Cristina Fernandez: “no one is going to pressure me especially with bullying or thugs”
After the first national strike against her administration, Argentine President Cristina Fernández blasted the CGT and CTA-led protest claiming they appealed to “bullying” tactics and called on workers to defend the “economic development and inclusion model”.
“This wasn’t a strike no a picket but an intimidation and a threat” she assured and warned that no one is going to pressure her.
“No one is going to pressure me, especially with threats, bullying or thugs. These are not the leaders that Perón and Evita wanted,” she said in a rally honouring Sovereignty Day in Argentina.
Earlier in the day amidst the massive strike, President Cristina Fernández wondered on her Facebook account (Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner): “Does anyone want to go back to that Argentina with an economic model which was bread for just a few and hunger for everybody or almost everybody?”
The president continued on her message that though it was not aimed to anyone in particular; it appeared as a clear message to the umbrella unions holding the strike: “Because we all know that not all Argentines went through hunger in those days. Normally the first ones that feel the hunger are the working class after losing their jobs.”
“This is why I like to call all my fellow-workers to show some conscious and responsibility in order to defend not this government but this political project that has created more than 5.5 million job posts with the construction industry having a fundamental role.”
Meanwhile, in a statement to a local TV station, the Minister of Interior and Transportation, Florencio Randazzo, said that the strike organized by the union sector is an extortionist measure that is misplaced.
“However, it is not a strike in favour of the workers, as they want to pretend. It runs opposite to the interest of workers, because it affected thousands of people, who wanted to get to work,” Randazzo said, in direct reference to the over 200 roadblocks and pickets which virtually isolated the city of Buenos Aires.
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So the people have spoken, and instead of listening to what they have got to say, what they want or what they are concerned about, you brush it off as “Threats and bullying”
May I go on record at this point and say that you are not fit to be a leader of that country and you should leave now and never come back.
No, actually stay. It will be fun to watch you get strung up from a tree by your own entrails..........
Doesn't sound like democracy to me, sounds more like a dictatorship.
CFKs arrogance appears monumental! Anyone who doesn't follow the party line exactly is a traitor to her. The Rich are traitors, the Middle Class are traitors, the Working Class are traitors!
Well, the only people she appears to have on her side and the poor unemployed people. She'll rapidly lose their support once she can no longer pay them.
Tick, tock, CFK. Your end is nigh!
However, you and your incompetent and impotent government have provided the world with some laughs, in what would've been a rather boring and depressing time. :D
Until their status as national heroes is rejected in favour of the truth about their legacy then there is no hope. CFK harks back to them as if they were a shining light in Argentine politics. They weren’t
Pot, meet kettle.
The only thugs are the ones that surrounds her; D'elia, Moreno, Medina, Oyarbide, Randazzo, Etchegaray and the brainwashed group of La Campora members, etc. The list goes on.
yet it is ok for her to adopt them tactics towards others including The Falklands folk, hypocrit she should give peace a chance!
it looks like little princess Crustina does not like the taste of her own medicine.
Argentinas current state is a huge sh*t pie and all argentines including dear leader will have to take a slice, Bon apetite!
judt for taking a swipe, is bellow the belt.
The bully usually ends up being bullied.
Make sure you've got the bolt hole in Chavland CFK, though you've done more good for the image of the Falkland Islands than any other Argentine president.
Up the Falklands,
And down with CFKs government.
.
The Hypocratic Republic of Argentina :)
Not all the nations that filed trade complains her
Not all the courts in the world that ruled against her
Not the lenders she screwed by not paying them back
Not the oil companies that will not invest in YPF because they stole private assets
Not the leader of the UN that believes all people have the right to govern themselves
Not the masses that demonstrated all over Argentina and the world against Argentina's direction
Not the unions that want Kirchner as a memory
No Cristina......no one is going to pressure you.
Ditto Cirstina
From the Falklands
Is that not a sublime threat itself? Seems like scare tactics to me. Does a day not go by that she cannot invoke the name of Evita Peron? Her legacy is certainly being creataed along side of her God....Evita. She will forever be know as the women that thought she could copy Evita will pillaging Argentina.
