Brazil's crusading justice Moraes ratchets up fight with tech giants
The head of Brazil’s electoral authority, Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, delivered a stern warning to the world’s top tech companies on Wednesday, saying he would not let them undermine Brazil’s democracy. Moraes’ comments – which included the assertion that global tech giants “believe no jurisdiction in the world can oversee them” – reflect growing global debates about whether the firms are doing enough to police their platforms. They will be held accountable, to guarantee the voter’s freedom to vote,” Moraes told judges and public servants studying electoral law, without naming any specific firms. Brazil is among countries taking a global lead in pressuring tech giants to crack down harder on users it sees as spreading disinformation. Global tech firms have campaigned against the bill, arguing it would open the door to censorship.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
May 12, 2023 15:41 UTC
Néstor Kirchner gas pipeline construction reaches final stages
One of the final stages in the construction of the Néstor Kirchner gas pipeline will take place on Friday 12: the last welding of the more than 50,000 pipes used for the infrastructure work. The gas pipeline will then become one single piece running from Tratayén, in Neuquén, to Salliqueló, in the south of Buenos Aires province. The last welding work was scheduled for May 15, but will in fact take place sooner, on this Friday 12. A project that construction sources say could have taken two years will in fact be finished in less than twelve months. Looking ahead, the gas pipeline is waiting for two compression plants to start functioning.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
May 11, 2023 18:58 UTC
Bolivian leader open to using yuan for trade, touting 'trend'
Bolivian President Luis Arce expressed openness to the use of the Chinese yuan for international trade during a press conference on Wednesday, citing similar moves by Argentina and Brazil to tap the Asian currency for transactions with China. International trade transactions tend to be priced in U.S. dollars, especially for major commodity markets like energy and grains, going back decades. “The two largest economies in the region are already trading in yuan in agreements with China, and that is going to be the trend in the region,” Arce said, adding that Bolivia could not afford to stay on the sidelines. Earlier in the year, China and Brazil moved to reduce the dominance of the greenback by signing a deal to set up yuan clearing arrangements that can facilitate bilateral trade. “In Latin America, we have always had a great influence from the United States… but today many countries have more foreign trade with China.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
May 11, 2023 13:28 UTC
Haddad tells Yellen Brazil "worried" for Argentina's economy
“We are worried because this situation may affect the political destiny of Argentina,” Haddad told U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in a meeting on the sidelines of a Group of Seven (G7) finance ministers meeting in Niigata, Japan. Haddad said Brazil was keeping a close eye on Argentina, where the current drought could reduce exports by 20%, mindful of previous far-right political shifts elsewhere in Latin America. Speaking with reporters after the meeting, Haddad said he raised the issue with Yellen because Argentina needed the assistance of the International Monetary Fund. The United States is the largest shareholder in the global lender. He said Brazil was also keen to expand trade with the United States and said more trade integration was needed in the Americas.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
May 11, 2023 13:16 UTC
Massa said holding primaries would be “a very serious mistake”
Economy Minister Sergio Massa declined to comment on the possibility of being a presidential candidate in this year’s elections, and spoke against the idea of holding primaries in the Frente de Todos ruling coalition. “Exposing in primary elections whether the government has differences or not seems to me like a very serious mistake,” the minister said during the annual summit of the United States Chamber of Commerce in Argentina (Amcham Argentina). Massa said that the “last welding” on the Néstor Kirchner gas pipeline will be done on Friday. Massa also referred to Argentina’s program with the International Monetary Fund (IMF.) In March 2022, Argentina signed an agreement renegotiating the US$ 44 billion debt former President Mauricio Macri acquired in 2018.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
May 10, 2023 22:37 UTC
Driving in fog, the concern of the business leaders
“Argentina is on the verge of a crisis, navigating in a fog bank. Leaders from Juntos por el Cambio were the two main figures of PRO: Patricia Bullrich and Horacio Rodríguez Larreta. Bullrich also gave her thoughts on what the dollar exchange rate should be. She thinks that the value should be located between the current official exchange rate, which she called a “lie,” and the informal (or blue) dollar. Today, the official exchange rate reached AR$ 228 per dollar and the blue dollar is at AR$ 471, so a value in the middle would leave an exchange rate of around $350.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
May 10, 2023 11:56 UTC
Head of Supreme Court criticized the government’s “excessive monetary emission”
The president of the Supreme Court, Justice Horacio Rosatti, said today that the national government’s monetary policy “betrays the mandate of the [National] Constitution.”“The text commands us to defend the value of the currency,” Rosatti said in the annual summit of the United States Chamber of Commerce in Argentina (Amcham Argentina). That move allowed Rosatti to take over as head of the institution, which is in charge of selecting federal judges. “It is an institutional coup,” said Justice Minister Martín Soria at the time. Amcham’s annual summit gathers business leaders, public officials, and civil society representatives. This year, it is taking place as the US and Argentina celebrate 200 years of commercial relations.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
May 10, 2023 02:50 UTC
Messi’s father and rep denies Al Hilal deal
The decision will not be made before Lionel finishes the season with PSG,” Messi’s father wrote on his Instagram account. “Once the season ends, that will be the time to analyze the options and then make a decision. Neither verbal nor signed nor agreed, and there won’t be until the season ends,” he wrote. Information about a deal between Messi and Al Hilal —which is currently coached by Argentine Ramon Díaz— was reported today by an international news agency, citing an unnamed “Saudi source close to the negotiations”. In response, Jorge Messi accused the media of “deceiving and lying constantly and deliberately, with no proof”.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
