ARGENTINA: Murders in Santa Fe & more – 14th Mar 2024

¡Buenos días from Greenway Parks! This is the Rorshok Argentina Update from the 14th of March twenty twenty-four. A quick summary of what's going down in Argentina.

We can’t kick off this week’s episode without addressing everything that’s going down in Rosario. Located in the Santa Fe province, this city is seeing gang violence escalate, with four individuals losing their lives within a week. Cameras captured the murders of a bus driver, a petrol station worker, and two taxi drivers—all fatally shot.

During coverage in the southern part of Rosario, Nelson Castro, a journalist from the TN network, received death threats. One of the messages warned, “You’ll end up like Cabezas,” referencing the case of the photojournalist who was tragically murdered in January nineteen ninety-seven due to his investigative work exposing corruption. If you want to know more about that, you can watch a Netflix documentary called The Photographer and the Mailman: The Cabezas Crime.

But back to the topic at hand, threats of further violence targeting public spaces have instilled fear among residents, who call for systemic change addressing poverty and inequality. As a response, Patricia Bullrich, the Minister of Security and Luis Petri, the Defense Minister, traveled to Rosario on Monday the 11th to hold a press conference alongside Maximiliano Pullaro, Santa Fe’s Governor.

Petri stressed the importance of organized state efforts in combating organized crime, announcing the forthcoming arrival of military personnel to assist national and provincial forces. Bullrich declared a shift from narco-criminality to narco-terrorism, outlining plans for intensified law enforcement, including invoking anti-terrorism laws and introducing new anti-mafia legislation in Congress.

President Milei confirmed the deployment of the Federal Police, National Gendarmerie and other forces to aid local law enforcement. He also attributed the blame to socialists for fostering insecurity.

People in Rosario are in need of protection, but they also worry that violence will lead to more violence. Pullaro is adopting tactics akin to those of El Salvador, including releasing photos showcasing prisoners under heavy police watch. This approach has stirred controversy, with accusations of promoting social control under the guise of fighting drug-related crime.

Speaking of stirring controversy, President Milei faced some backlash this week after increasing his wage and those of lawmakers by forty-eight percent. The opposition quickly exposed the inconsistency, accusing the president of hypocrisy amid the government’s push for austerity measures.

The Libertarian Government labeled the incident an “accounting error,” and the president pledged to repeal both his decree and a previous directive, ensuring high-ranking officials earn more than their subordinates. On Monday the 11th, he dismissed Labor Secretary Omar Yasín, blaming him for the salary increase.

As if the current administration aimed to cause even more outrage, they took International Women’s Day to announce the renaming of the Casa Rosada’s Women’s Hall to National Heroes Hall. The video announcement, which the government shared on social media on Friday the 8th, shows the president’s sister replacing images of historical female icons with male ones, including former president Carlos Menem.

The decision, announced just before large feminist protests, drew criticism, particularly as the government had confirmed deductions for public employees joining the Feminist Strike.

On that note about International Women’s Day, thousands of protesters took to the streets across the country on Friday the 8th. With demands spanning from safeguarding abortion rights to combating hunger, women’s groups strongly criticized the government and its measures. The removal of vital social programs, the stifling of inclusive language, and the president’s continuous remarks opposing feminism and abortion were some of the topics condemned.

Another topic brought up during the demonstrations is the closures of state institutions. Speaking of which, sixty-eight Nobel laureates penned an open letter urging President Milei to reverse budget cuts to science and technology, expressing concern over the detrimental impact on research programs and young scientists.

The letter highlights Argentina’s significant contributions to global scientific endeavors and emphasizes the critical role of government support in fostering scientific advancement and innovation. In Buenos Aires and other cities, hundreds gathered outside the former Ministry of Science and Technology and the offices of the National Scientific and Technical Research Council, or CONICET offices, to protest funding cuts, particularly targeting doctorate scholarships.

It wouldn’t be impossible for the government to reverse its decisions, as it has done before. For example, despite the expiration of the law regulating educational funding, the president pledged additional funding to ease tensions with provincial authorities over federal tax allocations.

The public news agency Télam didn’t get that lucky. Amid plans for the shutdown, the agency offered voluntary layoffs to its employees, prompting strong opposition from workers who viewed the move as coercive. Despite the offer of tax-free compensation and extended paid leave, employees unanimously rejected the proposal in a worker’s assembly.

Similarly, the Film and Audiovisual Arts Institute, or INCAA, is firing many employees and discontinuing financial support for film schools and festivals nationwide. Carlos Pirovano, INCAA’s newly-appointed president, aims to cut spending drastically, citing excessive budget allocation to salaries and administration.

The reactions to this news on social media brought light to the fact that most people ignore how the INCAA gets its funding. Even though many believe it gets its money from the government, the reality is that the INCAA is primarily funded by a tax levied on cinema tickets, known as the Cinematographic Promotion Fund. Additionally, the INCAA generates revenue through partnerships with private companies and international film organizations, as well as film distribution and licensing. Then, it uses these funds to support the development, production, distribution and promotion of Argentine films and audiovisual projects.

Amidst the budget cuts, there’s a silver lining: Argentina saw monthly inflation slow down for the second time in February, with consumer prices going up by thirteen percent, below what economists had predicted. It suggests that the effects of December’s peso devaluation are easing up. However, on the flip side, cutting state subsidies is likely to hinder progress, especially affecting energy and transportation costs.

Also on that topic, the parallel exchange rate, or the blue dollar, is on steady decline below the 1,000 peso mark. This indicates a tightening of the gap between the parallel and official exchange rates, making the country pricier in dollar terms. According to specialists, the blue rate’s drop reflects a trend where individuals are selling their dollar savings due to the economic challenges.

The narrower gap may be temporary, though. Analysts anticipate a widening by the end of March, particularly with the upcoming harvest season, unless currency controls are lifted to allow exports to influence the financial markets more significantly.

With the country becoming pricier in dollar terms, it wouldn’t be surprising to see a decline in foreign tourism. For now, numbers are high. In the first two months of the year, over 1.6 million foreign tourists visited Argentina, bringing in a total of more than one billion dollars. According to data from Argentina’s Tourism Information System, most arrivals came from Chile, Brazil, and Uruguay, with a notable ten percent coming from the United States.

In other news, Argentine author Selva Almada secured a spot in the International Booker Prize longlist for her novel Not a River. The book delves into the story of two men on a fishing trip with a friend’s teenage son, navigating through past and present challenges amidst the rural landscapes of Argentina. While originally published in Spanish, the novel was translated and published in English by Charco Press.

Another recommendation of the week is a documentary called Mexico 71. Released in theaters only a couple of months ago, the film sheds light on the journey of Argentina’s women’s football team, marking their historic debut at the Women’s World Cup in nineteen seventy-one. Directed by Carolina Gil Solari and Carolina M. Fernández, the movie delves into the untold stories of the players who represented the country despite facing numerous challenges and lack of support.

If you want to watch it, the documentary is showing every Friday in March at the Centro Cultural San Martín in Buenos Aires City.

And.. that’s it for this week! Thanks for joining us!

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¡Nos vemos la próxima semana!