“However, it is not a strike in favour of the workers, as they want to pretend. It runs opposite to the interest of workers, because it affected thousands of people, who wanted to get to work,” Randazzo said“
The other:
”Many of your colleagues told me they can’t because if they do, they will lose their jobs. Well, to me those are not the ideal working conditions. It reveals the pressure put by your bosses to you and to your unions so you don’t join measures like this.”
Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit
Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it.
Whatever one does in one's life is one's own responsibility and cannot be changed.
Origin.
This line originates in Edward Fitzgerald's translation of the poem The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyam, 1859:
It must like what Kahdafi or Saddam thought near the end.
That is an threat to kill. CFKC's thugs must be very, very afraid.
It was a bit pantoesque as we shouted ‘look out, they are behind you’.
TMBOA is about to learn how he felt and good riddance to her.
I love Baghdad Alli....he was my favorite standup routine.
I am impressed though that she has not come down with a sympathy illness yet.
She will either get out of dodge in time or be under house arrest soon enough.
I pity the next ruler.
That place is a mess and people are out of patience.
Gonna check the new mall in Dorrego next to where my childhood home was in the Barrio Alimentacion. The first LED mall in the world with indoor and outdoor integrated tree forest, they say.
Mendoza, always going forward no matter what happens in the rest of the country or planet.
What has any of that got to do with this article?
Lets hope there isn't another strike or you won't be able to get there! Even if you do, there won't be anyone working there as they'll all be on strike.
However, if Mendoza were to become independent....
Also the currency floats so there is no straightjacket. And commodity prices are high so a base income is still there.
The fact you people keep insisting on a 2001 replay shows your benighted condition of basic economic principles. Sciolism at its best.
Second, even in 2001 the Mendoza GDP shrank less during the crisis and expanded faster during the recovery. Which is why you didn't see the social disturbances in Mendoza compared to Rosario, Buenos Aires, Cordoba.
And remember, Mendoza was the only PROVINCE NOT TO DEFAULT on its debt.
For your reading pleasure:
www.carolyn-whelan.com/Province_That_Works/text.html
“How has the province set itself apart even while the rest of the country has floundered? One reason is that Mendoza values fiscal responsibility. During Argentina's worst-ever economic crisis, the province paid off its bondholders -- though it was late doing so on several occasions. Unlike several Argentine provinces, it has never defaulted on its debt.”
www.sitioandino.com/files/image/14/14685/4e7f524c08e68.jpg
Mendoza, Arriba.
I guess being only 60 yrs behind the rest of the world is doing good for Argentina.
Toby you should be so proud!
We had 0 km of mass transit 2 years ago. Now we have 14, and by 2014-2015 probably 30-35km.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_rapid_transit_systems_by_ridership
That will be enough to break us in the top 10 if we were a city in the mighty USA.
hahahahahahahahahahahahaha. You Americans know all about being behind 60 years.
How are those gas supplies in your most important city New York.
I assume even in your fabled Mendoza you still use the RG peso right?
1 US $ = 0.627357 GBP
1 US $ = 4.80699 ARS (RG peso)
Your currency doesn't seem to be doing that well to me!
For Mendoza we do well with a strong or weak currency. Weak currency means tourism from Chile, and now from all over the world. It means our wines remain competitive, it means we get more revenue as a major oil province. It means our fruits and preserve industry makes more cash, it means our industrial-technology sector (IMPSA, Laviasa, Zaldivar technologies) can beat other competitors in the medical, hydro, wind, and light airplane industries. It means our huge bottled water industry (Villavicencio, Eco de los Andes) can expand further.
We have a very diversified economy, and a strong internal market, we have more malls and supermarkets than Cordoba and Santa Fe, provinces twice as large.
m.diariouno.com.ar/mobile/bb/nota.html?id=L2NvbnRlbmlkb3MvMjAxMS8xMS8wNi9ub3RpY2lhXzAwMTMuaHRtbA==
Don't you people see the evidence? Most expressways, only city with metro, more malls and supermarkets, did not default on its debt, leader in wine, tourism, skiing, a growing industrial-tech sector, a city full of trees in what was a desert steppe of thorny shrubs.
Mendoza is Mendoza.
All the rest of us have cars.
I think in most any civilized countries in the world, a public statement like that, implying someone is a traitor and Judas get murdered by a comando teams would be considered criminal. I recall all the trolls here screaming about free speech and you can't point fingers at the government. But I guess you can threaten to murder your opposition though.
