Last night, President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner announced that the government would be implementing ‘six steps’ to increase family allowances. The measures will increase funding in areas such as pregnancy and family allowance, school aid, and government assistance in case of pensioners’ death.

The President spoke on national television from the Bicentennial Women’s Hall at the Casa Rosada of the increased allocations that will come into effect from 1st July, with exceptional cases from 1st June.

President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner at yesterday’s conference. (Photo courtesy of the Casa Rosada)

One area receiving the biggest impact from the increases is Universal Child Allowance (AUH), which will see a rise from $340 to $460 per child per month, a 35.3% increase, and will reach approximately 1,480,000 families. Additionally, President Fernández announced that the family allowances paid to registered workers will increase between 22.2 and 35.3%, depending on the combined household income. The income thresholds used to determine the amount paid in family allowance have also increased, with the cap for these payments going from $14,400 to $16,800 per family. A further area that will see a significant increase due to the government’s measures is the support families will receive in the case of the death of a retired relative. It has been announced that the ‘contención familiar’, or ‘family contention’ payment, will increase from $1,800 to $4,000.

The President said of the changes that, “no worker or child will be without coverage” and that the measures “have nothing to do with gender.” She went on to announce that children and young people “will receive additional support in the form of a one-off payment of $340” in June (in addition to the payment already made in March) to help with school expenses.

President Fernández said that the introduction of these measures will mean 700,000 more children of registered workers will benefit from the allowance system, which represents a “breakthrough” for the country. The newly announced family allowances increases represent a total infusion of $16,803 million into the market.

In the same ceremony, the president announced the launch of the ‘Mirar para cuidar‘ -’Look to care’- campaign, in the effort to control rising prices. She declared that: “The prices are not set by [Domestic Trade Secretary Guillermo] Moreno, or by President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, but by you,” as she explained that the campaign will be called “Look to care -look at the prices, to care for people’s pockets.” Within the context of the price freezes announced earlier this week, the president said that the government will not “leave this issue in the hands of business owners”, but will be calling upon social and political organisations in an attempt to monitor and curb product price increases. President Fernández said that the campaign will be implemented with help from mayors from around the country, whom she will meet next week in order to further develop and implement the campaign.

The President was accompanied by members of the cabinet, leaders of the General Confederation of Labour (CGT), Argentine Workers’ Central Union (CTA), government officials, and national legislators.

President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner speech (Photo: Globovision)

In a televised speech given at the Casa Rosada yesterday, President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner insisted that the Argentine peso will not be devaluated, and warned that those sectors that were “hoping to profit from it will have to wait for a different government”.

Speculation about a possible devaluation has increased after the informal ‘blue’ dollar rate soared to almost $10 last week. The official rate stayed between $5.16 and $5.21, opening a gap of nearly 90%.

“We all know how the governments who succumbed to devaluation policies have ended, these rumours and versions surface because we’re in an electoral process, this is typical,” Fernández stressed.

Vice-president and economist Amado Boudou said that talk about the blue dollar increase and devaluation is being exaggerated by the national media, adding that since 2003 the peso exchange rate “has not suffered problems”.

“The ‘blue’ dollar is something very marginal and speculative which has to do with very few Argentines, no more than 100,000 to 200,000 people, but we have to look after the 40 million,” Boudou said.

“The policy of this government in this field has been very clear: it has to do with reliability, which is evident because since 2003, the exchange rate has not suffered problems,” he added. “We have a foreign exchange rate which at the same time is competitive for exports and inclusive for domestic consumption. Some may want a cheaper or dearer dollar but the government has to implement policies that at the same time achieve several objectives.”

However, Eduardo Buzzi, leader of the Argentine Agrarian Federation disagreed by publicly stating that the unstable future of the peso is naturally prompting the Argentine people to save in dollars. He also warned that the current government policy is causing an “appalling loss of competitiveness” for the farming industries in particular.

Buzzi added that an economy cannot be “de-dollarised”. “It is another major failure of the government. This disastrous, outdated policy is sending us over the cliff and we are already in deep recession.”

Farmers, he says, are paid with a dollar rate effectively at $3.50/4.00 due to the heavy 35% export taxes on grains and oilseeds.

