November 29th, 2024
1. Guillermo Francos presented the annual report of the Chief of the Cabinet at the National Congress
The Chief of Cabinet of Ministers of the Nation, Guillermo Francos, appeared this Wednesday, November 27, before the Senate to give his management report, in compliance with Article 101 of the National Constitution. The meeting came in a complicated context due to the visible discrepancies between the president Javier Milei and the vice-president Victoria Villarruel, who is therefore president of the Senate, and with whom the president is not having a good relationship. For almost two hours, Francos presented the management report, highlighting the milestones of the 10 months of Milei’s mandate. Among some of the relevant comments he made during the session, he highlighted the consideration of the candidacy of a woman to occupy a seat in the Supreme Court of Justice, a demand of the opposition sector.
El País: El Gobierno de Milei defiende su gestión ante el Congreso argentino
2. Javier Milei did not attend the UIA’s Annual Conference
The president, Javier Milei, did not attend the 30th Annual Conference of the Argentine Industrial Union (UIA), an absence that was perceived as a snub by the businessmen. Although the government justified the absence by citing agenda problems, the UIA expressed its dissatisfaction, stressing the importance of institutional respect in an event of relevance for the country’s productive sector. “We want them to respect us; it is not against us, it is with us”, mentioned Martín Rapallini, president of the UIA. In response to the criticism, Milei sent a recorded message where he reaffirmed his commitment to key reforms, such as the labor reform and a controversial measure already promoted in his government, Decree 70/23, which seeks to make labor relations more flexible.
3. Consumption continues to fall
Consumption fell sharply again in September. According to data published by the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (Indec), supermarket sales plummeted 12.8% compared to the same month of the previous year and fell 0.4% compared to August. Thus, the country’s supermarkets and hypermarkets have accumulated a sales drop of 11.6% in the first nine months of the year.
Infobae: Consumo: en septiembre cayeron las ventas en supermercados y en comercios mayoristas
4. The government eliminated a PAIS tax withholding and simplified appliance regulations
The Government made official the elimination of the withholding of the 95% PAIS tax that the ARCA required as an advance payment to access foreign currency for the payment of imports. One month before the expiration of such tax, the Executive Branch will no longer require such advance payment. In addition, the Secretariat of Industry and Commerce approved a new Technical Regulation that establishes mandatory energy efficiency labeling for household appliances in Argentina. This regulation, which affects manufacturers and importers, will be applicable to all new products that consume energy or have an impact on their use, becoming an indispensable requirement for their commercialization in the country.
5. The government dismissed an ambassador and a foreign minister
Gerardo Werthein, former Ambassador to the United States and newly appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs, decided to dismiss the Argentine Ambassador to Spain, Roberto Bosch, and the Consul in New York, Pablo Piñeiro Aramburu. Both Bosch and Piñeiro Aramburu had been appointed during the administration of Alberto Fernández and until now remained in office by decision of former Foreign Minister Diana Mondino, who did not make any major changes in the current staff. In the case of the former ambassador, there is still no replacement, but Gerardo “Gerry” Díaz Bartolomé, who until this new designation was in charge of communications at the Foreign Ministry, was appointed to the representation in the U.S. city.
Infobae: Reformas en Cancillería: el Gobierno echó al embajador en España y al cónsul en Nueva York