Brazil is the only country that in the last ten years has benefited from Mercosur with an intra-zone trade surplus of 36.8 billion dollars while the other three full members, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay have accumulated huge deficits in the same period, according to Argentine economist Orlando Ferreres a regular columnist from La Nacion with graduate studies in Harvard.
Argentine President Cristina Fernandez has assets of almost 40 million Argentine Pesos according to her latest income statement before the Anti Corruption office. This includes the 31 million inherited from her late husband Nestor Kirchner who died in October 2010.
Argentine supermarkets must keep records of sales of plus 1.000 Pesos which must be available to tax inspectors, according to the latest decision from AFIP the tax revenue office. A thousand Pesos at the official rate is equivalent to 210 dollars and in the parallel 140 dollars.
Credit card companies operating in Argentina have also fallen under the net work of the tax office AFIP, and now must request authorization and approval to purchase US dollars to balance their clients’ accounts.
The Uruguayan government said on Monday there will be no public statements on the latest “situations” with Argentina, and Uruguay will keep to what was agreed at presidential level during the last (31 July) Mercosur extraordinary meeting in Brasilia.
The strict and tightening US dollar purchase restrictions imposed in Argentina were clearly exposed in the banking system dollar deposits and loans during the last week of July when they dropped 3%, having accumulated 43% in the last few weeks, according to official data from the central bank.
Venezuela’s government oil corporation, PDVSA, in considering with Argentina’s YPF exploring for oil and gas in the area next to Falkland/Malvinas waters, revealed the president of the corporation and Minister of Petroleum and Mining.
Argentine Industrial Union head José Ignacio de Mendiguren says he wholeheartedly agrees with President Cristina Fernández criticism to those who back a devaluation of the Peso, in an interview with Ambito.com.
While addressing the nation from the Buenos Aires stock exchange floor, Argentine President Cristina Fernández strongly defended the policy of drastically cutting debts, which guarantees “greater independence”, and of stimulating the economy because only with resources can debts be paid, “the dead don’t pay debts”.
The positive image of Argentine president Cristina Fernandez has dropped 25 points and now stands at 40% after having reached 65% when her re-election last October according to an opinion poll from consultants Management & Fit.