American and Latin American Politics, Society, and Culture
The five were carrying out research on Joinville Island off the north-eastern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula.
All five are in good health after being airlifted by helicopter onto the Argentine icebreaker Almirante Irízar.
The US Antarctic Program had requested help from Argentina.
Mary O’Grady explains why:
The last non-Peronist president to finish his elected mandate was Marcelo T. de Alvear in 1928.
. . .
Mr. Macri could break the spell. But it is far from certain that he will, and because he underestimated the magnitude of the problems he inherited from former President Cristina Kirchner, the case for smaller government now requires even bolder leadership.Twelve years of Kirchner rule—first Néstor Kirchner (2003-07), followed by his wife (2007-15)—left this country bankrupt, both institutionally and financially. The Kirchners jailed political opponents, confiscated private property, nationalized businesses, gagged media critics, fomented street mobs, falsified government statistics, and destroyed the central bank’s independence. Kirchnerismo bloated the government and left the economy in shambles.
Cristina Kirchner plans to use upcoming negotiations with teachers’ unions to paralyze the country. It’s up to the Argentines to play along – or not.
UPDATE
Linked to by The Other McCain. Thank you!
The BBC calls them “phantom workers”; Argentines call them “gnocchi” or “noqui”.
Here we call them no-shows:
Nearly 200 phantom workers at Argentina’s parliament have been caught in a crackdown on employees who only show up sporadically for their jobs, it has been reported.
Known as “gnocchi” or “noqui” in Argentina – after the popular dumpling dish that is traditionally served on the 29th of each month – it is a nickname given to state employees who do not perform real work, and only go to their official workplace once a month to claim their salary cheque.
With the new system in place, La Nación notes that “the corridors of the legislature are flooded with employees, the nearby cafes are crowded and old faces that were not seen in the area for a long time can be seen”.
The new biometric system requires employees to sign in with their fingerprint every day if they want to draw a salary, La Noticia1 reports.
Of the 160 staff under investigation from the payroll of 16,500 persons, 83 had missed at least 10 days in a row at work without being able to justify themselves.
Macri had already mass fired of 20,000 civil servants in January last year, a good start.
The perfect title: Murder Most Foul in Argentina
In 2015 Mrs. Kirchner’s secretary of security immediately declared Nisman’s death an apparent suicide. That made little sense to those who knew Nisman, in part because he was hours away from presenting evidence to Congress that Mrs. Kirchner had made a deal with Tehran to cover up Iran’s responsibility for the 1994 bombing of a Buenos Aires Jewish community center that killed 85 people.
When President Mauricio Macri took office in December 2015 he pledged that investigators would have the independence to discover the truth. The Journal reported in September that “twenty-eight government forensic experts, toiling at a secret facility for seven months, concluded” that Mr. Nisman was killed. They handed their findings to a federal court.
On Tuesday in a 656-page opinion, Argentine federal judge Julián Ercolini ruled that “the death of Prosecutor Nisman was not a suicide, and was brought about by a third party and in a painful manner.” He charged Diego Lagomarsino, who was an aide to Nisman, as an accessory to the murder.
Will justice win?
Three months after a panel of experts confirmed that Alberto Nisman was murdered, federal judge Julián Ercolini ruled on Tuesday that Mr Nisman’s gunshot wound could not have been self-inflicted.
Mr Ercolini also charged a former aide to the prosecutor, Diego Lagomarsino, as an accessory to murder.
Mr Lagomarsino was the last person in Mr Nisman’s apartment and the bullet that killed the prosecutor was fired by Mr Lagomarsino’s gun, the judge said.
Commentary thread at Twitter,
1. A rambling thread on the indictment by #Ercolini of #Lagomarsino (necessary accomplice to aggravated homocide) and the bodyguards (3 of them dereliction of duty and obstruction of justice, 1 just for dereliction) related to the murder of #Nisman, and related matters
— The Almagro School (@AlmagroSchool) December 27, 2017
I’m enjoying the Season with family, but here are a few headlines,
BOLIVIA
Germany and Switzerland to help build coast-to-coast railway in South America.
Bolivian President Evo Morales visited Switzerland to sign an agreement to construct a railway line across the continent from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Supporters say the project will boost trade and create jobs.
HONDURAS
Honduras Opposition Candidate Concedes Election After U.S. Backs President Juan Orlando Hernández
PERU
PPK pardoned Fujimori; now Police in Peru have fired tear gas and clashed with thousands of protesters angry at the authorities’ decision to pardon ex-President Alberto Fujimori.
LAST, BUT NOT LEAST,
Guatemala follows US in planning Israel embassy move
Guatemala, along with 12 other countries, had their embassies in Jerusalem until 1980, when they moved them to Tel Aviv after Israel annexed East Jerusalem, in a move not recognised internationally. All other countries still have their embassies in Tel Aviv.
Guatemala and Israel have a long history of political, economic and military ties. The Central American country is also a major recipient of US aid – something which Donald Trump threatened to cut to states that voted in favour of the UN resolution.
One of Argentina’s three submarines has been missing since November 15.
The BBC has details,
Argentina’s navy says it will take advantage of improved weather conditions to further step up its search for a submarine that vanished last Wednesday in the Atlantic Ocean.
Strong winds and high waves have hampered the search for the ARA San Juan and its 44 crew in the past days.
On Monday, navy officials said that noises picked up by two search vessels did not come from the sub, dashing relatives’ hopes for a speedy rescue.
It was the second false alarm.
A navy spokesman had earlier confirmed that satellite signals picked up on Saturday did not come from the missing boat.
It’s a race against time (emphasis added),
Naval forces from the U.S. and several other countries, battling strong winds and high waves, joined in a race against time to search for a missing submarine thought to have sunk hundreds of miles off the coast of Argentina with 44 crew members and dwindling oxygen supplies.
Argentina’s naval spokesman Enrique Balbi n said the search for the aging submarine had entered a “critical phase” because the vessel, if stuck underwater, could only hold enough oxygen to keep the crew alive for seven days.
There have been no sightings of the submarine and no communication since last Wednesday.
Cross-posted at WoW! Magazine.
UPDATE, NOVEMBER 22,
The WSJ reports
Argentina Plans Overhaul of Tax Code. Country to slash corporate income taxes to 25% within five years
The tax elevator:
Going up,
Going down,
The government aims to cut corporate income taxes to 25% from 35% within five years, reduce social security taxes on employers and eliminate taxes on certain bank transactions. Federal officials also plan to work with provincial governors to lower so-called gross income taxes on goods, Mr. Dujovne said.
And eliminate
The article points out that “Argentina ranked dead last out of 137 countries in a recent survey on tax-rate competitiveness by the World Economic Forum.” Macri’s administration is attempting to reverse decades of ruinous fiscal policies.
In Spanish: Clarín has dozens of articles on the proposed tax reform.
ARGENTINA