Aníbal Fernández and Cabinet Chief Agustín Rossi.

ELECTIONS 2023

PASO primaries: Alberto's favoured candidates, who’s in the race

25-04-2023 17:47 Alberto Fernández will not seek re-election, but he still wants a presence and influence over the Frente de Todos line-up for the primaries. Who are the candidates the president is promoting for the nation, provincial and city races? And who from the ruling coalition has publicly declared their intentions in the race for the Casa Rosada?

Javier Milei in election campaign mode, March 2023.

POLITICS – ANALYSIS

Milei sees fragmented opposition and moves closer to Bullrich

24-04-2023 12:41 Javier Milei observes fragmentation in the opposition Juntos por el Cambio coalition and believes he can reach an agreement with Patricia Bullrich, should he make it to the run-off.

by Juan Pablo Kavanagh

Mauricio Sana and Gonzalo Pérez Corral, the CEOs of Flybondi and JetSMART.

AIRLINES & AVIATION

Low-cost airlines: Domestic passenger growth can take off

24-04-2023 07:00 Mauricio Sana and Gonzalo Pérez Corral, the CEOs of Flybondi and JetSMART respectively, agree that the number of domestic passengers could be doubled with a better commercial aviation policy. The duo offer their opinion on Aerolíneas Argentinas, explain why they cannot get more room at downtown Aeroparque and detail their relationship with government ministries.

by Claudio Celano Gómez

POLITICS – ANALYSIS

President's withdrawal does little to resolve internal tensions

23-04-2023 17:49 Alberto Fernández displayed a firmness he had not shown before, but the president's strength and ability to govern has been weakened.

by Rosendo Fraga

ANALYSIS

Alberto steps down early, shifting focus to PASO primaries

22-04-2023 18:35 Argentina’s economic crisis accelerated the president’s announcement. The polls did not even give him a chance. He insists on the PASO primaries but, for now, no-one is echoing his request.

by Ramón Indart

President Alberto Fernández, pictured at the Quinta de Olivos presidential residence.

POLITICS: ELECTIONS 2023

Fernández withdraws candidacy, but doesn't plan to step aside

22-04-2023 11:52 President Alberto Fernández, who will not seek a new mandate, is betting on the PASO primaries and will challenge the candidate put forth by Kirchnerism. Economy Minister Sergio Massa is still considering his options and is not yet ready to go public with his intentions.

by Rosario Ayerdi

ELECTIONS 2023

Milei’s policies – and poll numbers – spark concern

22-04-2023 07:00 Outspoken libertarian lawmaker Javier Milei looms larger each day over Argentina's upcoming election, with his politics, proposed policies – and poll numbers – shocking the establishment.

As I see it

Cartwheeling towards chaos

22-04-2023 06:45 A programme of government based on nothing more than contempt, whether deserved or not, for almost everything that already exists would be most unlikely to make life better for the country’s inhabitants.

by James Neilson

POLITICAL AND FINANCIAL INSTABILITY

$420: The ‘elegant’ dollar

22-04-2023 06:23 This is the level of tension and uncertainty with which the Casa Rosada, the Economy Ministry, and Vice-President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner’s closest allies live, the day-to-day vicissitudes of a failing administration.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

POLITICS

How Alberto Fernández resigned himself to not seeking re-election

21-04-2023 14:48 The president has given up his candidacy but not his pen. The video announcing his decision was edited through the night – but Alberto Fernández did not tell Cristina Fernández de Kirchner or Sergio Massa beforehand.

by Rosario Ayerdi

ELECTIONS 2023

Alberto Fernández declines re-election bid amid inflation spike

21-04-2023 12:00 Argentina's president says he won’t run for re-election, opening the race within the ruling Peronist coalition to pick a candidate ahead of October elections.

CAMPAIGN COMMENTS

PRO or provincial?

21-04-2023 09:56 Does the end of six decades of one-party rule in Neuquén mark a new era for the province now and for the nation later this year?

by Michael Soltys

FORO LLAO LLAO

Election 2023 hopefuls outline economic plans to business leaders

20-04-2023 14:29 Milei, Rodríguez Larreta, Bullrich and Vidal outline their economic plans to the nation’s top business leaders at the Llao Llao Forum in Bariloche – here’s what the leading candidates told the ‘círculo rojo.’

EXCHANGE MARKETS

'Blue dollar' hits 420 – the reasons behind exchange rate turbulence

19-04-2023 12:31 Argentina’s complicated exchange rate spectrum was hit by further turbulence on Tuesday. The reasons behind the instability, according to the experts.

by Santiago Escobar

POLITICS

‘Plan Platita II’? Government to stuff pockets as inflation bites

18-04-2023 14:02 To mitigate the coalition friendly fire that has been rekindled by the confirmation of accelerating price hikes, Serio Massa’s economic cabinet is drawing up a new programme to stimulate consumption.

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank spring meetings sign inside the IMF headquarters in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, April 11, 2023.

REGIONAL ECONOMY

Latin America’s policy-makers warn investors of long fight against inflation

17-04-2023 17:08 Battle against inflation will take longer than expected, the region top economic authorities said at IMF Spring Meetings.

POLITICS: ELECTIONS 2023

A social flare-up, a triple draw and the rise of Milei

15-04-2023 10:01 Javier Milei very well could be the single most voted-for candidate in the national PASOs scheduled for August 13.

by Agustino Fontevecchia