Argentine prosecutors questioned a construction executive related to President Mauricio Macri on Monday as part of a sprawling investigation into bribe payments made to the former government. Angelo Calcaterra, the former head of construction company Iecsa and Macri’s cousin, told prosecutors he was told by officials in former President Cristina Fernandez’ administration to pay cash in exchange for public works contracts.
Argentina’s industrial output plunged 8.1% in June compared with the same month last year, government statistics agency Indec said, the sharpest monthly drop since the country was in the grips of an economic meltdown in 2002.
Argentine Federal judge Claudio Bonadio will present a formal request to Congress to strip ex president and Senator Cristina Fernández de Kirchner of her parliamentary immunity. Bonadio's move against CFK, for which she risks immediate arrest, is part of an investigation into an alleged giant bribery and corruption ring that spanned over a decade of the Kirchner couple's rule and involves high-profile businesspeople, politicians and magistrates.
The Argentine Senate finally approved the text of a bill to legalize abortion that will be put to a vote on August 8 in the upper chamber. As approved by Congress' lower house Chamber of Deputies on June 14, the bill sent to the Senate decriminalizes abortion during the first 14 weeks of pregnancy and provides for conscientious objection for practitioners, but not for hospitals.
Argentina's President Mauricio Macri is acknowledging for the first time that the country's annual inflation rate will be 30%. Macri said Tuesday that the high consumer prices unfortunately are a product of this storm. He was referring to a sharp devaluation of Argentina's currency and a recent run on the Peso.
China's offer of financial support to Argentina is the latest example of the Asian nation filling a vacuum in what has traditionally been the backyard of the U.S. While President Donald Trump has not paid a visit to Latin America since his inauguration in January 2017, China has stepped up its financial assistance to Argentina and worked to strengthen their trade ties.
Leaders from the BRICS bloc of emerging economies share a positive outlook on Argentina's embattled economy, President Mauricio Macri said on Monday. Macri added that leaders from BRICS members - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - meeting in Johannesburg for the July 25-27 summit also expressed their support for the Argentine government's economic strategy.
Argentina and Spain have signed a fisheries and aquaculture bilateral cooperation Memorandum of Understanding. The MoU was stamped in Buenos Aires during the recent G20 Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries ministerial meeting by Argentina's Luis Miguel Etchevehere and Spain's Luis Planas.
Family of the only Argentine naval officer killed and buried in South Georgia during the 1982 South Atlantic conflict will soon be able to visit their father's grave in Grytviken, according to reports in the Buenos Aires media.
G20 agriculture ministers begin this Friday in Buenos Aires a two day meeting to draw up a roadmap to achieve a sustainable food future, one of the three priorities of the Argentine G20 presidency. These include comprehensive and responsible soil management, food waste reduction and the role of technology in agriculture.