Displaying items by tag: Argentina

Many Argentines blame the IMF for the country’s 2001 financial meltdown, punctuated by a sovereign bond default and steep currency devaluation, which tossed millions of middle-class Argentines into poverty. Now left-leaning activists have taken to the streets to protest the IMF negotiations taking place in Washington while President Macri is trying to convince average Argentines that his policies will attract the investment needed to establish sustainable economic growth. In Buenos Aires, teachers have been staging protests because life is unbearable as the value of the peso continues to decline by a further 30%, sparking even more inflation. They are demanding pay rises, and say they have been living below the poverty line. To watch a video of thousands of people taking to the streets almost every day go to:

Argentina has recently hosted a meeting of the G20 anti-corruption group, with national delegations and international organisations seeking to address the best ways of curtailing corruption and promoting integrity in state-owned enterprises (SOEs). Controlled by national governments, SOEs rank among the largest companies in the world and are often some of the biggest employers in their country. They are central to the daily lives of citizens, providing critical goods and public services in sectors such as transport, utilities, health and telecommunications. When they indulge in corruption and malpractice, citizens feel the impact: trains are delayed, households go without power or water, and the sick are deprived of essential medical treatment. SOEs are particularly vulnerable to corruption because of their closeness to politicians and public officials, and the scale of resources, contracts and operations they control.

In Buenos Aires, Argentina, hospital doctors have found no explanation for the quick recovery of Martin Chain, a three-year-old boy who fell from the ninth floor when he was playing on the balcony of his apartment. The accident left the boy on the verge of death. However, he only took twenty days to recover and shows no signs of long-term complications. Florencia, his mother, said that in face of her son's serious condition they didn't stop praying. 'One day while I was singing him a song to the Virgin, he woke up.' From that moment, Martin began to recover. He first went to intermediate care, then they took him off the respirator, and finally he was discharged. The doctor said, 'There are times that for us professionals, there's nothing left but to put ourselves in God's hands. I'm Catholic, and I believe that miracles exist. Something happened there.'