Macri's money laundering abatement director worked in IMF & law firm tied to Nazi money laundering

Argentine President Mauricio Macri nominated Mariano Federici, a lawyer who works for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to head the Financial Information Unit (UIF), the office in charge of investigating money laundering.

Federici’s proposed number two is María Eugenia Talerico, a member of the conservative lawyers' organization Será Justicia, which has a history of initiating politically-motivated lawsuits against officials in the administration of former President Cristina Kirchner; these lawsuits, though ruled frivolous in each case by the courts, were highly publicized at the time by the media.

The move comes less than a week after current UIF Director José Sbatella stepped down at Macri’s request even though his term was not scheduled to expire until 2018. Under Sbatella's tenure, Argentina was removed from the Financial Action Task Force's 'gray list' of countries with money laundering problems - making it one of the few countries to have improved their standing in recent years.

Federici, 42, studied Law at the Argentine Catholic University (UCA) and has a master at the University of Virginia. At the IMF, he has worked as an adviser for the Latin America and the Caribbean division. He participated in numerous investigations into money laundering in Peru and Uruguay.

Between 2001 and 2002, Federici also worked for Sullivan & Cromwell, an international law firm based in New York.

Sullivan & Cromwell gained notoriety during the period around World War II for serving as legal counsel, through its managing partner Allen Dulles, for Brown Brothers at the height of their money laundering activities for the Nazi Party, Krupp (the top Nazi weapons manufacturer), and I.G. Farben (the German chemical company which produced the Zyklon B gas used in concentration camps); as partner at Sullivan, Dulles signed his letters to Nazi officials with “Heil Hitler.” Other notable Sullivan & Cromwell clients at the time included United Fruit (which later called on Dulles to overthrow duly elected Guatemalan President Jacobo Arbenz) and Prescott Bush, who used Dulles' services at Sullivan to hide proceeds from Nazi banking activities instead of divesting them as government regulators had required.

At: http://buenosairesherald.com/article/205102/eximf-official-to-head-moneylaundering-unit

Macri's devaluation could have major impact on Argentine prices.

The decision to lift currency restrictions announced yesterday, and where precisely the exchange rate will settle after trading begins today, could have a major impact on prices. Prices have in fact already risen since the November 22 runoff in light of President Mauricio Macri’s repeated pledges to undo the Kirchner-era policy of limiting access to U.S. dollars and maintaining a crawling-peg devaluation.

While official inflation estimates have not been released for November, prices since then for certain basic goods have spiked between 20 to 30% according to major consumer union and business chambers. Supermarkets and retailers have already been bracing for what many believed would be a sharp devaluation of the peso once Macri took office.

Finance Minister Alfonso Prat-Gay said yesterday during the announcement that “the law of the jungle would not apply to consumer prices” following any shifts in the exchange rate in today’s trading. But announcements that beef exports will no longer have any kind of restrictions sent prices soaring before Macri took office, with some reporting increases of 30%; the cut of meat known as asado would be priced between 100 and 130 pesos a kilo ($3 to $4 a pound) during the summer holidays. The mid-range cut is a standard on Argentine grills. Agriculture Minister Ricardo Buryaile said on Monday that the government would “try” to bring prices back to what they were in November.

After a series of increases in the price of new automobiles last month (with some reaching as much as 40% over the last model year's basis) auto industry leaders have suggested the a devaluation would not have a major impact in the short-term. Manufacturers of industrial inputs for finished products, however, have already been increasing prices to reflect an exchange rate at 16 pesos to the dollar (rather than at the roughly 10 peso rate prevailing until yesterday).

The price of flour has also jumped by 100%, as producers have expected that increased exports and reduced export duties will result in greater prices for the products. Emilio Majori, who represents bakeries in Buenos Aires Province, said that the price of a 50-kilo wholesale bag of flour for bakery use had jumped from a range of 110-130 pesos to 240-250 pesos after the runoff and that as result bread would likely retail around 30 pesos per kilo (around 50% higher).

Unions have already taken note of the price increases, and Antonio Caló of the UOM metalworkers’ union (the principal union leader within the CGT, Argentina's largest trade federation) has said that the loss of purchasing power will have to be compensated. Caló said last night that his union will be seeking a 5,000 peso end-of-year bonus in light of what he expects to be a 50% devaluation. Even Hotel and Restaurant Union leader Luis Barrionuevo, who endorsed Macri, is now demanding a 50% raise.

