News of pandemic

UN: Covid shrinks Latin American trade for 2020

22-01-2021 15:49 The coronavirus pandemic has triggered the steepest drop in Latin American foreign trade in 2020 since the global financial crisis more than a decade ago, a UN body said Friday.

Covid-19 vaccine

Argentina sends Mexico supplies to produce Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine

19-01-2021 17:59 Argentina has sent Mexico the first active ingredient necessary for the development of around one million doses of the British Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.

Coronavirus Pandemic

Second delivery of Russia's Sputnik vaccine arrives in Argentina

18-01-2021 18:13 Flight carrying second doses of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine arrived at Ezeiza over weekend. Shots will be distributed to recipients in coming weeks.

Coronavirus Pandemic

Parents demand return of face-to-face classes at schools

16-01-2021 17:39 Group of parents pressure government, organising themselves via social media to demand restoration of face-to-face classes and a meeting with Education Minister Nicolás Trotta.

GLOBAL PANDEMIC

Global Covid-19 death toll passes two million

16-01-2021 07:37 The global death toll from Covid-19 passed two million on Friday, with the WHO urging mass vaccinations.

CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

Officials preach ‘prevention and care’ as fatalities surpass 45,000

16-01-2021 07:15 More than 200,000 citizens now vaccinated against Covid-19, says Health Ministry; Second flight carrying doses of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine due to arrive in Buenos Aires today.

Abortion bill

Polarised upper house set to vote on legalising abortion

29-12-2020 08:31 A polarised Senate will decide Tuesday whether to legalise abortion in Argentina in a vote experts say could go either way.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Economy posts sixth straight month of growth post Covid-Plunge

26-12-2020 10:25 Argentina’s economy continued to recover slowly from its historic Covid-19 plunge earlier this year, posting the sixth straight month of growth.

BREXIT

UK-EU agree historic post-Brexit trade deal

26-12-2020 10:20 Britain and the European Union struck a post-Brexit trade deal on Christmas Eve that they hope will cushion the economic blow of the UK’s imminent departure from the bloc after months of tortuous negotiations.

POLITICS AND THE PANDEMIC

The Cabinet creaks

26-12-2020 09:47 The president is trying to drive home the message that he will not be steamrolled by the Kirchnerite wing into sacking half of his Cabinet.

by Martín Gambarotta

A DISASTROUS YEAR

2020 is coming to an end, luckily

26-12-2020 09:24 The spotlight on justice is irreversible and its consequences have defined the year, along with the coronavirus.

by Beatriz Sarlo

Coronavirus pandemic

Bolsonaro backs vaccine campaign despite personal opposition

17-12-2020 14:48 Brazil is negotiating the purchase of 350 million doses of coronavirus vaccines for 2021, including 210 million of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine that is largely made in Brazil by the Fiocruz institute, and 70 million of Pfizer's vaccine.

ECLAC Projection

UN slashes LatAm economic slowdown projection

16-12-2020 16:06 Executive secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean Alicia Bárcena predicts the region will experience growth of 3.7 percent in 2021.

Covid-19 Pandemic

Study shows pandemic threatens fragile democracies

13-12-2020 20:44 A study by Sweden-based organisation, International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA), found that approximately 60 percent of countries around the world have adopted health and safety measures during the Covid-19 crisis that infringe on democratic principles.

EDITORIAL

The first year of the rest of a presidency

12-12-2020 09:08 A bigger game-changer than coronavirus could hardly be imagined, but Argentina remains very much the same country behind the face-masks.

ABORTION DEBATE

Lower house set to vote on bill to legalise abortion

10-12-2020 02:54 Chamber of Deputies set to vote on bill to legalise abortion in Argentina. Session due to begin at 11am, with vote on initiative expected to take place in early hours of Friday morning.

Global pandemic

Poverty-stricken Brazilians fear looming end of Covid-19 emergency cash

02-12-2020 14:58 More than 67 million low-income workers receive Covid-19 relief payments in Brazil, which are set to expire at the end of the year. Many of them are fearing what lies ahead.