You have to admit, killing your opposition in a literal sense is a good way to stay in power!
wait look over there a bullet train to Rosario....
The people of argentina have no say in anything under current dictatorships.
I see Formosa is making there dollar dominated bond payment in pesos. Of course because the government will not give up any of their 45 billion U$ reserves ( yeah....right). The US government has a fairly good accountting of all the countries that are holding U$ dollars.
If inflation is just at 10 % in Argentina (Indec), why does asslips need a 28% raise? 40,000 pesos a month to destroy a country in a less than a decades time.....not bad.
latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2012/11/20/govt-reveals-argentine-president-salary/
Let me dispel another great myth spread around the world against Argentina (further proof the world is out to assign us opprobium):
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereign_default#List_of_sovereign_debt_defaults_or_debt_restructuring
Chile (1826, 1880, 1931, 1961, 1963, 1966, 1972, 1974, 1983) 9 times
Brazil (1898, 1902, 1914, 1931, 1937, 1961, 1964, 1983, 1986–1987, 1990) 11 times
Mexico (1827, 1833, 1844, 1850, 1866, 1898, 1914, 1928-1930s, 1982) 11 times
Venezuela (1826, 1848, 1860, 1865, 1892, 1898, 1982, 1990, 1995–1997, 1998, 2004) 12 times
Argentina (1827, 1890, 1951, 1956, 1982, 1989, 2002) 7 times
AND UNLIKE WHAT AMERICANS TRY TO PRETEND
United States (1779, 1790, 1862, 1934)
The last US default was a so-called “stealth default”: the USA government simply CONFISCATED all the gold from its citizens and took full control over the value of the US dollar. In essence, the population and foreign investors, who had been promised X amount of gold for their money, got cheated out. That's a default in the classic sense.
mises.org/daily/5463
So... How about that? I didn't even know. Argentina has defaulted significantly LESS than the other major Latin American countries. And the USA has in fact defaulted itself.
Wow, that really is devastating for all the antis here who use that card on us.
The Argentine people have thrown out presidents before and they can do it again.
Divert....divert....digress and redirect.....calling all trolls.....General quarters.....general quaters....this is no drill...calling all trolls to stretch and reach, digress and divert the main stories!!.
Argentina is taking on more water than she can pump
...yet the information you refer to is on Wikipedia! Nice.
If switching methods of payment is a default, then like I said about Captain Pop, your mighty USA has defaulted 4 times. Because it's done exactly that, issued paper promising people X (1790, 1862, and 1934), and then done the big swith-a-rooster and confiscated people's accounts and assets and forced them to accept another method of payment (silver paper dollars vs pure gold).
The USA has been no better than Argentina.
“How are those gas supplies in your most important city New York.”
So, you are provoking reaction again?
Ok, I'll bite. Then, back to the topic.
NYC had power and distribution reductions due to the biggest storm to hit it in a century.
BA has power outages, transformer explosions, transit shutdowns, resulting in hardship and death, all due to a crumbling infrastructure that Argentina does not and chooses not to spend money to maintain.
How about the mass hatred of CFK!!
In the past, Juan and Evita Peron had the unions on their side, and solid worker support. Not now.
Even the unions say she is not a “populist”and against the people.
The CFK government, the protesters say, “these are not the leaders we want”!!
Comical Troll :- )
Just to recap, why is the Mendoza to Tunuyan dual carriageway still unfinished after two years of construction?
I heard the contractors had stopped because they hadn't been paid.
There are no hard assets left in the country. Every hard asset has been replaced with Rg bonds, paying rates BELOW inflation. These bonds are denominated in Pesos, every day the peso is depreciated and soon it will be devalued. So the people of Argentina have been robbed but they have not realized it yet because there is no accounting. Anses is bankrupt. Poof Gone. Pensions will now be paid out of the yearly budget. The next Prez will have to deal with that somehow.
Now here is something else and why I KNOW there is not U$45B in reserves, part of the “reserves” that Arg counts is U$ ( all foreign) money in private accounts in Arg banks. Over U$30B has fled the system in the last 2+yrs yet lo and behold they're still showing U$45B!!
The only way this amount can go up significantly is through trade yet they had a terrible crop last year and overall trade is down significantly yoy. We all know they have paid multi billions out for Int'l bond interest and redemption yet again the U$ 45 B figure doesn't change,
odd huh?