“This is paradoxical. We have the best international prices in years, yet farmers are de-financed, when not broke. We are losing competitiveness which has much to do with many things but mainly with a flat dollar and the domestic costs that have ballooned,” Buzzi claimed.

President Fernández visits Hugo Chávez’s tomb (photo courtesy of Casa Rosada)

Following her participation in the Union of South American Nations (Unasur) meeting in Lima, President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner paid a visit to the tomb of the late Hugo Chávez in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas.

President Fernández visited the Cuartel de la Montaña, also known as the Revolution Museum, yesterday at around 12pm accompanied by the First Lady of Venezuela, Cilia Flores. She left a flower and remained alone with the tomb for around 15 minutes.

The president was accompanied on her visit to the 23 de Enero neighbourhood by fellow Argentine politicians and officials, including federal planning minister Julio de Vido, general secretary Oscar Parrilli, legal secretary Carlos Zannini, and public communications secretary Alfredo Scoccimarro.

The visit to the tomb of Chávez came after the Unasur meeting in Lima, where multiple heads of state analysed the tense situation in Venezuela after the opposition announced that they do not recognise the result of last Sunday’s election, in which Nicolás Maduro was elected president. At the meeting, Unasur called on all Venezuelans to “accept the result”, condemned the “violence” on Monday that left eight dead and at least 60 wounded, and recommended “dialogue and tolerance”.

President Fernández also attended the swearing in of Maduro in the National Assembly yesterday afternoon.

Protesters take part in the 18A protests last night in Buenos Aires. (Photo: Julie Catarinella)

Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets across Argentina last night to protest against the government of President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, and say “basta” (“enough”) to a variety of issues, including corruption, inflation, and judicial reform.

The “18A” cacerolazo (from cacerola – a pot which people symbolically bang on at the protests) is thought to be bigger than the last, similar protest in November, and was mostly organised through social media.

Widely attended by middle and upper-middle class protesters who feel they have suffered the most under the current presidency, the march was not in support a specific party but rather united in opposition against President Fernández.

Slogans of “Freedom!” and “NO to corruption” rang out over the crowd, with many protesters saying they feel the government is becoming more and more oppressive.

“We are here because we want a democracy,” Adela Repetto, a 34-year-old nutritionist from Buenos Aires said. “The government controls everything now: how much money we can have, the media, what products we can buy, the prices in the supermarket—everything. That is not democracy, it is a dictatorship.”

Many protesters also spoke out against the recent judicial reforms, which were partially approved in the senate yesterday.

“The new reforms will make the court a tyranny,” Rodrigo Santillan, 50, said. “The judges will remain unpunished and not be held responsible for their corruption. We will be stuck in a dictatorship.”

In a more general complaint, many held up signs against corruption.

Martin Cambiano, 46, stood next to his two young children with a large sign that said “CORRUPTION KILLS PEOPLE.”

“This sign expresses that the money that the government takes from the people could be used to save lives. Accidents that could be avoided keep happening,” he said, referring to the Once Tragedy, which recently had its one-year anniversary.

Others held message for the new Argentine pope. “Pray for us, Papa Francisco” one sign said. Another read “We have an Argentine pope, now we want an Argentine government.”

“We believe the government is too involved in the interests of foreign countries, like the US and England,” Fernando del Sagrado Corazon de Jesus, 40, said of the sign. “We want a government that fights for Argentina, not the interests of other countries.”

Many people also spoke out against a “re-reelection,” referencing a rumor that President Fernández will attempt to change the constitution so she can run for a third term, although she has never actually announced plans to do so.

(Photo: Julie Catarinella)

(Photo: Jerry Nelson)

(Photo: Julie Catarinella)

Cristina and Nestor Kirchner (Photo: wikipedia commons)

A group of congressional representatives appeared before federal court today to request the investigation of a company linked to President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and her deceased husband. The legislators are accusing company executives of involvement in money laundering and brought the case forward to the District Attorney of Investigations of Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism led by Carlos Gonella.

