Elections and democratic resilience
They are the byproduct of political parties that haven’t lived up to citizens’ expectations, and start to be more a part of the problem than of the solution. The provincial ruling parties detached their local elections from the national ones in order to keep their territories. They are the pond where every political party will go fish, and what currently keeps all political strategists awake at night. Political parties as we have known them don’t exist anymore. “Democracy doesn’t work without political parties; but it doesn’t with these ones, either,” wrote Yanina Welp.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
October 03, 2023 09:16 UTC
Real-life 'Queen’s Gambit': Argentine crowned youth chess champion
In the 2020 mini-series The Queen’s Gambit, Anglo-Argentine actress Anya Taylor-Joy plays a child chess prodigy who conquers her personal demons to win a major tournament in Moscow. Now, Argentina has a real-life world champion: Candela Belén Francisco Guecamburu, 17, who just won the International Chess Federation’s World Junior Chess Championship in Mexico. The Buenos Aires native defeated Bulgaria’s Beloslava Krasteva to become the first woman Grandmaster from Argentina. Three Argentine men have held the title, including Oscar Panno in Copenhagen (1953), Carlos Bielicki in Münchenstein (1959), and Pablo Zarnicki in Buenos Aires (1992). Francisco, who grew up in Pilar, Buenos Aires province, has been competing in tournaments since she was nine.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
October 02, 2023 18:40 UTC
River Plate beat Boca Juniors 2-0, breaks five-year La Bombonera spell
River Plate beat Boca Juniors 2-0 in the 260th Superclásico, the most important fixture in Argentine football. LO QUE SE PERDIÓ COLIDIO ❌Gran jugada colectiva de River y el delantero la tiró por arriba. The team now sits third in Copa de la Liga’s Group A, just one point away from leaders Independiente. The Xeneizes have struggled in the Copa de la Liga, sitting ninth in Group B, five points away from leaders Racing Club. The last time was on March 10, 2002, when River achieved a historic 3-0 win at La Bombonera.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
October 02, 2023 07:45 UTC
Translation troubles: drink it with soda
This week’s “translation troubles” feature a controversial campaign video, a healthy dose of a rare interview by football superstar Lionel Messi, and a quintessentially Argentine piece of advice that comes up surprisingly often. Translation troubles got you down? Or soda water. Translation troubles, indeed. Picture an old-school bodegón patron with a bottle of red wine and its quintessentially Argentine pairing — a sifón (soda siphon).
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
October 02, 2023 02:25 UTC
Axel Kicillof’s chief of staff resigns amid luxury trip scandal
Martín Insaurralde, chief of staff for Buenos Aires Governor Axel Kicillof, resigned Saturday due to a political scandal that exploded after a model shared pictures of them together on a luxury trip on a yacht in Marbella, Spain. “Explanations will be delivered in the appropriate spaces.”The Buenos Aires governor also announced he will be sending a bill to the provincial Legislature to eliminate the entire chief of staff office. He left the mayorship in 2021 to become provincial chief of staff, replacing Carlos Bianco. They added that Kicillof and Insaurralde agreed that his resigning was the best way out of this situation. There’s nothing wrong with a politician taking a short vacation.”Buenos Aires politics was hit by another scandal 20 days ago.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
October 01, 2023 18:01 UTC
Almost 12 million Argentines are poor. What do we know about them?
According to the report, 40.1% of the population is poor — roughly 11.8 million people. Put in numbers, there are 1.2 million more poor people in Argentina than in the first semester of 2022. This is the population that over the last 15 years fell from the lower and middle classes into poverty. They obviously do not have enough to cope with inflationary dynamics and the lack of higher-paying jobs,” Salvia said. “The middle class is also the segment ripest for social explosion or conflict at this moment,” Salvia said.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
October 01, 2023 08:05 UTC
Argentina's Senate approves raise on tax income threshold
The Argentine Senate approved raising the tax income threshold Thursday night by a tally of 37 votes in favor and 29 against. This raise had already been approved last week in the Lower Chamber following a broad agreement between UxP and almost all parties. This resolution means that the fourth bracket of those who used to pay income tax, meaning people who earn the equivalent of 15 monthly minimum wages (currently AR$1,770,000, US$2,548.2 at the MEP rate, or US$5,093.5 at the official rate), are exempt from the tax. The Argentine government had raised the income tax threshold by decree two weeks ago, a decision Economy Minister and Unión por la Patria (UxP) presidential candidate Sergio Massa had announced days before. Rental Law reformThe Senate also approved the Rental Law reform, but introduced changes that will now have to be passed by the Lower House.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
September 29, 2023 15:38 UTC
Why women’s votes could make or break Milei’s victory in Argentina’s elections
Milei is leading Argentina’s presidential race after coming first in August’s primaries. Of the survey’s male interviewees, 41% said they would vote for Milei in the presidential elections, compared with just 26% of women. “In past elections, there wasn’t such a significant imbalance” between male and female vote for any of the candidates, according to Opina Argentina’s director, Andrés Gilio. In this context, many men — cisgender, straight men in particular — feel they have been left out and their needs neglected. You may also be interested in: Javier Milei could win Argentina’s elections.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
September 29, 2023 15:38 UTC