Abortion bill

Congress begins debate on bill to legalise abortion

01-12-2020 17:36 Lower house opened debate on the government’s abortion bill on Tuesday, with President Alberto Fernández hoping to legalise the process in Argentina by the end of the year.

Politics & the pandemic

In Maradona's shadow

28-11-2020 13:52 Diego Maradona has died and everything else in Argentina will now have to wait.

by Martín Gambarotta

DIEGO ARMANDO MARADONA (1960-2020)

Nation bids chaotic final farewell to its favourite son

28-11-2020 08:56 Huge crowds bade a grief-filled farewell to Diego Armando Maradona on Thursday, before the legendary footballer was buried on the outskirts of Buenos Aires after a chaotic public wake.

G20 Leaders Summit

Fernández asks G20 for ‘cooperation and solidarity’ in face of pandemic

22-11-2020 16:22 President Alberto Fernández calls on G20 member nations to prioritise"cooperation and solidarity" in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, while warning Latin America faces a likely "second wave" in the coming months.

Bloomberg

Coronavirus roars back in Brazil as infections top six million

22-11-2020 08:28 Last week, Brazil reported almost 68,000 new Covid-19 cases in a single day, an all-time high that eclipses the previous record by more than 20% and rivals the numbers seen in the United States, whose population is 50% bigger.

EDITORIAL

November’s sky is chill and drear

21-11-2020 10:51 With the government falling into line with the quarantine fatigue felt by much of the nation, a vacuum has opened up in the public agenda. There was already plenty of jostling last week to fill it – from both wings of the coalition government.

ARGENTINA

US$3-billion ‘wealth tax’ bill clears lower house, heads to Senate

21-11-2020 10:20 Chamber of Deputies votes in favour of one-off levy for those with largest fortunes. Bill, which Peronist lawmakers hope will raise US$3 billion, now goes to Senate.

INTERNATIONAL APPROACH

Wealth taxes and extraordinary contributions – how other nations handle it

21-11-2020 10:14 Worldwide Germany and France are the two most practical examples of that class of taxes labelled “solidarity."

ABORTION BILL

Fernández starts push to legalise abortion before end of year

21-11-2020 09:59 President Alberto Fernández sends bill to Congress seeking to legalise abortion in first 14 weeks of pregnancy, firing the starting pistol on another epic legislative showdown.

Abortion bill

Fernández sends Congress bill to legalise abortion in Argentina

17-11-2020 17:36 President Alberto Fernández said Tuesday that his government had sent a bill to legalise abortion to Congress, firing the starting gun on what is likely to be another epic legislative showdown.

ECONOMIC MEASURES

Ban on lay-offs and dismissals extended until end of January

17-11-2020 16:33 Government publishes decree in Official Gazette extending ban on dismissals and lay-offs until January 29

HUNT FOR VACCINE

In new breakthrough, Moderna's Covid vaccine nearly 95% effective

16-11-2020 12:58 US biotech firm Moderna on Monday announced its experimental vaccine against Covid-19 was almost 95 percent effective, another major breakthrough in the quest to end the pandemic.

US ELECTION 2020

'Time will tell': Trump hints at election loss, talks up vaccine efforts

14-11-2020 11:01 President comes close but stops just short of acknowledging he lost the November 3 election to Democrat Joe Biden.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Inflation reached 3.8% in October, highest monthly rate of year

12-11-2020 17:05 Prices in Argentina have risen by 26.9% since turn of the year, reveals INDEC national statistics bureau.

Abortion bill

Abortion bill will be sent to Congress in November, says Ibarra

11-11-2020 01:43 Legal & Technical Secretary Vilma Ibarra confirms that bill will be sent to Congress this month, with debate to take place in extraordinary sessions.

BLOOMBERG

BlackRock's Fink says Argentina won't soon regain investor trust

06-11-2020 08:15 Blackrock Inc. CEO Larry Fink said Argentina has a long way to go before it can regain investor confidence.

