Argentina

November 26th, 2021

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1. Economic activity grew 1.2% in September

The National Institute of Statistics and Census (INDEC) published this week the Monthly Estimator of Economic Activity (EMAE) for September, which revealed that economic activity grew by 1.2% in comparison to August and by 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. In this sense, the largest year-on-year increases were in “Other services activities” (66.9%), “Hotels and restaurants” (59.1%) and “Construction” (27.1%). In contrast, the sectors that showed negative results were “Agriculture, livestock, hunting and forestry” (-1.7%) and “Fishing” (-9.6%). After the data was released, the Minister of Economy, Martin Guzman, highlighted the economic recovery and projected a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of around 10% for 2021.

Infobae: La actividad económica creció 1,2% en septiembre y acumuló una recuperación de 10,9% desde enero

2. Jorge Macri will become Minister of Government of the City of Buenos Aires

The current Mayor of Vicente López, Jorge Macri, will take over the Ministry of Government of the City of Buenos Aires in the next few days, replacing Bruno Screnci Silva. The appointment is part of a political agreement with Buenos Aires’s Mayor Horacio Rodríguez Larreta and the main objective of his administration will be to strengthen the relationship of the district with the Buenos Aires’ mayors, particularly with those of the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires (AMBA), that is to say, the municipalities bordering the City. In this regard, Macri, who has governed Vicente López since 2011, will be discharged from his position and will be replaced by Soledad Martínez, current President of the city council, and a closely trusted collaborator.

Ámbito Financiero: Jorge Macri asumirá en gabinete Larreta: habrá más cambios

3. Martín Guzmán clarified the points of the agreement with the International Monetary Fund

At the Central Bank’s Monetary Conference, the Minister of Economy, Martín Guzmán, specified the main points of the agreement being negotiated with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), within the framework of the restructuring of the USD 44 billion debt that the country has with said international organization. In this line, Guzmán specified that the multiannual plan of the national government, requested by the IMF as a basis for an agreement, will seek to “depend less on indebtedness and monetary emission” for the financing of the public deficit. In addition, the minister assured that the State must continue to boost aggregate demand to promote economic recovery, as well as a reduction of the fiscal deficit through an improvement in public revenues. Miguel Ángel Pesce, head of the Central Bank (BCRA), also issued statements and called for the IMF to make the conditions of extraordinary loans more flexible by adjusting the terms and interest rates of the support granted by the organization to its members.

Cronista: Guzmán detalló los puntos centrales del acuerdo con el FMI y el plan para fortalecer el peso.

4. Roberto Feletti met with wholesalers and retailers to move forward with the + Precios Cuidados program

The Secretary of Domestic Trade, Roberto Feletti, held a meeting with wholesale and retail companies to advance in the implementation of the + Precios Cuidados program, which aims at setting reference prices for mass consumption products. In this sense, the purpose of the meeting was to agree on a “wide and diverse basket” with accessible prices for consumers. On the other hand, the government pointed out that it is working on a scheme to monitor compliance with the program in order to achieve greater transparency and accuracy of the information. The Undersecretary of Actions for the Defense of Consumers, Débora Giorgi, and the Undersecretary of Policies for the Internal Market, Antonio Mezmezian, also participated in the meeting. Representing the business sector were companies such as Maxiconsumo, Diarco and Makro, as well as the Asociación de Supermercados Unidos (ASU), the Cámara Argentina de Supermercados (CAS), the Federación Argentina de Supermercados y Autoservicios (FASA), among others.

Ámbito Financiero: Precios Cuidados: Feletti se reunió con mayoristas y minoristas para avanzar en próxima fase del programa

5. Deputies of Juntos por el Cambio convened entities and specialists to discuss the Container Management project

The interbloc of Juntos por el Cambio in the Chamber of Deputies, headed by Luciano Laspina, summoned this Thursday various entities and specialists to discuss the impact of the draft Law on Packaging with Social Inclusion, promoted by the national Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development. In this regard, the speakers -among which were representatives of the Argentine Industrial Union (UIA), the Coordinator of Food Products Industries (COPAL) and the Chamber of Industry of Non-Alcoholic Beverages (CADIBSA)- expressed their rejection of the project, particularly in the point that creates the Environmental Tax (TAREP) of up to 3% of the wholesale price of packaged products. On the other hand, the speakers asked for the enabling of the option of private management of post-consumption containers, which would allow “achievable goals” to be met over time. As regards the Lower House, it should be noted that the final vote count of the legislative elections confirmed the entry of Florencio Randazzo, from “Vamos con Vos” as deputy for the province of Buenos Aires, leaving out Hugo Bontempo, from the list headed by José Luis Espert, from “Avanza Libertad”.

Perfil: JxC advierte que la Ley de Envases, impulsada por el kirchnerismo, elevaría un 4,6% la inflación
Clarín: Florencio Randazzo logró superar el piso y será diputado nacional