AGRICULTURE ought to be Argentina’s strength. Instead, incessant intervention has turned it into a source of weakness. The government has meddled in wheat production since 2006 by raising export taxes and setting export quotas. This interference, defended by the government as “protecting the tables” of Argentine consumers, has simply discouraged farmers from planting the crop.The interventions show no sign of stopping. Last year’s unexpectedly poor wheat harvest caused the price of bread Read more [...]

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentina's government says consumer prices rose 10.9 percent during 2013, but private economic analysts say inflation really was more than twice that.The inflation figure was reported Wednesday by the INDEC national statistics institute, which has been accused by economists of tweaking the numbers.This is the last inflation measurement by the INDEC before a new method to calculate consumer prices under the supervision of the International Monetary Read more [...]

MEXICO CITY – Renowned Argentine poet Juan Gelman died at his residence in Mexico City, people close to the family told Efe. He was 83.“He died peacefully in his home, surrounded by his family ... of an illness called myelodysplastic syndrome,” said a relative who spoke on condition of anonymity.Gelman passed away shortly before 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.“The wake will be Wednesday,” the source said, adding that “there will not be any official ceremony.”The Argentine government declared three Read more [...]