1. Economic activity sees 2.5% uptick in June

According to the Monthly Economic Activity Estimator (EMAE), published by the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INDEC), the national economy grew 10.8% year-over-year in June, compared to the same period of the previous year, and experienced an increase of 2.5% in its seasonally adjusted measurement, that is, compared to May. With respect to the same month of 2020, 13 of the sectors that make up the EMAE registered increases in activity, such as Fishing (108.7%); Other community, social and personal services activities (79.4%); and Construction (32.3%) were the sectors with the highest growth. On the other hand, the INDEC also reported that the cost of the basic food basket increased by 2.1% in July, which means that a typical family with two young children must to earn AR$ 29,002.86 monthly to avoid falling below the poverty line.

INDEC: Estimador Mensual de Actividad Económica (EMAE). Junio de 2021. 
INDEC: Valorización mensual de la canasta básica alimentaria y de la canasta básica total. Gran Buenos Aires.

2. Ruling party leaders appear together at two events this week

Amid electoral campaigns, President Alberto Fernández led two events in less than a week together with Vice President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. The first, which took place in the municipality of Avellaneda, served to present the Integral Housing Plan. There, the vice president discussed government actions through measures taken during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as the Work and Production Assistance Program (ATP), Emergency Family Income (IFE), among others. In the second event, which took place in the Estadio Único de La Plata, the leaders criticized former President Mauricio Macri and former Buenos Aires Governor María Eugenia Vidal, now a legislative pre-candidate for the Chamber of Deputies. This last event was also attended by current Buenos Aires Governor Axel Kicillof, Chamber of Deputies leader Sergio Massa and legislative party chief Máximo Kirchner.

Infobae: Alberto Fernández encabezó otro acto con Cristina Kirchner, el segundo en 24 horas: “Estamos orgullosos de lo que hicimos”
Ámbito Financiero: Alberto Fernández volvió a mostrarse junto a Cristina Kirchner tras la foto: “Ellos creen mucho más en el mercado que en el Estado presente”

3. Salta holds provincial elections

Last Sunday, the province of Salta held its local elections, less than one month before national mandatory primary elections (PASO). On this occasion, the political space that prevailed was the one corresponding to Governor Gustavo Sáenz, who presented two lists of his own, totaling 44%, and were positioned in first and third place. The second most voted coalition was Juntos por el Cambio (Together for Change), with 17.48% of the votes, while the national ruling party Frente de Todos (Front for All) came in fourth place, with 9.17%. Voter turnout stood at 60.22%, repeating a trend observed in Misiones and Jujuy, two other districts that have already held their elections.

Clarín: Elecciones en Salta: ganó la lista del gobernador Gustavo Saénz y sus aliados, y el kirchnerismo quedó muy atrás

4. Senate resumes activity for the first time after winter recess

Following a month of recess, senators returned to Buenos Aires. Their agenda included bills penned by Frente de Todos Senator Oscar Parilli, to limit fees charged for late payment of services and the appointment of judges, prosecutors, and defenders of the judiciary. On the other hand, the appointment of Juliana Di Tulio to occupy the seat left by Jorge Taiana, who took office as Minister of Defense, was made official. It should be noted that Di Tulio arrived at the position since she ran as first alternate candidate during the 2017 legislative elections, when Vice President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner entered as senator for the minority party. In turn, Taiana succeeded the former president when the Frente de Todos became the majority party in December 2019. The Chamber of Deputies, for its part, must still negotiate the protocol of sessions to be able to resume activity both in the chamber and in the committees.

5. Major mobilization of social organizations

The social climate is tense in the middle of the electoral campaign. Social organizations opposed to the national government mobilized on Wednesday at the Ministry of Social Development to protest poverty, salaries, and unemployment. Among the participating organizations -mostly leftist- the Polo Obrero, the Frente de Organizaciones en Lucha (FOL), the Bloque Piquetero Nacional, the Movimiento Socialista de los Trabajadores (MST), and the Partido de los Trabajadores Socialistas (PTS), which estimated the attendance of some 80,000 people. According to a survey carried out by the consulting firm Diagnóstico Político, the “piquetes” and social protests increased in July by 17% with respect to the previous month and by 151% in comparison to July 2020

La Nación: Las organizaciones sociales opositoras desafiaron al Gobierno con otra jornada de protesta
Diagnóstico Político: Fuerte suba de los piquetes y récord anual en julio