Ball control
While Wednesday’s editorial inclined toward the bribery scandal causing the suspension of Customs chief Juan José Gómez Centurión as being more a case of a rotten apple than the work of rogue intelligence services, the latter possibility would underline Macri’s problems in bringing that murky sector under control. Plenty has been written (both here and elsewhere) about the continuing chaos surrounding the clumsy bid to update utility rates but again Macri has lost his grip. But nor can Macri play to his strengths in his original domain. In short, an absolute mess. Needless to say, a struggling economy is far more important than a disoriented sport but for a man who reached the presidency via soccer management, going back to basics might have a different meaning.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
August 26, 2016 04:19 UTC
ANSES ruling casts shadow over pension plan
Friday, August 26, 2016 ANSES ruling casts shadow over pension planPresident Mauricio Macri’s plan to increase pension payments to a group of senior citizens is starting to meet legal challenges, not long after the government’s utility rate hikes scheme was also dealt a crucial blow by the country’s Supreme Court. The ruling, signed by Judge Juan Fantini, partially upheld a complaint filed by Miguel Ángel Fernández Pastor, a lawyer and pensioner himself who worked at ANSES during Cristina Fernández de Kirchner’s administration. But it only applies for the next three months, in which any sale of FGS assets will be completely forbidden, or until a final legal ruling is made. According to the judge, the law’s article 28 did indeed open the door to selling shares in order to pay for common expenses. He did add, however, that some other ANSES spending that he saw as outside the agency’s goals would have to be cut.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
August 26, 2016 03:37 UTC
Argentine gold medalists display Olympic flag at the Obelisk
Other news Friday, August 26, 2016 Argentine gold medalists display Olympic flag at the ObeliskJudoka Paula Pareto, sailors Santiago Lange and Cecilia Carranza, and members of the men’s national field hockey team, all winners of gold medals in the Rio Olympic Games, display with BA City Mayor Horacio Rodríguez Larreta the Olympic flag at the Obelisk to promote the 2018 Youth Games in Buenos Aires. “We are trying to promote the Olympic spirit. All we have done in Rio, the medals, the Olympic Diplomas, helped a lot, but we have to keep doing things,” said Pareto.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
August 26, 2016 03:36 UTC
Economic Output In The Country Fell By 4.3 Percent In June, According To INDEC
Economic output in the country fell by 4.3 percent in June compared to the same month last year, according to a study released yesterday by the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INDEC) called the “Monthly Estimator of Economic Activity” (EMAE). The study goes on to point out this is the third month with a negative trend, as economic output dropped by 2.1 percent in both May and June. If we are to make an average of the year’s first semester, economy as a whole fell by 1.3 percent. However, there is a silver lining: according to an index that measures these variations (but doesn’t take into account economic growth or drop inherent to every season – as with tourism in the summer, for example) economic output this month experienced a smaller drop compared to previous months than the months leading up to it. While the number reached 0.7 percent in both April and May, it dropped to 0.3 in June.
Source:The Bubble
August 25, 2016 21:33 UTC
Police Raid Argentine Convent After Outlet Reveals Torture Allegations
Story in development…Judicial and law enforcement authorities raided a convent inhabited by Discalced (or “Barefoot”) Carmelites today. The branch of the Catholic Carmelite order where lay people — in these case women — dedicate their lives to prayer, was entered into by force after a local news outlet called Análisis Digital published an investigation revealed alleged tortures being committed on the women living there. The prosecutor is also investigating if the discalced carmelites were illegally held in the convent. According to Análisis Digital, the investigation lasted two years and includes testimonies from former convent inhabitants and their family members, as well as local doctors who allegedly took care of the women. The outlet also argues some of them showed symptoms of malnutrition and depression.
Source:The Bubble
August 25, 2016 21:11 UTC
What To Do In Buenos Aires This Weekend August 26 Edition
The world’s best dancers from the most famous ballet companies have come together in Buenos Aires to show off their unattainable grace. The event starts at 8:30 PM and you can get your tickets here. The show starts at 10:00 PM and will feature 8 of Buenos Aires’s most fabulous queens. The government program Buenos Aires Celebra is featuring Austrian and Lithuanian culture with a festival dedicated to their breaded-fried-meat-loving kin. La Usina del Arte (Caffarena 1)TANGO: Stay put for an homage to the beloved and recently deceased Horacio Ferrer.
Source:The Bubble
August 25, 2016 20:59 UTC
Fish Lovers Rejoice! UCO Steps Up The Sustainable Seafood Game In Buenos Aires
UCO wants to change the dull, stale panorama of fish and seafood in Buenos Aires. The fish and seafood treats can be enjoyed in different variations, but the “Sharing is Caring” tasting menu takes the (fish?) Smoked in house, UCO’s trout — served as a carpaccio — feels fresh and light in texture, but has a charming intensity to the palate. Both the lunch and dinner menus include the Fish of the day, a fresh seafood specialty delivered daily to the kitchen. UCO’s dinner menu also offers fish & seafood dishes such as Ceviche “UCO”, Bouillabaisse, Fish of the day and the Patagonian Trout.