May 09, 2023 20:53 UTC
Inflation: Buenos Aires City hits 7.8% in April and 110% YoY
Inflation in Buenos Aires City was 7.8% in April, according to figures released by the City Government’s General Directorate of Statistics and Census (Dgeyc in Spanish) today. The capital saw a 110.4% inter-annual inflation rate and a total 31.2% increase in prices over the first trimester. The prices of fruits, vegetables, tubers and legumes drove the highers food prices with a 19.9% increase, followed by meats (11.5%), milk and dairy products and eggs (10.8%) and bread and cereals (8.5%). Rent raises and higher energy bills contributed to a 6.4% increase in housing costs. Following a controversial back and forth last week, the National Institute for Statistics and Census (INDEC, its Spanish acronym) is set to publish the national inflation rate on Friday, May 12.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
May 09, 2023 02:12 UTC
The Bullrich Plan: Patricia Bullrich’s team lay out road map to business leaders
Former government officials that form Patricia Bullrich’s economic team met with business leaders and anticipated the economic plan they are crafting. This cocktail of measures also monopolized a private meeting Bullrich’s economic staff held with business leaders a few days ago. No one will deny it: the PRO presidential candidate’s program would result in a recessive shock in early 2024. Regarding the currency exchange issue, they are analyzing a currency rate splitting. “It will go as high as it has to”, the presidential candidate’s team summarized.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
May 09, 2023 01:44 UTC
Chilean right wins majority in vote to draft new constitution
Chilean right-wing parties won a majority of votes on Sunday to elect advisers to draft a new constitution, marking a sharp shift from a progressive majority that drafted a failed first constitutional rewrite. With 95.13% of ballots tallied, Chile’s Republican Party, led by former conservative firebrand presidential candidate Jose Antonio Kast, secured nearly 35% of the vote. A separate coalition of traditional right-wing parties gained just over 20% of the vote, while President Gabriel Boric’s left-wing coalition garnered about 29%. The constitutional advisers elected on Sunday will start drawing up a new constitution in June based on a draft compiled by 24 constitutional experts appointed by Congress in March. “I want to invite the Republican Party, that’s won an unquestionable majority, to not make the same mistakes we made,” Boric said.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
May 08, 2023 12:34 UTC
Net reserves at negative US$1 billion
The Central Bank has negative international net reserves by at least US$1 billion, various consulting firms have calculated. A report by consulting firm Ecolatina published on Friday put them at negative US$1.1 billion, while one by 1816 calculated they were negative US$1 billion. Net international reserves are calculated by subtracting the Central Bank’s liabilities —such as the China swap and the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) special drawing rights— from its gross international reserves. Expert calculationsConsulting firm 1816 said net reserves are at their lowest levels since the first days of former President Mauricio Macri’s administration in 2015. Before that, net reserves had not been this low since the crisis that was unleashed after the country ditched the “convertibility” (the US dollar-peso parity) law in 2002.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
May 08, 2023 10:55 UTC
Ecuador frees cash for Galapagos conservation with bond buyback
Ecuador is set to complete the biggest ever debt-for-nature swap, freeing up cash for conservation of the Galapagos Islands, one of the world’s most precious ecosystems, after Credit Suisse bought up three of its bonds. The old debt will be replaced with a cheaper-to-service US$656 million “Galapagos Bond” maturing in 2041 and insured by the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation. The buyback comes against a backdrop of political turmoil in Ecuador, with the National Assembly seeking to impeach President Guillermo Lasso for alleged embezzlement, which Lasso denies. Unique speciesThe volcanic Galapagos islands lie 600 miles (970 km) off Ecuador’s coast. It’s a good idea for a country that is trying to regain credibility with the market.”Tellimer analyst Stuart Culverhouse estimated that more of Ecuador’s bonds could have been bought.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
May 06, 2023 12:50 UTC
Paraguay president-elect commits to 'strengthen' ties with Taiwan
Paraguay’s president-elect, Santiago Peña, said on Friday that he would continue to strengthen his country’s “historic ties” with Taiwan following a call with his counterpart there after winning the election. The countries’ diplomatic relations of more than six decades had been in the spotlight before Sunday’s election, with opposition candidate Efrain Alegre saying he would seek to move his country closer to China to boost agricultural ties. Paraguay is Taiwan’s only South American ally and the island – claimed by China as its own – has lost support from Central American nations in recent years. We will keep strengthening the historic ties between Paraguay and the Republic of China (Taiwan), and look forward to working on mutually beneficial cooperation projects,” Peña said on Twitter, replying to President Tsai Ing-wen. Taiwan faces an uphill battle to keep ties with the 13 countries that currently recognize it as a sovereign nation, amid pressure from China.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
May 06, 2023 00:35 UTC
‘Wild Tales’ director Damian Szifrón joins Cannes film festival jury
Argentine filmmaker Damian Szifron, creator of the hit TV show The Pretenders (Los simuladores) and the 2014 Oscar-nominated film Wild Tales, will join the official competition jury of the 76th edition of the Cannes film festival. “The Festival de Cannes wishes to welcome a new generation of artists who direct, act, sing and write,” stated the release. The Pretenders, the film version produced by Paramount, is currently in the scriptwriting process and is scheduled for a 2024 release. Szifrón’s groundbreaking film debut, the 2004 dark comedy The Bottom of the Sea, premiered at the Mar del Plata film festival, where it won the Silver Ombú for best Ibero-American film. The Cannes jury will have the task of awarding the Palme d’Or to one of the 21 films announced in the Official Competition.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
May 05, 2023 15:02 UTC