Whether a devaluation would affect the price of consumer goods emerged as a sharp debate ahead of the presidential runoff, with economists supporting center-left candidate Daniel Scioli insisting it would while right-wing economists supporting Mauricio Macri contending companies had already adjusted the prices of their products according to the black-market exchange rate. Scioli was narrowly defeated by Macri in the runoff.

“What (Macri’s economists) are arguing is that 'if food is not imported then why would it be made more expensive by a devaluation?' But the problem is that most basic goods can also be sold abroad. A bottle of cooking oil costs 10 pesos in an Argentine supermarket and one dollar abroad; but a sudden devaluation would mean that now a producer can get 15 pesos for that same bottle by selling it in Europe, for instance. Why would he then keep selling it at 10 pesos here?” said Daniel Scioli’s chief economic adviser Miguel Bein.

At: http://buenosairesherald.com/article/205128/measure-could-have-major-impact-on-prices
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A real windfall for dollar hoarders though - including Finance Minister Prat-Gay himself. http://www.democraticunderground.com/110845605

Argentine Finance Minister announces end of currency controls and devaluation.

Argentine Finance Minister Alfonso Prat Gay is expected to announce during a press conference to be held at 6 pm the implementation of two campaign promises by right-wing candidate Mauricio Macri: the lifting of dollar restrictions and a devaluation of up to 50% he refers to as "exchange rate unification."

President Mauricio Macri had already announced he would start lifting restrictions this week to access to U.S. dollars that had been imposed by the previous administration nearly four years ago. He has not specified the speed at which he will lift the restrictions.

Freeing capital controls will likely weaken the official peso exchange rate. Sources said they expect a speculative selloff to weaken the exchange rate to between 13.5 and 15 pesos to the dollar, versus the current rate of 9.83.

At: http://buenosairesherald.com/article/205080/end-of-currency-controls-to-be-announced-today
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The "Finance" Minister, of course, is the same one holding millions in put options against the peso in a Swiss account (confirmed by Swissleaks). http://www.democraticunderground.com/110845605

This, then. isn't so much a devaluation as it is his writing a check to himself - at everyone else's expense: http://www.democraticunderground.com/110845684

Open letter by Argentine musician Charly García leads to dismissal of openly fascist Macri official

Following the controversy over Security Minister Patricia Bullrich's appointment of an openly fascist writer, Carlos Manfroni, as Secretary of Legislative Affairs (congressional liaison) for the Ministry of Security, sources close to his office confirmed that he has resigned.

Manfroni, who had also been recently denounced by Security Ministry employees for his alleged persecution on account of employees' "political, trade union, and ideological affiliations," resigned following a public outcry over his openly fascist magazine columns - and in particular after an open letter addressed to the Macri administration by Argentine rock musician Charly García.

García, one of the best known singer/songwriters in Argentine rock since 1973, reminded Manfroni in the letter that they had once met when the latter attended a performance of his in the Opera House and that they got on well. "If you think we (rock musicians) are all animals, perverts, drug addicts, homosexuals, etc. - and some of us are," García wrote, "do me a favor - for me, and all those who work for the love of the art and do so with the best intentions: tell me, what is it about public office that ruins some people?"

"I deserve an apology. I sang of dinosaurs, and I fought against the dictatorship and against assholes who are against the French Revolution, John Lennon, and love," he said, in reference to Manfroni's past columns on the anti-Semitic monthly Cabildo condemning all three as "filthy, satanic, and masturbation," respectively.

"Don't count on me to support simpletons. I feel that the fight was in vain; but we will still put out our music and lyrics, just as we did in those dark times."

At: https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=es&u=http://www.politicargentina.com/notas/201512/10479-finalmente-patricia-bullrich-dio-vuelta-atras-con-el-polemico-ministro-de-seguridad.html&prev=search

And: https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=es&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.politicargentina.com%2Fnotas%2F201512%2F10466-la-carta-abierta-de-charly-garcia-a-hernan-lombardi.html
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A little more about Manfroni: http://www.democraticunderground.com/110846152

Warren Buffett to give stamp of approval to Hillary Clinton.

Source: Las Vegas Sun

When billionaire investor Warren Buffett joins a rally Wednesday with Hillary Clinton in Omaha, Nebraska, a question humming in the background will be whether Buffett, one of the world's premier investors, will throw more of his fortune behind her candidacy than he's been comfortable spending in politics in the past. In either case, his public appearance with Clinton is aimed at offering his stamp of approval to the Democrat's economic message of inclusive capitalism and toughness against Wall Street excess. He will also join Clinton at a private fundraiser.