Today’s call is the fourth in a series of requests for investigation into the company’s suspicious business dealings and comes after hidden camera footage showing testimonies and documents regarding the company’s illicit money transfers aired on a popular television programme hosted by journalist Jorge Lanata last night. Lanata has shown similar footage on his programme over the last few days that indicates businessman Lázaro Báez transferred at least US$70m to tax havens abroad. The late former president Néstor Kirchner, the current president, and several businesspeople are implicated in the case.

Elisa Carrió (Photo: wikipedia commons)

Congresswoman Elisa Carrió presented the footage today to the judicial council alongside representatives Patricia Bullrich, Federico Pinedo, Laura Alonso, and Carlos Brown, all of who oppose Kirchnerist politics. Magistrate Julián Ercolini, who supervised investigation into a similar allegation involving ex-president Néstor Kirchner and Báez in 2008, heard today’s request.

Carrió stated: “The information [indicated by the videos] does not surprise me…It is clear that [Néstor] Kirchner was Lázaro Báez’s boss. I presented the denunciation for illicit association of [Néstor] Kirchner…Cristóbal López, and Lázaro Báez. There was a fraudulent manoeuvre of US$400m. In this moment, Cristina [Férnandez de] Kirchner and Lázaro Báez are accomplices.”

The court announced today that federal Judge Sebastián Casanello would oversee the case.

Julio Alak, the Argentine Minister of Justice and Human Rights

The Argentine Senate met this morning to explain the judicial reforms proposed by the Casa Rosada outlined yesterday by President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.

Supporters of the proposed reforms discussed these issues in the upper house with Julio Alak, the Argentine Minister of Justice and Human Rights, who represented the judiciary in today’s meeting. Representatives of the Radical Civic Unión Cívica Radical (UCR) and the Frente Amplio Progresista (FAP), the country’s main opposition parties, declined to participate in the discussions.

According to delegates, the opposition announced that it would not participate in the coming debates surrounding judicial reforms, as the representative block that supports the government is not open to discussing revisions of the reforms proposed by President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.

According to UCR President José Cano, “we are not going to take a closed book,” referring to the Kirchnerist disinterest in revising the measures.

Alak stated that the reforms would “serve the people for the next hundred years”, by ensuring that the judiciary is not swayed by corporate interests and questioned the opposition’s rejection of the proposals, calling for their “reflection [on the issues] and participation in the debate”.

Official debates concerning legislation of the proposed reforms will begin in the Senate next week.

President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner heads presentation of judicial changes (photo courtesy of Casa Rosada)

President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner presented the eagerly anticipated judicial reforms in Congress yesterday, in a bid to change the face of the Argentine democracy system.

Argentina has been fixed on the unfolding political developments since President Fernández first presented the judicial reforms on 2nd March. The six key points of change that she hopes to pass are expected to enter both houses of Congress today.

Speaking yesterday, President Fernández listed six of the reforms to be presented in Congress: the magistrates council reform and the creation of three new appeals courts, limits on the use of injunctions, the popular election of judges, competitive exams to enter the judiciary, the direct access to sworn declarations of assets, and a lottery system for allocating court secretaries.

The president said that she hopes to modernise Argentina and bring it into the 21st century, making the judicial system more legitimate. She stressed that the reforms were not intended to politicise the justice system or fragment it into different political parties, adding that the changes would give the judiciary “more legitimacy.”

Arguably one of the most important reforms that the president has put forward concerns the magistrates’ council, which proposes that the body managing the selection and running of the judiciary should to be elected by the public. Currently, the magistrates’ council consists of two lawyers, three judges, one academic, six legislators, and one government representative. The new reforms seek to increase the number by six to 19; five of the extras will be academics with any college degree, and the remaining one must be a lawyer.

The president has also proposed to enhance the public’s accessibility in monitoring and tracking pending cases by enabling an online calendar system.

In protest at these judicial reforms many opposition political parties boycotted the event yesterday, including the Radical party, Macri’s centre-right PRO, the Socialist-led FAP and other dissident Peronist parties, which believe that the government is trying to assert its control over the judiciary.