Methinks there is maybe MAYBE $7B in liquid reserves
Gonna be a fun thing to watch very soon...
very soon
If your only remaning exit strategy is to say is Wikipedia, then you might as well become an ostrich and find a beach with deep sand.
Why would the information be WRONG? I'm looking at the dates for Argentina defaults and they seem totally plausible:
1827: after the war with Brazil, which was after we had 15 years of war between our independence, our campaigns in Chile and Peru, our actions in Central America and Mexico/California, our failed campaign in Bolivia, etc. Argentina was utterly brok.
1890: the Great financial Panic of 1890 which we all study in school. The economy had built massive lecevrage by growing at 14% rates in the 1880s. Then the panic set in when Argentina's bubble burst, bringing down several London banks and causing an international economic crisis spreading to many countries.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baring_crisis
1951: Peron's nationalism wave and reneging on international agreements.
1956: the revoluationary post-Peron gov.
1982: The Latin American debt crisis
1989: Hyperinflatinon
2002: we all know.
So if Argentina's dates are totally up to the T, why not the other countries?
Even look at the USA dates: 1862 (massive civil unrest and warfare), 1934 (economic collapse)...
None of the years are random. It seems like a well researched piece.
Stick to the helm and man your guns Mme President. You will surely see the strom through!!
@31 We call it “whistling in the wind”. “It can't happen to me.” Oh, yes it can. Never mind, you keep whistling.
@34 It might be a good idea if you're “mass transit” didn't crash and kill people. Still, every corrupt, criminal, degenerate, mendacious, thieving, argie bigot you kill is one less for us to be concerned with.
@36 Given up on argieland, have you? Very wise!
@40 That's not democracy. So democracy really doesn't exist in argieland.
@45 You need to face the truth. Argieland is dumb faggotland. Bet being allowed to screw whoever you want you will see as one of CFK's greatest “achievements”. Don't bother with your figures. Nothing argieland ever says about money is to be believed. Face it. You are congenital liars.
@49 And who refuses to pay its debts? That would be faggotland......sorry, argieland. So pay the US$20 million for your “frigate”. Pay ALL your creditors. Stop wriggling. You can't get out by any legal means. Slight amount of credit for trying to defend your cesspit, but it's not enough. Your “country” is an immoral, rogue state.
I think that is why Argentina is unfairly treated in terms of debt defaults. We have had fewer defaults, but beause of our size or (back in the 1890s) status as one of the world's econonic superpowers, when we have defaulted it has caused much more international headlines.
1890 our economic bubble bursting affected the world, 1951 it was big news because Peron was one of the most important figures in world politics. 2002 because Argentina was the largest and most liquid emerging market bond.
But most other countries have defaulted more than us. They are just smaller and their effects were nowhere as headline grabbing.
I don't think anyone here thinks Mendoza is horrible but it is what it is, a back water province 15 hours and 3 plane rides away from what most people would consider civilization.
It is fine if you like that sort of thing. Move onto another topic, trying to compare Mendoza to a 1st world country is just showing what an idiot you really are. You know I am sure Saskatchewans think they live in the best Province in the world too. But most people don't even know where it is, just like Mendoza.
I am not questioning the veracity of the wiki info.
I am saying that you cannot claim there is a global campaign of misinformation targeting Argentina, and then quote the most widely used online US encyclopaedia.
Stay stay on topic.....the topic is kirchner's fall from grace from her people.
Tell me....the unions hate her, the middleclass she demonized and the rich have always hated her (ironic that she is part of the rich). The only ones left are the poor. Is that that many poor in Argentina to support her?
Yankee I would be quite surprised if the reserves were that high. The monthly surpus in trade is a continual trend down with October's surplus un a million. Not good for the reserves.
Yes Elaine....I really find a public threat like that from fernandez criminal. Given time, all politicians say and do stupid things, but implying he can be assasinated is criminal. Especially from public figure who are suppose to be a example. Apparently he is an example of a hitman.
I don't need to convince anyone. I just like bugging people here because Mendoza's positive traits don't fit into the narrative people here so desperately try to portray of Argentina.
And for the record, do you think anyone outside of this website has the extreme views on Argentina you people have? No.
