Argentina 🇦🇷 overview of the week: - The Government stated before Congress that it could return to the markets in mid-2025 to issue debt "at reasonable rates." Although the country risk has decreased, it should continue to decrease so that the country can borrow at a rate of less than 10%. - The dollars from the money laundering remain in the banks: only 10% of the total deposits entered were withdrawn - Inflation: according to the Fundación Libertad y Progreso, the end of the PAÍS Tax could reduce the CPI by 0.6 points, although spread between December and January, and would help the Government to speed up the exit from the cepo (fx restrictions) - The Government issued debt for $5.81 trillion pesos, covered maturities and obtained a surplus of $1.59 trillion pesos, which will go to the BCRA, to pay future maturities. - The economy will likely drop less than 3% this year, exceeding the forecasts of the IMF (-3.5%) and the Government (-3.8%). The INDEC strongly adjusted the evolution of the economy upwards after the performance of the third quarter and the good data that are coming out this last quarter. - Argentine companies estimate a salary increase of 48% in 2025, in line with inflation, and anticipate a reduction in the number of salary adjustments to an average of four per year, according to the report on Salary Increase Trends in Argentina (TISA) by the consulting firm Mercer - Congress approved a project to prevent child gambling, with prohibitions on online betting advertising and requiring biometric verifications to block minors. The Association of Lotteries, Casinos and Quinielas of Argentina rejects the measure. - Open skies: The Government authorized Paranair, a Paraguayan 🇵🇾 airline, to operate the Asunción-Córdoba route. With this decision, there were a total of four airlines authorized this week.

“Avoiding excessive taxes and immolation in stupid wars should be a goal of every thinking person. Yet many have been conned into believing that personal and economic self-preservation is immoral and unpatriotic. The government imposed burdens, such as wars and taxes that support projects which we do not believe in, are just a small part of the package of unnecessary servitudes accepted by most people in the world.” — W.G. Hill

Euro close to parity 💀

Legislators in Argentina 🇦🇷 are promoting a bill for the Central Bank (BCRA) to keep 1% of international reserves in Bitcoin.

Dodged a bullet, literally

Argentina’s 🇦🇷 country risk is almost at the 800 level. Below that, credit against less than 10% gets unlocked.

📍Plaza del Congreso, Buenos Aires

Vibes were high last night 👌

The Central Bank of Argentina 🇦🇷 (BCRA) began to artistically display Bitcoin miners and other mining machines today. It is the first Central Bank in the world to do so.

Cumulative public employees since January. Another 30,000 will be let go between now and next month. ¡AFUERA!

“Bitcoin will probably go negative because if we’re moving into a world with carbon taxes, you have to take into account the energy that it took to produce it in the first place” — Peter Zeihan, Jan 2023, BTC price $17,093

Festivals are a mini version of a CBDC. You prepay with a digital payment method (debit or credit card) to prepay and charge the festival card. There is no way to transfer money in or out of this closed system from the outside. The card is only usable on the festival grounds and there is no refund, so the money has an expiration date as well (when the festival ends).

🎉President Javier Milei dissolves the AFIP (the IRS in Argentina) and creates a new, smaller collection agency. - Directors' salaries are reduced by 90%. - The salaries of senior authorities, the "political staff", are reduced by 45%. - The salaries of lower-level authorities are reduced by 30%. - The number of employees on leave is reduced by 15%. ¡AFUERA!

“World War 3 is a guerrilla information war with no division between military and civilian participation.” — Marshall McLuhan

Entraña 🥩 in Mar del Plata 👌

“Anyone has the right to be stupid, but not to demand that we venerate their stupidity.” — Nicolás Gómez Dávila

📍Cafayate, Salta

What a day for a daydream, custom made for a daydreaming boy

Inflation in Argentina 🇦🇷 since 2001. Imagine if Milei hadn’t won the elections and Massa would’ve continued his hyperinflationary model. Any media outlet crying about inflation now (whereas there were hardly any tears during naughty nose Massa), cannot be taken seriously.