ARGENTINA: A COUNTRY WITHOUT VISIBLE POLITICAL OPPOSITION.

<br /><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><br /></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6l6LtHQdBWWKoMAA5h4nrLD-v2Z9Y1MuHPV2oQAIPcBmJcEpoMWWTUF9D484M4xsZmiZat-Qi3s8ch9DgdA4a_kbGvcLW0sD4A0YhLgYa-sGVUbVdXAaYRCdGDe9wm9GYiEzeSXbXC4Rm/s1600/media-manipulation.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6l6LtHQdBWWKoMAA5h4nrLD-v2Z9Y1MuHPV2oQAIPcBmJcEpoMWWTUF9D484M4xsZmiZat-Qi3s8ch9DgdA4a_kbGvcLW0sD4A0YhLgYa-sGVUbVdXAaYRCdGDe9wm9GYiEzeSXbXC4Rm/s400/media-manipulation.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: blue; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">ARGENTINE</span></b></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">’</span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">S "INVISIBLE OPPOSITION", CONSISTING OF SELF - SEEKING ONE MAN SHOWS, WHO USE CORPORATE MEDIA TO OPPOSE THE GOVERNMENT </span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Since the Kirchners’ (Center left) took rein back in 2003, their “unorthodox” but successful governing of Argentina infuriated Argentines “conservative” political opposition, if one can call it that, for unlike other countries, Argentina in reality does not have a political party system as such. Granted, when election time arrives, different so called political "parties" with fancy names start emerging, but in reality they are one man shows of ambitious self seeking individuals, mostly of who are from the large but fractured Peronist  movement, but with completely different political ideologies. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">This is where it becomes complicated understanding Argentines political landscape. The first thing that comes in one’s mind when talking about Argentine politics is Peronism, which by definition stands for an </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">economic, political, and social ideology called Justicialismo (social justice). When listening to some of the so-called “opposition individuals” ( who claim to be Peronists) one comes to conclusion that their political objectives are a far cry from social ideologies but rather are those of a center right conservative political stance. Thus, since the Kirchners’ took office, during election times a fractured opposition of self seeking individuals with conservative views have tried to gain power and failed to do so for lack of unity and being unable to “feel the pulse and needs” of the common people. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">OPPOSITION LACKS UNITY THUS USES CORPORATE MEDIA TO OPPOSE THE GOVERNMENT </span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAXdjkoy45XwVOXt9EAf8wbJrijd0TsdBRlhr0tTGfhNQEOTZ_Qhy8NQyLhShbzhxhnvD2zjiU7Sjd_sQBiWh6TGRGPVQdiibbbL26aSDeHoQzQzxrjP3wAishhDDB-A9XUBOwUpXzvO5J/s1600/_48871145_papers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAXdjkoy45XwVOXt9EAf8wbJrijd0TsdBRlhr0tTGfhNQEOTZ_Qhy8NQyLhShbzhxhnvD2zjiU7Sjd_sQBiWh6TGRGPVQdiibbbL26aSDeHoQzQzxrjP3wAishhDDB-A9XUBOwUpXzvO5J/s1600/_48871145_papers.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">Since they (the opposition) lack unity they are practically invisible and thus refer to a different tool of opposing the current government: CORPORATE MEDIA.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">Since 2003 the media giant Clarin Group and La Nacion have been the main and powerful tool of the “invisible opposition” to oppose the current government. Misinformation, lack of objectivity etc. both in Clarin Groups TV News Channels as well as print media is a daily occurrence in Argentina. Needles to say these media giants are well connected and thus use their influence to spread misinformation about the economic situation of the country etc to <i>The Economist</i>, who as long as this government is in power will never write an objective article on Argentina, as well as international mainstream media outlets. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">THE AVERAGE CITIZEN HARDLY HAS THE TIME AND PATIENCE TO ANALYZE AND RESEARCH NEWSPAPER ARTICLE IN ORDER TO FORM AN OBJECTIVE OPINION, SOMETHING MAINSTREAM MEDIA EMPIRES ARE FULLY AWARE OF</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfjOmQU2nHGRZmKjKZswbU6znnGK8k1R0VWTFJLMOOPZzoMiRs6j8s619BtVSVZCtqif6tSrgJlKPc5wulgat5EVeye_3cmB2I2FY6jEaDuepP2KYhUolAJjwy21LpxWrbiX5hxkRBCtz2/s1600/0622_todo_negativo_g.jpg_1121220956.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfjOmQU2nHGRZmKjKZswbU6znnGK8k1R0VWTFJLMOOPZzoMiRs6j8s619BtVSVZCtqif6tSrgJlKPc5wulgat5EVeye_3cmB2I2FY6jEaDuepP2KYhUolAJjwy21LpxWrbiX5hxkRBCtz2/s320/0622_todo_negativo_g.jpg_1121220956.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Todo Noticias news channel belonging to Clarin Croup, reporting predominantly negative news </span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: large;">Needless to say that media giants such as Clarin group, La Nacion and the “invisible</span></span>opposition” are fully aware that the average citizen hardly has the time and patience to analyze and research each article or report these entities print or transmit, nor use alternative information sources to research their claim in order to form one’s own objective opinion. <b>Thus the majority of people of different social and educational background by large absorb and take for grant what Clarin and La Nacion (the two most read dailies in Argentina) “feed” them with.