The presence this week of Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff next to Cristina Fernandez at Argentina’s Industrial Union, UIA annual conference was considered a major integration success and highlights the growing interaction of the two leading Mercosur partners.
President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner ratified on Wednesday that Argentina will continue to pay all its financial obligations and described as “absolutely unfair” the ruling from Judge Thomas Griesa who favoured the hedge funds to the detriment of 93% of bondholders who joined the 2005 and 2010 debt swaps.
Argentine president Cristina Fernandez announced on Wednesday that wellhead natural gas prices are to rise substantially from current levels, an estimated 44%, with the purpose of attracting more investments and increasing production.
Brazilian Executive special advisor on International Affairs, Marco Aurelio Garcia anticipated that at the coming summit in Lima, the Union of South American Nations, Unasur, would not lift the suspension on Paraguay which will hold until April’s election.
During a ceremony to receive visiting Peruvian leader Ollanta Humala Argentine President Cristina Fernández said that she would make a plea for Unasur members to come together in the fight against ‘vulture funds’ (hedge funds) when the region’s leaders meet this week in Lima.
The Chicago Tribune, one of the leading Midwest US newspapers has been following closely the dispute in New York courts between the Argentine government and investment funds that are demanding full payment of sovereign bonds.
The Argentine government will appeal on Monday the New York federal court ruling from Thomas Griesa which orders the country to pay 1.3billion dollars to the investment funds which held out from the (2005 and 2010) restructuring of the 2002 defaulted sovereign debt.
Ghana rejected on Wednesday Argentina’s plea for Accra City’s Commercial Tribunal to drop the case that kept the ARA Libertad navy training frigate impounded at Tema port since October 2nd.
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”.
Argentine labour unions leaders said that support for the successful national strike was “much stronger than we expected” and urged President Cristina Fernández to listen to “people’s message.”