Unemployment hits 6.2% in second quarter
Unemployment reached 6.2% in the second quarter of 2023, according to a report by the National Institute for Statistics and Census (INDEC) released on Wednesday. According to the INDEC, economic activity fell in the same period, both in comparison to the first three months of the year (-2.8%) and to the second quarter of 2022 (-4.9%). The INDEC measures unemployment by surveying a cross-section of urban centers — 29.4 million people — and measures the percentage of unemployed people who are actively looking for a job compared to the total economically active population (14 million). This latest report from the INDEC comes after inflation reached a 32-year high in August, with the institute announcing that it would begin publishing inflation figures weekly as a result. You may also be interested in: Argentina to publish inflation figures weekly after August’s 32-year record
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
September 21, 2023 01:38 UTC
MALBA is inviting the public to celebrate its 22nd anniversary
The Museum of Latin American Art in Buenos Aires (MALBA, by its Spanish acronym) is throwing itself a birthday party, and the entire city is invited. From 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday, the museum will be opening its doors to the public free of charge, with the bash extending into the adjacent Plaza Peruano. MALBA, which was founded by the Argentine businessman Eduardo Constantini, is celebrating its 22nd anniversary. Inside its walls, MALBA will be offering multiple tours of its Tercer Ojo (Third Eye) and Luz y Fuerza (Light and Strength) exhibitions. That act will be followed by electronic artist Franzisca, who will be performing music from her new album Vida Nocturna and a set inspired by Tercer Ojo.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
September 20, 2023 21:32 UTC
Javier Milei could win Argentina’s elections. But could he govern?
In his own words, La Libertad Avanza’s (LLA’s) Javier Milei wants to take a motosierra (chainsaw) to the federal government. Milei will also lack gubernatorial support in the provinces — another key factor in his ability to govern the country. Juntos por el Cambio deputies are represented by yellow and Unión por la Patria deputies are light blue. Source: Diputados ArgentinaIn the national Congress, sessions need a quorum of half of the seats plus one to start. If Milei fails to find consensus in Congress for his polarizing policies, could he push them through via presidential decree?
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
September 20, 2023 15:54 UTC
Lower Chamber approves raising income tax threshold after broad political agreement
The Argentine Chamber of Deputies approved ruling coalition Unión por la Patria’s (UxP) bill to raise the threshold of the income tax known as Ganancias on Tuesday night. Opposing coalition Juntos por el Cambio (JxC) provided the vast majority of the negative votes, despite previously asking the tax threshold be modified. If the Senate approves the bill, only 88,000 people will pay income tax, less than 1% of total workers and pensioners in Argentina. Photo: Matías Ortega/ÁmbitoLast week, the Argentine government raised the income tax threshold by decree, a decision Economy Minister and UxP presidential candidate Sergio Massa had announced days before. Eliminating income tax, along with many other taxes, is one of his main campaign proposals.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
September 20, 2023 15:07 UTC
Argentine Supreme Court judge says dollarization is unconstitutional if it eliminates the peso
Chief Argentine Supreme Court Judge Horacio Rosatti said the dollarization plan proposed by presidential candidate Javier Milei is “unconstitutional” because it would abolish the national currency, the peso. “If a dollarization [plan] eliminates the Argentine currency, that’s unconstitutional. Article 75 of the Argentine Constitution establishes the country have a Central Bank and a currency whose value must be protected. As an example, Rosatti cited the convertibility period of the 1990s, when the peso was pegged to the dollar one-to-one. The CCL dollar rate was AR$735.1 per US dollar at the time of writing.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
September 20, 2023 03:45 UTC
ESMA Museum declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site
On Tuesday, the museum and site of memory that commemorates the spot was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The decision was announced Tuesday morning at the World Heritage Committee’s 45th Convention in the city of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The road to the World Heritage List began in 2015, when the Argentine government began negotiations with UNESCO. In 2017, the World Heritage Center included the ESMA Museum on its tentative list. The Argentine delegation in Riyadh was headed by Human Rights Secretary Horacio Pietragalla Corti, ESMA Museum executive director María Marcela ‘Mayki’ Gorosito, and the general coordinator of the Work Plan for the candidacy of the ESMA Museum, Mauricio Cohen Salama.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
September 19, 2023 14:29 UTC
From Vaca Muerta to Chile and Brazil: Massa negotiating more exports
The government is also in talks with Bolivia about the cost of using existing infrastructure to get gas up to Sao Paulo, Brazil. Vaca Muerta–BrazilArgentina will end 2023 with a stable energy balance following a record deficit in 2022. To that end, a month ago the government launched a tender for the Reversal of the Northern Gas Pipeline — aimed at getting Vaca Muerta energy to Argentina’s northern provinces. If the project is ready by then, sources in the Economy Ministry say “the Argentine north will live off Vaca Muerta.” And the almost 20-year-long contract with Bolivia will be terminated. It will be at the inauguration of the Vaca Muerta Northern Pipeline, which will increase transportation capacity and export crude oil to Chile.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
September 18, 2023 19:19 UTC