</b> The same goes for their News Channels who are also a manipulative tool to form public opinion. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">IN VIEW OF ABOVE MENTIONED FACTS <i>THE ECONOMIST,</i> WITH THE HELP OF ARGENTINE S INVISIBLE OPPOSITION AND BACKING OF LOCAL MEDIA GIANTS, STRUCK AGAIN WITH ITS LATEST ARGENTINE BASHING ARTICLE:</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">See related article: </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/02/economist-far-cry-from-renowned-and.html"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/02/economist-far-cry-from-renowned-and.html</span></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2011/12/economists-sorry-journalism.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2011/12/economists-sorry-journalism.html</a></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrftReL8kF1YpKtoIW4GrjaMHEE5h3_5spm2wg-47iKTL7u94XGjP0N6Boh88P4SJUYYV_bcvgO_PGy4Wyk55J_FgOYwHfuLwntZGVI7zgr0Pnb7GqAgOb5jEsCaDcZgGUWdoUiXSA98nM/s1600/EconomistOrPropagandist.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrftReL8kF1YpKtoIW4GrjaMHEE5h3_5spm2wg-47iKTL7u94XGjP0N6Boh88P4SJUYYV_bcvgO_PGy4Wyk55J_FgOYwHfuLwntZGVI7zgr0Pnb7GqAgOb5jEsCaDcZgGUWdoUiXSA98nM/s400/EconomistOrPropagandist.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The Economist wrote:</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: red; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Argentina’s economy</span></i></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: red; line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: red; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Piggy bank</span></i></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: red; line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: red; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Rootling around for cash</span></i></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">FOR the past 20 years a plaque has adorned the lobby of Argentina’s Central Bank, proclaiming its “primary and fundamental mission to preserve the value of the currency”. This week the plaque was removed after the country’s Congress approved a government bill that gives the bank a new, wordier mandate: “to promote, to the extent of its ability and in the framework of policies established by the national government, monetary stability, financial stability, jobs and economic growth with social fairness”.</span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Put more simply, the bank has lost the last shred of its legal independence and become the piggy bank of President Cristina Fernández’s government. It can now be required to transfer to the treasury cash equal to 20% of government revenues plus 12% of the money supply; to use its reserves (of $47 billion) at will to pay government debts; and to play a more active role in regulating banks and in steering credit to favoured industries.</span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">After forcing out the bank’s governor, Martín Redrado, in 2010, Ms Fernández has used more than $16 billion of reserves to pay debt, and earmarked $5.7 billion for 2012. But there was a hiccup: under the old law, which dated from the currency board in effect in the 1990s, the government could only spend reserves above the amount needed to back up the stock of pesos in circulation, and it had already exhausted that amount. Rather than “brutal belt-tightening,” as Mercedes Marcó del Pont, Mr Redrado’s replacement, put it, the government changed the law.</span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Ms Fernández, like her husband and predecessor, Néstor Kirchner, has relentlessly pursued economic growth. </span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">This is getting harder. Public finances have fallen into deficit thanks to bloated subsidies used mainly to keep utility and transport tariffs low. As the current-account surplus diminishes, the government has imposed curbs on imports and stricter capital controls. The latest protectionist measure requires buyers of books from foreign websites to collect them personally from the airport and pay a fee of up to $80.</span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The government could now use the Central Bank’s reserves to pay the $9.3 billion it owes to the Paris Club of creditor governments—an obstacle to its being able to tap international capital markets. But the immediate effect of the change in the law has been to stoke worries that inflation will take off, putting pressure on the peso (see chart). The gap between the official exchange rate and the rate in the swap market has widened to nearly 20%. But Ms Marcó del Pont insists that the bank will be “very rigorous” and will not print more pesos than needed. The government’s fairly low debt burden and its strict curbs on capital flight may prevent a rapid collapse of the peso.