A Devastating Storm & more – 21st Dec 2023

¡Buenos días from Greenway Parks! This is the Rorshok Argentina Update from the 21st of December twenty twenty-three A quick summary of what's going down in Argentina.

Summer has officially arrived, bidding farewell to Spring with a bang. If you were jolted awake at three a.m. on Sunday by the howling wind, you probably don’t need a play-by-play of the storm that tore through Buenos Aires province. For those outside the affected areas, here’s the lowdown: a mega storm caused destruction everywhere from the capital all the way down south, with Bahia Blanca, a city port about 700 kilometers from Buenos Aires City, bearing the brunt of it. While Bahia Blanca was hit the hardest with thirteen people tragically losing their lives, the storm wreaked havoc across the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area too, knocking out power for hours, toppling over 360 trees, and damaging cars.

Jorge Macri, the new mayor of Buenos Aires City, reported wind speeds reaching at least 100 kilometers per hour. In the city, a festival turned into a scene straight out of an apocalypse film when the stage buckled under the storm, injuring at least fifteen people. Videos of festival-goers fleeing the scene went viral, and so did images of an airplane on the tarmac crashing against airport stairs. You can check out the videos with the link in the show notes.

The storm has left a profound impact everywhere. Axel Killicof, the governor of the Buenos Aires province, described the storm as a situation of deep sadness affecting the entire province. After the storm, President Milei headed to Bahía Blanca to assess the damage and expressed confidence in the locals’ ability to bounce back, commending their resilience.

As a result of the thunderstorm, the water levels on the Río de la Plata could rise to almost four meters. If you’re near the coast, you may want to take some precautions, such as securing any objects that could be swept away by the water, keeping an eye on the weather forecast, and potentially staying clear of the area until things calm down.

Moving on, on Wednesday the 20th, President Milei addressed the nation in his first-ever national broadcast. He unveiled a comprehensive emergency decree aimed at overhauling the economy, with over 300 pieces of legislation. Some of the most significant reforms are the elimination of: the rental law, the anti-hoarding law, and the Economy Ministry’s Price Observatory, which controls the prices that companies set for their products. Additionally, it covers the transformation of state enterprises into limited companies for privatization — including football clubs and the national flagship carrier — the amendment of the Customs Code to facilitate international trade, the restructuring of private healthcare, and the deregulation of key sectors like tourism and internet satellite services.

The president’s plan, outlined in an eighty-three-page decree, will face scrutiny in Congress, where Milei’s party has a minority, relying on support from political allies. It will also face scrutiny from the people. In fact, protests erupted outside the Congress building and various towns, where thousands of citizens gathered peacefully with flags and pots, chanting slogans against the proposed changes.

On top of the urgency decree, the president also enacted a decree declaring a national energy emergency until late twenty twenty-four. The emergency covers electricity generation, and gas and electricity transport and distribution. The decree recognizes the outdated infrastructure of public service companies, their failure to align with current and future demands, and the absence of investments in refreshing and expanding networks.

Starting in January, regulatory bodies ENRE and ENARGAS will be inspected and placed under trusteeship until new boards are appointed within 180 days. The inspection aims to address deficiencies in remuneration schemes for electricity generators and gas producers, foster citizen involvement in rate renegotiations, and take into account external recommendations on rate revisions and concession contracts.

Another thing that the government has been working on and that’s been included in the eighty-three-page decree is a comprehensive labor reform package. The proposed changes aim at improving labor relations, streamlining registration processes, extending probation periods and redefining salary deductions. It also involves extending the trial periods for employees from three to eight months, and the exploration of alternative employer-funded compensation mechanisms for future dismissals or retirement.

The other big topic in everyone’s mouth is the potential reversing of this year’s income tax reform. The Senate approved the reform in September, and it significantly raised the threshold for the income tax or Ganancias, to the point where about a million workers would stop paying the tax. This week, the president met with the provincial governors to discuss the idea of backtracking at least temporarily in order to compensate for the economic challenges faced by the provinces, including the loss of resources for federal tax shares, the halt in public works, and subsidy reductions.

A group of eight Peronist governors, known as the League of Governors, are pushing back against the idea of reversing the reform. The governors, including Buenos Aires province’s Axel Kicillof, expressed concerns about the impact of the recent devaluation and argued that it would exacerbate the economic challenges affecting workers. Instead, they called for an increase in Argentina’s check tax.

Another reform in the works has to do with the election system. The government is set to tackle political spending by eliminating Argentina’s PASO primary elections and proposing a shift to a single-ballot system. The decision, aligned with Milei’s push to reduce the costs of politics, will be presented in a package of laws to be sent to Congress for discussion during special sessions.

Interior Minister Guillermo Francos emphasized the need for a single-ballot system to streamline the electoral process and reduce confusion, criticizing the current system where voters encounter numerous party ballots. The move would mark a significant shift in Argentina’s political landscape.

On top of a labor, tax, and political reform, Sandra Pettovello, Argentina’s Human Capital Minister, announced in a broadcast that the government would withdraw welfare support from those participating in street blockade protests. The move is part of President Milei’s efforts to reduce political spending and streamline social welfare plans, but also his cutthroat approach to dealing with picketers and any kind of social disruption.

Pettovello also emphasized the government’s intent to audit social organizations and eliminate intermediaries in the distribution of aid, urging people not to attend protests with the threat of losing their benefits.

Speaking of his approach to protesters, the British newspaper The Guardian published an article titled ‘Prison or bullet’: new Argentina government promises harsh response to protest. The piece covers the controversial security measures implemented by Patricia Bullrich, the Security Minister, who announced that protesters would be identified and billed for the costs associated with deploying security forces. It also mentions how this move has sparked concerns among human rights groups and opposition legislators, who argue that it may criminalize legitimate protests and stifle dissent.

To read the full article, follow the link in the show notes!

Another interesting article is that of Star Tribune, a news outlet from Minnesota. They recently published a piece titled Buenos Aires is incredibly cheap for tourists right now — but will it last? The article is an in-depth dive into everything worth seeing and doing in Buenos Aires, as well as its affordability for tourists. The author highlights his experience, from discounted hotel rates to cost-effective dining and leisure activities, taking advantage of the favorable exchange rate. Link in the show notes!

And to close this edition, the country celebrated the one-year anniversary of the FIFA World Cup win on Monday, the 18th. If you miss seeing the National Team play, you may be interested in knowing that the Copa América is getting closer. In fact, the draw took place earlier this month, and Argentina is set to face Chile, Peru, and either Canada or Trinidad & Tobago in the group stage. The United States will host the tournament, kicking off on the 20th of June.

Aaand that's it for this week!

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¡Nos vemos la próxima semana!