@58
I didn't say Wikipedia was in a misinformation campaign. I have state well who are the ones doing so: The Economist, Bloomberg, FT, and Veja magazine/Folha Sao Paulo (with Bloomberg). To a lesser extent WSJ.
Toby
Fair enough, but I doubt those publications are anti-Argie, more like anti-the policies of the government...but anyway that is off the off topic.
This is way off the article topic too, but seeing as you have touched on construction in Mendoza...
I understand that after the 1861 earthquake (7.2M) that killed about 30% of the population, there was a law made that only buildings of one story could be built. Clearly that wasn’t enforced. Then the 1985 tremor (6.2M) destroyed ca 50,000 houses.
After the 1960 Valdivia earthquake (9.2M most powerful earthquake ever recorded) a law was put in place here to ensure all new buildings were built to anti-seismic regulations. A difficult law to enforce but largely successfully implemented.
We had a 6.2 tremor here in la 4ta region last week – not a single building damaged. I am confident that my house, as with most, could take an 8 without suffering major damage.
After the ’85 tremor were there any laws passed to improve the seismic proofing of buildings?
It is like many cities with good and bad. I felt safe there but when I took a Chilean friend along on one trip she was very nervous. The people there admit the high crime but blame it all on Chileans coming over the border. It has a certain siege mentality of border towns, I guess.
That said, I liked it and will return. But it is no wonder city as described by TTT. It feels more like a town.
So, why doesn't Mendoza break away from the rest of Argentina if it is dragging it down?
Elqui Provincia CHILE ? .........hhhmmmm
Did you choose(say) this region in fortuitously 0r in scienter ?
Maybe you need to talk to some Argentinians once in a while they're saying basically the same things as we are here.
Only delusional paranoid narcissist would think Int'l news organizations are on a misinformation campaign about your country. You seem to be as nutty as your ruler.
Co-Pilot: Baggage stowed, confirmed. Medication ready in galley. Sick bags for Timerman.
Pilot: Roger that. Deploy red carpet, commence passenger boarding.
Co-pilot: Captain, we have a problem with the fueling.
Pilot: Dammit!! Who's got another credit card???
Pilot: Ok
Bacause Mendoza is part of Argentina and there is no reason why it or any part of argentina has to break away.
Wishful thinking by you all ”well wishers: out there.
Your numbers are wrong. It was from what I remember 20,000 destroyed or CONDEMNED. Big difference. I've seen pictures from my uncles who lived in Las Heras, the worst hit area.
Their old house was condemned. It only had a minor “grieta”. It was still liveable. I have pictures of the old house and when I have some time may show them to you.
2nd, the earthquakes that hit Mendoza are different from those in Chile. Mendoza has shallow faults. They go off less frequently because they are not subduction-induced, but when they do the earthquake is right on top of the city at a depth of 10-15km. That is a huge difference in how the shaking affects structures.
Outside of Las Heras, which is generally has the oldest housing, the city was untouched.
@62
Argentines, I've said many times you guys simply refuse to believe anything that goes against your warped views, don't have separatist views. We can be regionalist, but we are still 100% argentines. No matter what. This bothers people here because it is a “positive” trait, and you guys can't give Argentina any positive traits as it ruins your villification plot, but that's the way it is.
Believe me and I've said this too, Menocinos are very tired of Buenos Aires inneficiency and corruption, and over-passion. But as much as we complain, we don't see breaking away as any solution (even if it would be better since we give more money to the federal government in taxes than we get back in funds).
@63-65
Your views are extreme sorry. The people here make commentary on everything about Argentina, and never anything positive. You can hide behind the excuse “that's the reality”, but when I do the same about the USA, pointing the negative, you people get “irked” at me. Wonder why.
Though, if you travel away from BsAs there are many rumblings about provinces separating from central government. I guess as CFKC refuses to hand over money allocated to them the rumblings will get louder.
Remember, Peron used fascism to unite a very disparate country. It was not so long ago.
you expelled ! ...why ?
There is of course. I don't know how well it is enforced, but on all new contruction and there is plenty in town, I see the internal steel beems, the heavy concrete, and the extra support columns.
My childhood neighborhood had just been built when the earthquake hit, a working-middle class neighborhood. No house was damaged.
There have been 5 degree quakes in the last couple of years. No damage to anything except some very outlying country homes from the 19th century when a quake hit to the east (which is not as common), right over very rural areas.