</span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Another sign of the government’s growing desperation is its bullying of YPF, a unit of Spain’s Repsol. As the former state oil monopoly, YPF tugs at nationalist heartstrings. Government-inspired posters recently went up in Buenos Aires showing YPF’s logo, a map of the Falkland Islands and the statement: “They’re Argentine.”</span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Ms Fernández blames YPF for a fall in output of oil (down 32% since its peak in 1998) and gas (down 10% since 2004). Oilmen blame the government: producers receive just $42 per barrel for exports and around $70 in the domestic market, whereas the world-market price is over $120.</span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Repsol has offered to pay YPF’s 2011 dividend in stock, and not to repatriate profits. But the government wants the dividend paid into a special investment fund. It is not clear whether the president’s aim is renationalisation: she would find it hard to raise the funds, although her threats have depressed YPF’s share price by 14% this year. Six provinces have stripped YPF of oil concessions, but mostly minor ones.</span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">What makes all this perverse is that Argentina sits on possibly the world’s third-biggest reserves of shale hydrocarbons. (<a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/03/argentine-shale-gas-production-could.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/03/argentine-shale-gas-production-could.html</a>)YPF estimates that developing them will cost $25 billion a year for a decade. Not even the Central Bank can provide Ms Fernández with funds like that. But short-term political need, rather than long-term prosperity, is dictating Argentine policy.</span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnNBIvWqOn48YHDHUl2tWP_DHi-1uQv57C3P4MuacGwQsGkjv7YVE6QSuUZN8qNZfjZAlsOwhY8YpRhSRElkhnCcy-IinkoB-16Diha5Zv3bzBv3nxB4DNYdQBG5yVca2YgvuXEodm8Htj/s1600/image_people-together.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnNBIvWqOn48YHDHUl2tWP_DHi-1uQv57C3P4MuacGwQsGkjv7YVE6QSuUZN8qNZfjZAlsOwhY8YpRhSRElkhnCcy-IinkoB-16Diha5Zv3bzBv3nxB4DNYdQBG5yVca2YgvuXEodm8Htj/s400/image_people-together.gif" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; color: blue; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; color: blue; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">FEELING THE PULSE OF THE PEOPLE: – DIFFERENT VIEWS AND OPINIONS REGARDING <i>THE ECONOMISTS</i> ARTICLE</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Wingdings; line-height: 115%;"><span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> <span style="color: red;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">The "independent" European central banks have lead the economy of Europe to a total collapse, whereas the economy of Argentina has been growing at exuberant rates in the last few years. Why is Argentinean government wrong?</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Wingdings; line-height: 115%;"><span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">  </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">Argentina has been growing at fast pace for almost 10 years with what <i>The Economist</i> calls "short term policies, cheap tricks, lies, etc.<br />How many years of nonstop growth does it take for <i>The Economist</i> to call Argentina's growth a solid sustainable growth?</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Wingdings; line-height: 115%;"><span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">  </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">IMF measured the GDP growth of Argentina taking into consideration their own private sources to measure inflation. And the number they came up with was 8.6% of solid growth for 2011. 2012 economic outlook indicates that  the economy will probably grow "<b>only 7%"</b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Wingdings; line-height: 115%;"><span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">  </span></span><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">THE ECONOMIST</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">is unleashing an ideological battle of words.<br />In the US the infrastructure is decaying. Potholes are cropping out in highways and expressways. Refineries are shutting down driving gas prices to 5 dollars a gallon. Sick people are getting kicked out of hospitals. There are tons of men, women and children in the streets begging for money.<br />But hey, at least nobody is lying about the inflation in the US</span></span></div><div style="color: black;"><br /></div>

ARGENTINA: A COUNTRY WITHOUT VISIBLE POLITICAL OPPOSITION.

ARGENTINE’S "INVISIBLE OPPOSITION", CONSISTING OF SELF - SEEKING ONE MAN SHOWS, WHO USE CORPORATE MEDIA TO OPPOSE THE GOVERNMENT Since the Kirchners’ (Center left) took rein back in 2003, their “unorthodox” but successful governing of Argentina infur…

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