by El Reportero wire services
The Government of Argentina agreed with supermarket chains to apply a 20 percent discount to a list of mass consumption goods.
The Argentine supermarket chains launched the ‘Differentiated Prices’ program this Tuesday, after reaching an agreement with the Government of Javier Milei to maintain, on a provisional basis, a 20 percent discount on a list of mass consumption products.
The ‘Red Súper Argentinos’, made up of the Argentine Chamber of Supermarkets (CAS) and the Argentine Federation of Supermarkets and Self-Services (FASA), reported that the products designated for the basic basket will be available from this Wednesday, December 27 and for 60 days in all the country.
La Red announced the program after a series of meetings with the Argentine Secretary of Commerce, Pablo Lavigne, and the Undersecretary of Consumer Defense, Fernando Blanco Muiño.
However, this is a private sector initiative, which until now has not been announced by the ‘libertarian’ Government. From a discursive point of view, President Milei was always against price control policies and in favor of letting them “self-regulate” through the logic of supply and demand.
Continuity or free market?
However, the Differentiated Prices program appears to be the replacement for the Care Prices and Fair Prices programs, applied by the Government of Alberto Fernández to try to contain, without success, an inflation that exceeded 160 percent year-on-year in November.
Unlike the previous ones, this agreement, of which no further details were offered, covers a much more limited list of products than the previous ones, which exceeded 1,700 items. Furthermore, as supermarket chambers clarified, it does not imply a “freezing” of prices.
“In this new stage, without price controls, freezes and other forms of State intervention, businessmen contribute, voluntarily and temporarily, so that the inflationary scourge affects the purchasing power of consumers to a lesser extent,” said the Red Súper Argentinos in a statement.
“In this way, Argentine supermarkets reaffirm their permanent commitment to the country and the consequent support for the current management, offering essential products at very convenient prices for their customers,” says the released note.
The list would cover sugar, grass, noodles, flour, oil, salty and sweet cookies, eggs, milk, bread, legumes, tomato puree and dulce de leche. Also soft drinks, tea, cooked mate, toilet paper, toilet soap, bleach, kitchen rolls and detergent.
After winning the elections, the current president, Javier Milei, recognized that in the first months of his Government, which has already begun to apply a harsh adjustment, there will be a situation of “stagflation”, but he promised to “finish it” in two years at most. with skyrocketing inflation, a chronic problem in Argentina.
López Obrador confirms that his last year of government will be dedicated to the revolutionary Felipe Carrillo
The president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, confirmed this Tuesday that 2024, the last year of his government, will be dedicated to the Yucatecan politician, journalist and revolutionary Felipe Carrillo Puerto, murdered on January 3, 1924.
“He was with (Emiliano) Zapata, he was a revolutionary and then he governed Yucatán and he governed for the poor, for the indigenous people; education and the participation of women in public life were greatly promoted. And it is history, it is legend in Yucatán, in the people of Yucatán, so that is why we are going to dedicate the last year of the government to him,” López Obrador said in his morning press conference.
Jeanine Áñez and Fernando Camacho are formally accused in the context of the ‘Coup d’état I’ case in Bolivia
In Bolivia, the Public Ministry presented a formal accusation, requesting between 15 and 20 years in prison for eight of those involved in the ‘Coup d’état I’ case. The governor of the department of Santa Cruz, Luis Fernando Camacho, the former president Jeanine Áñez, among other officials, are accused of the alleged crime of terrorism. Furthermore, the agency indicated that the penalty must be proportional to the degree of involvement of each accused.