Source:The Bubble
August 25, 2016 20:26 UTC
Marcos Peña: “Inflation Is Going Down and Economy Is Going Back To Normal”
We came from four years of economic stagnation, where businessmen were blamed for inflation, while now the President (Mauricio Macri) knows that the State is responsible for the price increases,” Peña said. According to the National Institute of Statistics and Census, inflation in July rose by 2 percent for the country as a whole. However, several indexes projected that annual inflation will be over 40 percent, a number that is much higher than the 25 percent the Macri administration expected when taking office. By this, Peña was saying that the Macri administration used a policy of economic “gradualism” to alter the economy. Electricity increases, on the other hand, are currently suspended due to a ruling from a Federal Judge who determined were disproportionate.
Source:The Bubble
August 25, 2016 19:52 UTC
An Ancient Tribute to Mother Earth Will be Performed at the Obelisco on Saturday
This Saturday at the Obelisco, history will take place as the ancient ritual of the Pachamama, a practice by which indigenous peoples pay homage to Mother Earth, will be performed for the first time in the city of Buenos Aires. The event is from 1 PM onwards and the traditional offering will be at 4 PM. “Doing it in a different space is understanding that Mother Nature is for all of us and that we are all children of the Earth. Indigenous groups make up roughly two percent of Argentina’s 44 million people. However, conflicts remain between indigenous groups, the state and private companies involved in agriculture, logging and mining, who are interested in developing on or near their lands.
Source:The Bubble
August 25, 2016 18:56 UTC
High School Students Dress Up as Nazis, Go to Nightclub and Fight Jewish Teens Because Of Course They Did
So they got into a fist fight and a few seconds later they were all being kicked out of the nightclub,” she said, certainly not wrong. On top of that, the German school of Lanús is now scrambling to do some damage control and is desperately distancing itself from its students and assuring everyone that they are not a Hitler-adoring institution. We work so German culture is not associated to Nazi culture.”“We are going to work so (the students) can reflect on this. Apologizing is not enough,” she said, adding that “the ORT students also acted poorly” but “one thing doesn’t justify the other.”Which to me doesn’t really makes sense because in this cause-effect scenario it’s not like her students decided to play Nazi dress-up because the ORT students were behaving badly. The mayor of Bariloche also commented on “the many programs” that the city has to prevent bullying and gender violence.
Source:The Bubble
August 25, 2016 18:33 UTC
Backpedaling On Gas Increases: Here’s How To Get Your Money Back
Following last week’s Supreme Court ruling, the Macri administration instructed gas distributing companies today to backpedal on the gas increases that had been applied to private residences. Here’s how they work:On the one hand, those who paid bills with price increases between May and August will have what they paid deducted from their future bills until the gas companies settle their debt. Many who have been excluded from the Supreme Court’s ruling have filed injunctions to have their increases suspended as well. Families or private residences who were granted access the so-called “social tariff” will continue to be benefited by it. Following last week’s Supreme Court ruling suspending gas bill increases for private residences, the Macri administration called for a public hearing to, once again, present its proposal to raise gas prices.
Source:The Bubble
August 25, 2016 14:37 UTC
Apples at a time for jobs
Throughout this year the opinion polls have been showing inflation to be the uppermost public concern so what happened in the last week? And then on Tuesday INDEC statistics bureau announced that unemployment had risen to 9.3 percent (see the editorial on this page). Nor are the latter fully compensated by the priorities for the mega-event, the mid-September Forum for Investment and Business. At the risk of mixing apples and oranges (so to speak), this week’s Plaza de Mayo protest by Patagonian fruit-growers has been a case study of the conundrums arising out of continuing economic disarray. Might they not be overestimating inflation by only working with listed prices instead of the prices people actually pay amid the discount wars between supermarkets?
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
August 25, 2016 03:31 UTC
Aramburu Perfects Food As Art With Buenos Aires’ Original Tasting Menu
I was physically and mentally preparing myself for an eighteen course tasting menu and I wanted a light aperitif to kill the time, I explained. Aramburu Ünder is located half a block from Aramburu Resto on a quiet street on the edge of Constitución. Before Tegui and El Baqueano, and all the other high end restaurants that now offer tasting menus, Aramburu was setting the standard. Designing a tasting menu is like taking on the role of a conductor of an orchestra. At it’s lowest, a tasting menu often is just that.
Source:The Bubble
August 25, 2016 00:56 UTC
Selena Gomez Coming To Argentina
Selena Gomez will be returning to Argentina later this year to take part in the Shout Music Festival. As part of her Revival World Tour, Gomez will be performing at the Tecnópolis in Buenos Aires on December 3rd. Along with Gomez, Shout Festival will feature a number of International artists such as Maluma and Abraham Mateo, with Gomez being the most widely-known entertainer and main act of the event. No word on whether Selena’s ex, Justin Bieber will be in attendance, although given his track record of causing chaos in Argentina, it’s not very likely. Read More: Justin Bieber To Face Argentine Judge For Past Indiscretions
Source:The Bubble
August 24, 2016 21:00 UTC
New Report Calls For More Regulation Over State Advertising Known As ‘Pauta Oficial’
Basically, giving money to media outlets the administration in power has ideological affinity with to the detriment of those with opposing views. When taking office, the Macri administration made the commitment to drastically reduce expenses in advertisement, as it considered it a dilapidation of State resources: “the dimension State [funded] advertisement has taken is madness and has to stop. The staunch opposition Indalo group came in second, getting a little over AR $67 million, or 8.39 percent of the total. La Nación, on its end, climbed from 19th to 4th place, having gotten almost AR $43 million since December. “Veintitrés” received over AR $800 million in State advertising.
Source:The Bubble
August 24, 2016 20:35 UTC