With Buffett by her side, Clinton planned to offer her support for the so-called "Buffett rule" pushed by the Obama administration, which has sought higher taxes on the wealthy, but would say the next administration must go even further to ensure the wealthiest Americans pay their fair share, said a Clinton aide who spoke on condition of anonymity to preview her remarks. The aide said Clinton would announce more steps next year to build upon the Buffett rule and ensure the effective tax rate paid by millionaires reflects a fair tax system.

Democrats say Buffett carries a rare dual appeal on Wall Street and Main Street. The investment guru's annual shareholder meeting is dubbed "Woodstock for Capitalists" and drew an overflow crowd of more than 40,000 people from around the globe in the spring.

The "Oracle of Omaha" has referred to Clinton as a "hero of mine" and predicted last year that she would succeed President Barack Obama, whom he also supported. "I will bet money on it," he said. "And I don't do that easily."

Read more: http://lasvegassun.com/news/2015/dec/16/famed-investor-warren-buffett-to-give-stamp-of-app/

Macri leaves ESMA concentration camp site w/o maintenance or grounds staff; fires 2,000 caretakers.

The University of Buenos Aires School of Architecture and Urban Planning (FADU) reported today that effective December 18, the Ministry of Social Development will have terminated the 2,000 employees contracted under the Kirchner administration's Argentina Works program for the refurbishment, maintenance, and groundskeeping of the ESMA Human Rights Memorial Site.

Located in Buenos Aires' upscale Núñez district near the northern end of the city and coveted by developers since the 1990s, the 37-acre site includes nearly 900,000 ft² of buildings. It was originally built in the late 1920s as the Argentine Navy Mechanics School but was used in the late 1970s as the largest of around 300 detention and concentration camps for the Dirty War; an estimated 5,000 were killed at the ESMA.

Upon being informed of the news, the cooperative employing the 2,000 affected workers demonstrated peacefully in front of the ESMA site along Libertador Avenue and with heavy police presence.

The protesters also made public the notification to that effect received from the Social Development Ministry. The letter stated that "with the change of administrations (the December 10 inaugural of right-wing President Mauricio Macri) a series of steps are being taken," without any further explanation or indications that maintenance at the ESMA site will continue.

Most of the employees at the cooperative are women. The contract resulted from an agreement between the FADU (which oversees all work), the Ministry of Human Rights, and the Ministry of Social Development. Their work, according to ESMA officials, "allowed for the successful cooperation between the community, human rights organizations, and the State to have a place for truth, memory, and justice, and for the public to know Argentina's tragic recent history that we may consolidate the rights secured under democracy."

The site, which houses museums and numerous human rights institutes, was opened to the public in 2008 and formally inaugurated by President Cristina Kirchner on May 19, 2015. It received over 225,000 visitors last year.

At: https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=es&u=http://www.telam.com.ar/notas/201512/130202-ex-esma-despidos-cooperativistas-protesta.html&prev=search
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ESMA Memorial Site: http://www.espaciomemoria.ar/mapa.php

Macri bypasses Congress to appoint two Supreme Court justices by decree (first since 1862).

Argentine President Mauricio Macri appointed "by commission" (decree) two new members to the Argentine Supreme Court. No democratically elected Argentine president had appointed a Supreme Court justice by decree since Bartolomé Mitre in 1862.

The move raised eyebrows in both Congress and judiciary, since the constitutional mechanism for the appointment of Supreme Court justices in Argentina must be done with the advice and consent of the Senate. Macri is instead making use of Article 99, paragraph 19 of the Constitution, which empowers the president to "fill vacancies for jobs requiring the consent of the Senate, if the Senate is in recess, by means of appointments on commission expiring at the end of the next Congress." While Congress in Argentina is officially in recess from December 1 to March 1, Argentine presidents can (and typically do) call recess sessions if especially significant legislation is on the table; Macri announced over the weekend that he plans to rule entirely by decree until the next Congress convenes on March 1.

The two justices appointed by decree, Carlos Rosenkrantz and Horacio Rosatti, will serve until November 30, 2016, unless the Senate ratifies them.

The Supreme Court has had a vacancy for a year since Justice Raúl Zaffaroni resigned at the end of 2014 due to reaching the court's mandatory retirement age of 75. President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner's nominee to replace him, Roberto Carlés, enjoyed broad support from the Senate initially; but he never received the necessary two-thirds approval in the Senate due to a political pact among the opposition caucuses to block any Supreme Court justices until the next administration. Carlés' nomination was ultimately withdrawn in April. A second vacancy emerged when 97-year-old Carlos Fayt, the most conservative member of the Court, retired last Friday. Fayt, who was exempt from the age limit of 75 by a grandfather clause, waited until the day after Macri was sworn in to retire.

