Inflation in Argentina clocked 1.53% in June accumulating 27.9% in the last twelve months according to the report released on Tuesday by members of the Congressional opposition based on an average from private consultants. This week Argentina's government stats office, Indec in scheduled to announce the official rate.
The raid ordered by an Argentine Federal Judge at a real estate agency which belongs to president Cristina Fernandez' son, Maximo Kirchner's in Rio Gallegos, triggered a barrage of accusations from government officials, just a few days ahead of decisive primaries in August, in anticipation of the October presidential elections.
Under the heading of The Peronist pope, The Economist has a piece on Francis's balancing act in Latin America dedicated to the eight day tour of three of the continent's poorest countries, but with the largest percentages of Catholics. But for Francis it is also a delicate balancing act since several current leaders in the region tend to blend the Church's 'option for the poor' with Marxist ideology.
President Cristina Fernández was present on Sunday in the Paraguayan capital, Asunción to hear Pope Francis give mass during his visit, and greeted the Argentine citizens who had travelled to see the leader of the Catholic church. The head of state left the open mass at around midday, handing Francis a gift before retiring after witnessing the ceremony with Paraguayan counterpart Horacio Cartés.
A group of lawmakers from six Latin American countries and Argentine officials met in Ushuaia in support of Argentine 'legitimate sovereignty rights over Malvinas, Georgia and South Sandwich Islands', in the framework of UN General Assembly Resolution 2065 fiftieth anniversary celebration, which called on the United Kingdom and Argentina to reach a peaceful negotiated solution over the Falklands/Malvinas dispute through bilateral discussions.
Next 28 July Wales First Minister Carwyn Jones will be attending celebrations in the province of Chubut in the framework of the 150th anniversary of the first Welsh settlement in Patagonia, 28 July 1865. An event which in an electoral year in Argentina could become a good opportunity for president Cristina Fernandez to press on the Falkland Islands dispute, according to speculation in the Buenos Aires media.
The Embassy of Argentina in the UK celebrated Independence Day on Thursday, highlighting the importance of national sovereignty and Latin American unity. Before a packed audience of over four hundred people, the Argentine Ambassador Alicia Castro delivered a speech in which she recalled that the aim of the struggle for independence was to unite all the peoples of Latin America.
Bolivian president Evo Morales revealed on Friday that Pope Francis told him that there are three pending issues in the continent, Puerto Rico, Falklands/Malvinas and Bolivia's sea outlet claim. The pope has been recognized by all sides as the 'bridge' which helped bring together Cuba and the US after over half a century of mutual distancing.
Argentina's Supreme Court upheld “the right of every patient to choose a dignified death,” drawing a sharp distinction between halting treatment and euthanasia. Justices confirmed a lower court’s decision to allow the end of extraordinary measures to preserve the life of a person, who had remained in a persistent vegetative state since 1995.
China has become the largest importer of frozen Argentine beef, according to the latest data released by the Industry and Trade of Meat and Meat Produce Association (CICCRA). However these figures are far from neighboring Uruguay which in four months shipped to China almost 50.000 tons, that has become the country's leading market.