US ELECTION 2020

Poverty stalks United States' middle class amid pandemic

01-11-2020 09:27 Eight million more people have been driven into poverty as the United States struggles with the world's biggest coronavirus outbreak – triggering tens of millions of layoffs and a sharp contraction in growth.

CFK'S OPEN LETTER

Unity, in whatever form

31-10-2020 09:24 Both former presidents have given their blessing to an initial conversation that could work towards a broader social consensus.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

ABORTION BILL

Activists revive struggle for 'urgent' legalisation of abortion in Argentina

31-10-2020 09:15 Campaigners for the legalisation of abortion call on supporters to paint Argentina green; President Alberto Fernández says bill is on the way.

ABORTION BILL

Fernández set to relaunch delayed bid to legalise abortion

28-10-2020 22:40 President Alberto Fernández is preparing his government to send a bill to allow the voluntary interruption of pregnancy to Argentina’s lower house before the end of the year. Inside Congress, however, the countdown has already begun.

Abortion reform

Fernández says government is 'finishing work' on bill to legalise abortion

27-10-2020 17:14 Peronist leader says in an interview that his government is putting the final touches to a bill to legalise abortion and that it would soon be sent to Congress.

TRAVEL & TOURISM

Domestic flights restart in Argentina after seven-month stoppage

23-10-2020 02:14 Argentina resumed regular domestic flights on Thursday after an interruption of seven months due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Services are limited to essential workers and those needing medical treatment for now, with only Formosa maintaining ban on aviation.

Coronavirus pandemic

Nurses in Buenos Aires protest for professional recognition

22-10-2020 22:39 Hundreds of nurses and surgical assistants in the capital marched on Wednesday to press for pay increases, professional recognition and improved working conditions in the teeth of the Covid-19 pandemic.

BLOOMBERG

Creditors blast Argentina for post-restructuring bond blow-up

22-10-2020 22:22 Argentina Exchange Bondholders group and the Argentina Creditor Committee rip government for mismanaging the economy, saying country is headed for disaster just seven weeks after restructuring US$65 billion in debt.

IMF MISSION TEAM DEPARTS

IMF predicts 11.8% GDP slump, says talks will start in November

17-10-2020 10:18 IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva says Argentina needs “a credible and comprehensive economic agenda that balances supporting the economy and people in this difficult time.”

Coronavirus pandemic

Government approves return of domestic flights

16-10-2020 03:07 Transport Ministry authorises restricted return of domestic flights. Initially services limited to essential workers, exceptional circumstances and those needing medical treatment, with tourism and trips abroad unlikely before December at the earliest.

CLEAR COMMUNICATIONS

The sound of silence: the lockdown soundtrack

14-10-2020 16:29 Every crisis in Argentina has its own soundtrack. The coronavirus pandemic gave us the sound of silence.

by Joanna Richardson

TRAVEL & TOURISM

Argentina eyes return of regular commercial flights, initially at weekends

12-10-2020 18:40 Transport Ministry working on the possible return of commercial weekend flights, both domestic and international, after seven months of standstill due to the coronavirus pandemic.

BLOOMBERG - OPINION

El-Erian: Argentina and Ecuador diverge after bond restructurings

11-10-2020 09:18 A month after finalising historic “zoom” debt restructurings, Argentina and Ecuador find themselves on starkly different paths toward economic and financial improvements.

FOREIGN (AND DOMESTIC) POLICY

Venezuela: Argentina's old/new problem

10-10-2020 09:07 It doesn’t really matter whether Cristina is calling the shots, whether her henchmen are acting independently, or if Alberto is acting out of his own accord, trying to please his vice-president and keep his coalition united. The end result is the same: increased uncertainty, which ultimately feeds Argentina’s risk thermometer: the dollar-peso exchange rate.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

US 2020 Election

US vice-presidential debate takeaways: pandemic looms over a more civil fight

08-10-2020 13:13 US Vice-President Mike Pence and Democratic vice presidential candidate Senator Kamala Harris faced off on Wednesday in the only vice presidential debate of the US 2020 Presidential Election.