ARGENTINA: Milei’s Davos Speech & more – 30th Jan 2025

¡Buenos días from Greenway Parks! This is the Rorshok Argentina Update from the 30th of January twenty twenty-five. A quick summary of what's going down in Argentina.

Last week marked the twenty twenty-five World Economic Forum in Davos, where President Javier Milei delivered a controversial speech denouncing “wokism” as a societal threat and attacking feminism, immigration, and climate change advocacy as tools for expanding state control. He rejected the existence of gender pay gaps and femicide laws, arguing they unfairly favor women, and labeled gender ideology as harmful. He also dismissed climate change activism as anti-human progress.

In response to the rhetoric at the World Economic Forum, the queer community mobilized in nationwide assemblies, declaring their lives at risk and vowing to fight back. Thousands gathered in Buenos Aires’ Parque Lezama, where they voted to hold an anti-fascist pride march on the 1st of February. Activists highlighted the community’s resilience, condemned hate speech, countered accusations of gender ideology as harmful and hypocritical, and emphasized the need for collective action beyond social media.

As a response, Milei took to social media to double down on his remarks, where he accused his critics of using fallacies and smear tactics to discredit him.

What’s more, Milei’s administration has announced plans to remove femicide from Argentina’s Penal Code, arguing it contradicts the principle of legal equality by assigning additional weight to crimes based on gender. This move is part of a broader effort to roll back progressive policies, including non-binary IDs, trans employment quotas, and other measures addressing social inequalities.

Justice Minister Mariano Cúneo Libarona described the concept of femicide as a distortion of equality, while critics warn that eliminating these protections ignores systemic violence and discrimination.

In another controversial move, the border town of Aguas Blancas in the Salta Province, northwestern Argentina, plans to build a 200-meter fence to improve immigration control by channeling travelers through official checkpoints and restricting informal crossings over the Bermejo River. The plan aims to address security concerns, but Bolivia has criticized the decision, arguing that it could harm bilateral relations. Bolivian officials have urged dialogue and emphasized the importance of coordinated border management. Authorities included the fence as part of the broader Güemes Plan to combat illegal activities such as drug trafficking and unregulated crossings in the region.

On that note about border crossings, the Argentine government is moving forward with plans to privatize service areas, allowing private companies to manage and invest in facilities like duty-free shops, hotels and logistics centers. The first projects up for bidding include the Santo Tomé-São Borja crossing to Brazil and Paso de los Libres to Uruguayana. Privatization aims to improve infrastructure and reduce government responsibilities without affecting federal border control agencies. Contracts would last twenty-five years, requiring private firms to fund improvements and maintenance while offering a range of commercial services.

Those working with exports will be interested to hear that the government has officially implemented a temporary reduction in agricultural export duties, effective until the 30th of June. This is part of an effort to boost the sector and exports amid challenging conditions.

The decree lowers duties on key products like soybeans, wheat, corn, and sunflower, with rates for soybeans dropping from 33% to 26%, and similar reductions for derivatives and grains. Exporters must meet strict conditions, including selling 95% of their earnings to the Central Bank within fifteen days, to qualify for the benefits.

Regional products like sugar, wine and rice are exempt from duties according to an existing measure.

Also on the topic of tax reduction, Luis Caputo, the Economy Minister, announced the removal of internal taxes on cars priced between forty-one and seventy-five million pesos (approximately thirty-seven to sixty-eight thousand US dollars) and a tax cut for vehicles over 75 million, reducing the rate from 35% to 18%. This change is expected to lower car prices by 15-20% and boost market demand. Additionally, taxes on motorcycles priced between fifteen and twenty-three million pesos (thirteen to twenty thousand US dollars) will be scrapped, and import tariffs for low-cost electric and hybrid vehicles will drop to zero, with an annual cap of 50,000 units.

The gap between the official and parallel exchange rates is the smallest it has been in years, but that progress has come at a cost. In January, the Central Bank used more than 600 million dollars of its reserves to stabilize exchange rates, doubling its intervention from December. The strategy relies on using reserves to buy dollar-denominated bonds, then selling them for pesos to curb inflation and devaluation fears. However, the Central Bank’s shrinking reserves and looming debt obligations are sparking concerns. The government is in talks with the International Monetary Fund for financial support, but potential conditions, such as exchange rate adjustments, may be on the table.

The good news is Argentina wrapped up its twenty twenty-four/twenty twenty-five wheat harvest with strong results, producing almost nineteen million tons—23% more than the previous year—thanks to favorable weather and increased planting. The harvest is expected to bring nearly three billion dollars in export revenue, a 49% boost from the last cycle, while contributing more than 900 million dollars in taxes.

In other news, Rest of World, a global news outlet focused on tech, published an article that explores Amazon’s struggles to gain traction in Argentina. Despite recent government efforts to lower import taxes, high customs duties, long delays and fierce competition from the local e-commerce giant Mercado Libre create major obstacles.

To read the article, follow the link in the show notes.

Things are looking bright for another tech firm: Veritian. The Argentine company has teamed up with Manchester City to integrate its technology into the club’s digital platforms to streamline processes like ticket purchases and memberships. As the club’s Official Fan Identity Partner, Veritran marks one of the first collaborations between a Latin American tech company and the Premier League giants.

Speaking of wins, Guillermo Saccomanno, an Argentine writer, has won the prestigious Alfaguara Novel Prize for Arderá el viento, or The Wind Will Burn, earning 175,000 dollars and a sculpture by Martín Chirino. Colombian author Juan Gabriel Vásquez presented the award in Madrid, praising the novel’s minimalist style and intense storytelling. The book follows an enigmatic couple who disrupt the quiet life of an Argentine coastal town, exploring themes of class struggle, power, and desire. Alfaguara will publish his novel across Spain, Latin America, and the US on the 20th of March.

Meanwhile, Karina Alejandra Sarro, an Argentinian teacher, earned a spot among the top fifty educators in the world and will compete in the finals of the Education Global Teacher Prize, organized by the Varkey Foundation with UNESCO. She graduated in Social Communication from the National University of Moreno and goes beyond traditional teaching methods, using project-based learning, interdisciplinary activities, and cutting-edge technology to equip her students with real-world skills.

Now, a few recommendations before we go. For Formula 1 fans, the F1 Exhibition arrives in Buenos Aires on the 22nd of March, making its first stop in South America after touring cities like Madrid and London. The showcase will take visitors through the sport’s rich history with six themed rooms featuring classic race cars, rare memorabilia, interactive exhibits, and even a glimpse into how F1 vehicles are designed. Running until the 1st of June, the event offers tickets starting at 38,000 pesos (about thirty-four dollars), with pre-sales beginning on the 11th of February.

For wine fans, the outlet The Buyer is doing a series of four reports looking at different aspects of winemaking in Argentina. They particularly focus on mountain winemaking in the Uco Valley, in the Mendoza province, which is located near the Andes mountains. Wine producers in this region are exploring higher altitudes and diverse soil types, which are impacting the styles and quality of wines produced.

Link in the show notes!

Aaand that’s it for this week! Thank you for joining us!

Just a quick reminder before we leave: subscribing to the Rorshok Argentina Update is completely free! That’s right, whether you listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon, or YouTube, hitting that subscribe button won’t cost you a thing. Subscribing is one of the best ways to support us and ensure you never miss an episode. So, if you haven’t already, go ahead and subscribe today! And as always, if you need help, feel free to contact us at info@rorshok.com.

¡Nos vemos la próxima semana!