Macri's broad interpretation of his constitutional decree powers met with opposition from most Argentine constitutional lawyers interviewed regarding the controversy.

Speaking to University of Córdoba radio, constitutional lawyer Miguel Rodriguez Villafañe explained that Article 99/19 harkens back to an era when a legislator from a distant province often took weeks to reach Congress for an extraordinary session during the recess period. The president was thus empowered to fill such vacancies in those circumstances. "Today," he pointed out, "the president's office can make phone calls and gather all the senators within ten hours. Macri chose the shortcut instead."

For this reason, Villafañe Rodriguez said it is "urgent that Congress convene itself and exercise its own powers, lest by March next year the Judiciary be completely overrun and Congress itself be hamstrung by the many decrees that are already being implemented."

Former UCR Congressman Ricardo Gil Lavedra, one of the presiding judges in the historic 1985 Trial of the Juntas, condemend President Mauricio Macri’s decree. “It is a mistake and it’s a pity because we all count on institutional normality,” he told reporters today in an interview with the Radio 10 station.

“It is politically understandable why he wanted to bypass Congress; it buys him a year to negotiate other issues,” he conceded. “It is, however, a mistake and sets a very sinister precedent because future presidents will now name judges and justices during summer recess.”

Constitutional lawyer Andrés Gil Domínguez considered Macri’s decree “an exception that can only be applied in a situation of verifiable urgency. Today, we are not in such a situation.” He added that “considering the promises of consensus that he (Macri) touted during the campaign, it is important he reviews this measure."

“These decrees," Gil Domínguez concluded, "do harm to the nation's institutions.”

At: https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=es&u=http://www.cba24n.com.ar/content/macri-se-saltea-al-congreso-y-nombra-dos-jueces-de-la-corte&prev=search

And: http://buenosairesherald.com/article/205015/constitutional-lawyers-say-macris-decree-a-serious-mistake

43 Argentine Gendarmes killed in bus crash were on a political mission ordered by Security Minister.

The tragedy occurred early this morning when one of the three buses carrying a contingent of National Guard (Gendarmerie) troops from Santiago del Estero to Jujuy had a tire blowout on a bridge on National Route 34 and fell on the Seco River, 20 kilometers from the small Salta Province town of Rosario de la Frontera.

Security Minister Patricia Bullrich confirmed that the officers killed in the tragedy had been mobilized to Jujuy Province on her orders to suppress possible protests Governor Gerardo Morales (a Macri ally) feared for tomorrow as a result of what may be a highly unpopular austerity announcement.

The Governor of Salta, Juan Manuel Urtubey, confirmed the death toll of 43 (out of 51 passengers) and that only one of the wounded, transferred to a hospital in Tucumán, is in critical condition. "This is a disaster; it was inevitable. I would like to embrace the National Guard," said President Mauricio Macri, who was with the Minister of National Security, Patricia Bullrich, in the accident area.

This morning, President Macri conveyed his "sincere condolences to all the families" of the deceased after a political rally in the corn-belt city of Pergamino (Buenos Aires Province) in which he announced tax cuts for exporters.

The investigation is now being overseen by Rosario de la Frontera Chief Prosecutor Oscar López Ibarra, who worked at the scene along with volunteer firefighters and forensic investigators from the Provincial Police Corps. López ordered that the body of driver be transferred to the San Bernardo Hospital morgue, in the city of Salta, for an autopsy.

At: https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=es&u=http://www.pagina12.com.ar/diario/ultimas/20-288239-2015-12-14.html&prev=search
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At least they died for a "good cause."



Who you gonna call, Governor? More National Guard?

Macri's Security Minister appoints fascist ideologue Carlos Manfroni as chief congressional liaison

Argentine President Mauricio Macri's Security Minister, Patricia Bullrich, appointed the openly fascist writer and academic Carlos Manfroni as the Ministry's new Secretary of Legislative Affairs. The appointment has not only created controversy in itself, Manfroni personally has also now been denounced by employees at the Security Ministry for creating "persecution on account of political, trade union, and ideological affiliations."

Manfroni, 62, is well-known in Argentina as a far-right Catholic ideologue. He is a vocal opponent of ongoing trials for crimes against humanity and has written numerous apologist works exalting the Dirty War. He first made news in 2012 for helping organize the right-wing cacerolazo protests against a rumored bid on President Cristina Kirchner's part for a third term (something she never sought). Manfroni also runs a tax-exempt "foundation for public ethics" and teaches a course on the subject at the Argentina Catholic University; the course is sponsored by the U.S. Embassy.

