Argentina
December 6, 2019
1. Alberto Fernández to announce his cabinet today at 6PM
JeffreyGroup will be sending a report following the announcement
El Cronista: El gabinete de Alberto: el anuncio del equipo de ministros que tendrá toda su impronta
2. Recently-elected legislators from Chamber of Deputies sworn in
130 of the recently-elected members of the Chamber of Deputies were sworn in, nearly half of the 257 seats in the lower house. The Peronist Frente de Todos now control a coalition 121 of the seats, making it the largest party in the legislature. The 110 legislators elected from the Frente de Todos built their coalition with individuals from like-minded parties. The opposition Juntos por el Cambio hoped to have a coalition of 119 deputies, however, at the last moment three legislators decided to break away to join the Unidad y Equidad Federal block, a smaller group composed of eight seats that could be key to the Frente de Todos’ obtaining a quorum (129) and the votes necessary to approve a majority of their political projects. In the Senate, the Frente de Todos managed to secure 42 seats, surpassing the 37 needed for a quorum, following the addition of Peronist senator, Adolfo Rodríguez Saá.
Jeffrey Group Special Report: Español English
3. Mercosur will speak with business leaders before revising Common External Tariff
The goal of the Brazilian government to push for a substantial reduction in Mercosur’s Common External Tariff (CET) earned lukewarm support from the other member countries (Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay), although it will still be some time before the reduction takes effect. During the sixth meeting of Mercosur ministers of industry, trade and services, which took place on Wednesday prior to the meeting of the trade bloc’s leaders, the four representatives agreed on the importance of public-private talks when moving forward with the revision of the CET. The CET currently stands at 13%, but Brazil intends to cut this tariff in half. Meanwhile, among OECD countries, tariffs are set at an average of 6%. With this in mind, the Macri administration has all but secured that these negotiations continue under the administration of Alberto Fernández, who on various occasions has spoken out against reducing tariffs on products made in the country.
El Cronista: Mercosur: antes de revisar el Arancel Externo Común, privilegiarán el diálogo con los privados
4. President Macri in his final days in power before inauguration of Alberto Fernández
President Mauricio Macri will leave office on December 10th, when President-elect Alberto Fernández takes the oath of office. Yesterday, Macri traveled to Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, where he participated in his final Mercosur summit and held his final meeting with his Brazilian counterpart, Jair Bolsonaro, who has made his differences of opinion with the incoming Argentine president very clear. Additionally, the president used his power to take over broadcasts for the first time to give a 45-minute address to the Argentine people to tell his version of the state of the country when he took office and the state of the country as he leaves. On Saturday, he will give his farewell address to supporters at the “#7D” rally. Macri and his successor were invited to a mass on Sunday, in a bid to unite the country. At 8PM that same day, Macri’s social media will broadcast a series of interviews and reflections of the president regarding the key issues facing Argentina.
Ámbito Financiero: Las 15 frases más destacadas que dejó el discurso de Macri
5. The province of Buenos Aires presents summary of administration
Governor of the province of Buenos Aires, María Eugenia Vidal, offered a recap of her time in office in one of her final public activities as governor. According to Vidal, Governor-elect Axel Kicillof will inherit a government with a bank balance of ARS $25 billion (USD $416.9 million), and an agreement with President Macri to update the Conurbano Fund – a fund financed with 10% of what the country collects through income tax – for current inflation figures. With regards to debt, the governor stated that it stands at USD $11.2 billion, and that this figure has been reduced by USD $200 million during her tenure, defending the results, stating they are visible in public works projects. It is worth noting that Axel Kicillof will take office on December 11th, forcing the provincial legislature to designate an interim governor for one day. Kicillof decided to delay the inauguration to not overshadow that of President-elect Alberto Fernández.