@73
Your rumblings, I just answered your question above. I guess you Brits never use rhetorical language (“oh if I were rich...”), its all facts. How boring.
Argentina was well and united way before Peron. Off the reservation with your facts again.
Your province cities buildings seem neither solid nor beautiful also in the seismic zone.
So what's new? It's a non-story.
Nothing to see here, move along now!
One of my family relatives had worked as World Bank expert in Chile
during the years of 1969- 1974.
CFK only needs to listen to the constitution, she has the presidency until 2015, whether I support her or not.
Then she leaves and someone else takes her place.
This country longitudinally distance as much as like Gibraltar-- Moscow.
I agree.
For all the banging of pots and unpopularity, there is nothing to make her go before the election other than impeachment.
And still the ice queen plays her fiddle.....
:o)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzRhFH5OyHo
No Tobi, every here is merely pointing out all that your trolls refuse to see.
The story goes that there is this man sitting in his house in the middle of a cloud burst and the river beside his house is about to burst it's banks. The man is a christian and refuses to leave the house saying “God will protect me from this storm, I will not leave”
His neighbour comes knowcking on his door and says to him “The water has wash the levies away, you have to leave your house!!!”
But the man just smiles and says “God will protect me from this storm, I will not leave”
Then a police comes knocks on his door and says “We are evacuating this town, the flood water is getting really high, you must leave now”
But the man just smiles and says “God will protect me from this storm, I will not leave”
Then some firemen come with a boat and they say “We are rescuing people trapped by the flood water, you must come with us now or you will drown”
But the man just smiles and says “God will protect me from this storm, I will not leave”
And so the river does sweep his house away and the man is drowned. When he gets up to heaven he says to God “My Lord, I believed in you, and thought that you would save me, why did you not”
God answers him “I tried to save you my child. I sent your neighbour, a policeman and some firemen...........”
I wonder who God has sent to Asslips Kirchner / Botox Queen / TMBOA / Ol' Turkey Neck / KFC / The harpy and I wonder if she is listening................ Then again...........
Please, Mrs. Presidenta,
don't panic, it's just fair, gentle, 100% legal pressure. Just pay up ... it is a discounted bond ... a good deal for you ... you believe you are right, the US will again give you due process and if the district court is wrong you will have your $ 1.3 billion back ... and everybody will be happy.
Mr. Griesa is a gentleman and an expert, equanimous, moderate, prudent, compassionate judge.
As everybody was expecting around the world but you and your buddies&thugs, he has quickly ruled: the holdouts had solid arguments to require 100% right now in their pockets but he gave you more time, a discount and the opportunity to get your money back as soon as his injunction is not upheld.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING DAY AMERICA !
And God bless your courts :-)
There is something to be thankful about for everyone
Yeah!! I almost forgot there for a minute.
Happy Thanksgiving day!!
Do you know that old saying :- Good advise is seldom ever given?
I would invite you to remember an even older saying that goes along the lines of “Good advise is seldom ever listened too”
..........I don't KFC / Asslips / TMBOA / Ol' Turkey Neck / The Harpy has heard of the second one....
Vildoza Jose ?
I lived in the town (first year ciudad, tercera sección en la Torre en c. Lavalle, then la quinta sección una cuadra a Emilio Civit) for more than three years, and can guarantee that ciudad de Mendoza (Mendoza proper) and much of Godoy Cruz are somewhat worn down, but safe with well built earthquake safe houses. During the hefty quake in February 2010 nobody was killed, all I saw was a broken water tank; when I had aircondition installed in my 52 year old house they had to drill 3 holes to find a spot in the wall where they didn't hit enforcing iron.
In the Maipú and Lujan municipalities few houses are surrounded by large fences or tag wire and railings in front of the windows are unusual. A large part of the other surrounding municipalities are something else, I wouldn't recommend e.g. Las Heras and parts of Guaymallén. These municipalities are where most of the crimes take place.
The town is beautiful with app 80,000 trees lining all streets and it is clean because streets and plazas are swept and garbage collected every night. The mountains in the vicinity adds to its beauty.
The metro is good, although it was supposed to start running July 2010, but only began test runs in April 2012 shortly before I left. Toby's map (the link) shows how the metro will be in a few years, I am told that so far only the A (blue) line is working, but it is reliable.