Uruguay President Jose Mujica (Photo: Santiago Armas)

Mujica initiated a diplomatic scandal when he was recorded saying, “That old woman is worse than the one-eyed man,” referring to President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and her late husband and former president Nestor Kirchner. “He was more of a politician, she’s stubborn,” Mujica added.

The whispered comment was picked up by the microphone and then redistributed by Argentine news channels and social networks.

A few hours later, Foreign Minister Héctor Timerman sent a written complaint to Uruguayan ambassador Guillermo Pomi about the comments, saying “The Foreign Ministry would like to tell the Uruguayan Embassy of the deep discomfort created by President José Mujica’s statements regarding late President Néstor Kirchner”

The letter continued: “Argentina will not tolerate these degrading statements that offend the memory and office of a dead person, who is unable to reply or defend himself, particularly made by someone whom Kirchner considered his friend.”

The ministry added that President Fernández will not be responding to the comments. Mujica said that he will not apologise as the comment was meant to be private. Today he reiterated that Uruguay’s relationship with Argentina could “not be separated by anything or anyone.”

Mansión Seré, one of the clandestine detention centers.

President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner made a speech today related to the upcoming anniversary of the start of Argentina’s last military dictatorship. She made her remarks at the Mansión Seré that once functioned as a clandestine detention centre, inaugurated this morning as a renewed space for investigation into documents from that period.

This Sunday, 24th March, Argentina will recognise the passage of 37 years since the initiation of the country’s infamous military dictatorship of 1976-1983.

The president described this year’s anniversary of the military coup d’état as, “another anniversary that we Argentines would not like to have,” but one that, “we have the obligation to remember.”

During her speech, the head of state remarked that society cannot prosper while there is hatred, as “hatred transforms human beings into ugly people.” She added, “diversity, plurality, and acceptance are the key so that no such disagreement will occur again between us Argentines.”

With respect to the conversion of the detention centre, the president explained, “the complex history of Argentina requires a great force,” that permits “the overcoming of the tragedy and a recuperation of happiness.”

The Masión Seré was one of the most important clandestine detention centres in which hundreds of people were tortured between 1977-1978. President Fernández opened the space today as a “centre of investigation and interpretation of our recent history,” in remembrance of what happened almost 30 years ago at the site. The space will be used for revision of original documents of the National Commission of the Disappeared (CONADEP).

Meanwhile, the Federal Network of Memorial Sites announced today it will open nine former clandestine detention centres like the Mansión Seré between today and Tuesday in the provinces of Buenos Aires, Santa Fe, Córdoba, San Juan, Misiones, and Mendoza. The sites will be opened in collaboration with the National Memorial Archive (ANM) and the National Secretary of Human Rights in remembrance of the human rights violations committed during the dictatorship. With the addition of nine new sites, the federal network will be comprised of a total of 60 open memorial sites and re-claimed spaces in former detention centres throughout the country.

President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner announced yesterday that the government could “increase flexibility” of import controls and will re-evaluate price freeze agreements.

President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (photo courtesy of Argentine government)

The president explained: “It is necessary to take measures to open up some determined products (for imports) because those that sell them have a monopoly. We will see if we can’t increase flexibility for such importation.”

She stated that the government hopes to consult local and foreign industry regarding the softening of import restrictions enacted by Trade Secretary Guillermo Moreno last February. She added that she anticipates such a change in economic policy will come to fruition, and that during the process, “all might understand that we have to put forth a shared effort in times of global crisis.”

The president also remarked on the current price freeze agreements with four major supermarket chains, reiterating the importance of the price controls and announcing that a dialogue will open with the companies in question over the terms of the price freeze. She also commented that one of these businesses had “not only increased sales but also its profit margin” amidst the price freeze, even with a decrease in advertising, although she did not specify which chain had done this.

Yesterday’s announcement, made from the Casa Rosada, was the president’s first after returning from the Vatican for the inauguration of Pope Francis.

In her address, President Fernández failed to bring up the recent volatility with the informal ‘blue’ dollar exchange rate and instead defended federal economic strategy, citing a 3.2% increase in GDP recorded in January.

The announcement also included new conditions for the national Pro.cre.ar initiative to grant 100.000 mortgage loans to allow for housing construction during 2013-2013.