Manfroni has recently been columnist for the far-right newspaper La Nación, and during the 1976-83 military dictatorship contributed to the extremist, anti-Semitic monthly Cabildo.

Some of Manfroni's statements over the year have included:

Democracy and freedom are products of the filthy French Revolution, which, worse still, fabricated the idea of love of humanity - pure intellectual masturbation.

It is a heresy to think that authority rises from the bottom up; indeed, in the organization of the Church, power descends from the top down.

Liberalism is an infectious disease

Progressivism carries the stigma of Jewish and Masonic temporalism. The materialistic Jewish people instruct the children of Zion to seek power.

Rock is the most subversive, anti-Christian, and countercultural artistic movement of all time. The intemperate pace exacerbates passions and creates a hypnotic state of brainwashing "Satanic messages," Manfroni assured, "can be heard when you play certain songs backwards such as 'Empty Spaces' by Pink Floyd."

The 'philosophy' of Rock leads to the desperate desire for death and leads to suicide, as evidenced by the lyrics. It offers the possibility of becoming an animal or a sissy. One of the greatest exponents of Satanism is the group Kiss, whose members use make-up in a diabolical way. They, like many others, are homosexuals and drug addicts.

Artists are parasites on society, and useless to all men of goodwill. They're spoiled Marxist children.

Any distortion of culture, he concludes, "should be considered subversive and as such eradicated."

Macri signs decree rescinding compulsory high school and cutting education budget by up to half.

Argentine President Mauricio Macri signed Decree 13/2015 on Saturday, which replaces the Ministry of Education with a Ministry of Education and Sports.

The decree, however, signed without congressional approval, also includes a provision rescinding the 2005 Education Financing Law - which established that investment in education should be no less than 6% of GDP - as well as the 2006 National Education Law, which made high school compulsory to grade 12 and restructured the educational system with the goal of reducing grade retention and dropouts; both laws have met or exceeded their respective goals. The decree likewise rescinded the 2005 Technical Education Law and the 2006 Law on Sexual Education, with no congressional review.

Speaking in his first meeting with the five leading teachers' unions, Education Minister Esteban Bullrich said it was a "mistake" and assured union leaders that legal counsel had been instructed to modify it.

Eduardo López, secretary of CTERA (the largest teachers' union in Argentina), warned however that "Bullrich's word is not enough; Macri must sign the modification. We demand the president modify the decree, and stop using decrees to circumvent laws such as those governing National Education and Audiovisual Communication Services (media anti-trust law)." Congress has also expressed concern, and has announced that a panel will be formed to address the controversy if Macri does not act quickly.

Given the scope of Decree 13/2015, which Macri signed with his ministers, the only way to rectify what the Education Minister alleged to be a "mistake," would be to urgently issue a new decree remedying Decree 13; President Macri has yet to do so. "Absent these changes," said López, "we can not discuss other things with the minister. This decree would have dire implications that would cause the immediate mobilization of the entire educational community. Given the seriousness of the issue, it will be the first point we'll discuss with the minister at our meeting next week."

Former Education Minister Daniel Filmus explained that "the decree for the new Ministry of Education and Sports is based on Menem-era laws. That the laws on National Education, Technical Education, and Education Financing, which were voted in Congress almost unanimously, be substituted by decree for the very laws they replaced is incomprehensible."

"The framework of the decree, hidden in Article 23.c, is the 1992 Federal Educational Pact and the Federal Law of Education, which effectively shifted the educational budgetary burden to the provinces. The Federal Education Law, for example, did not contemplate primary, secondary and technical schools (only grade levels); nor did it require pre-school education at age 5, Filmus pointed out. "The decree would also abrogate the requirement that the educational budgets be at least 6% of GDP, which would inevitably halve the budget to 3% of GDP," Filmus added, in reference to the budget levels prevailing until the 2005 Education Financing Act.

CTERA Secretary López recalled that "even before taking office, Macri had made the questionable decision of allowing Bullrich to designate television producer Juan Cruz Ávila as Secretary of University Policy; but the widespread repudiation this caused in academia led him to retrace his steps. This new setback, which has the new president as the protagonist, is vastly more serious."

At: https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=es&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.politicargentina.com%2Fnotas%2F201512%2F10424-criticas-de-la-comunidad-educativa-al-decreto-que-modifico-el-ministerio-de-educacion.html