Mendoza has daily connections to both Europe, North America, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and Africa, although one has to change plane in either Santiago or Buenos Aires.
For an Argentine town (I have visited at least 25), Mendoza stands out as an example to be followed, although from a northern European viewpoint it has only reached 1960s standard.
I could have lived the rest of my life in Mendoza if it hadn't been part of unpredictable Argentina.
Thanks for an honest account of Mendoza. TTT is justifiably proud.
It sounds like a model community with plans to make it even better.
However, I have to ask - is TTT coming totally clean with us?
Out of curiosity, I looked at one of the links he posted, a photo of a new mall and parking lot, in a desert-like area. It was not high resolution, but the buildings looked like they had been photo-shopped in, like an architect's concept of a finished project.
Are these things still going ahead, or has development slowed, due to the economy? Is it somewhat insulated from the financial problems of Argentina, as a whole?
Thx in advance
Any large-scale retail complex that needs tens of millions of dollars to build is not affected by the “dollar-clamp”, it is very easy for the large players to clear the funds through.
The small developers or individual builders are the ones that see impacts.
I am personally surprise that 90% of the announcements are in fact being built, the only one so far that was announced and nothing has happened is a new shopping circle in Las Heras, they say they are going forward but no one has seen breaking ground on it:
i.imgur.com/wPDcY.jpg
There are many more developments that are even stranger like this
www.workarchitects.org/themes/site_themes/agile_records/images/uploads/palmares_04.jpg
Never in the history of the city has the metropolitan area expanded towards the west to the mountains, but that is the trend now. I think there will be a huge environmental fight because the green lobby is huge in Mendoza (which is why the province stands out for having virtually no large scale mining activity).
I also think that no matter what the dollar policy is, there may be some overbuilding in retail space especially, I think after this wave of mall/shopping construction there must be consolidation, there is just tons of retail space coming online.
But it is true, that Mendoza is a bustling town and the province is prosperous - always has been - compared to most of Argentina, where Mendoza is among the top 2 or 3 towns and provinces.
Mendoza is feeling the international crisis like most places in the world, but has the advantage that about 1/3 of its income is from tourists and 1/3 from wine production, which both provide foreign currency and the remainder split between oil/gas and industry. This is a more diversified economy than most of Argentina and an efficient local government keeps Mendoza positioned close to the top.
Construction is hit by the crisis and development has slowed down but because Argentina is a federation, the economy is 2/3 regional and only 1/3 national.
I have seen many projects started and seemingly grind to a halt - after a delay most of them have been finished, as e.g. the metro, now running and working on the extensions to cover Gran Mendoza. New shopping malls, good and modern housing, etc. are growing, slowly but surely.
Five years ago especially petty crime was rife, but a new governor took some clever initiatives, e.g. enforcing the town police with gendarmes, police patrolling on bikes, 'preventores' with radio keeping an eye on things. In Mendoza you keep your backpack on your back, not locked under your arm like you do in the rest of Argentina.
All in all, Mendoza is comparable to a good provincial town in the first world some 30 years ago. Add a fine climate, beautiful surroundings and very friendly and honest people and you get one of the best (TTT would of course say THE best) towns and provinces in Argentina.
Actually yes. I have decent comedic timing. May I help you:???
You can say all you want about me, but I keep it real by:
a) posting LINKS to newspapers, videos, or wikipedia about my claims (most of you do none of the sort, just spew out “facts” with nothing to back them up... yes not even Wiki)
b) I have always stated the Falklanders should no longer be harrassed by Argentina and should have the right to choose what they want with themselves
c) When I speak of Mendoza, I only do it in comparing to the other provinces of Argentina. Not that I couldn't compare Mendoza to any place in world... we may not be a “paradise” in terms of highew wages and safest streets, but then few places are and we actually have some decent attributes to offer even to “1st world” countries (othewise, why would the city have so many expats?). But my “bragging” is always in comparison to BA, Cordoba, Rosario, etc... as there is a healthy rivalry between us. I'm sure in your countries there are rivalries between the larger towns as well.
So call me troll, and call me wicked, and the smartest guy around... but I'm consistent.
What they hell is wrong with the Argies that they can´t seem to elect a “ decent” president'?????????
BK keep your masterbatory words about cuntina to yourself your pathetic old RG.
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