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Monday, September 7, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
ARGENTINA: The Unemployed Movement – Fragmented but Active
Although Argentina's unemployed movement is more fragmented than ever, it has made the headlines again in recent weeks with marches, roadblocks, and occupations of public buildings, foreign-owned businesses and ticket booths that have received heavy coverage by the local media.ECONOMY-ARGENTINA: Fast as a Speeding Tugboat
Argentina's economy has taken off in the past 18 months, after an extended period of stagnation and total collapse in 2001. But now experts warn that growth will slow down and measures must be taken to avoid a bumpy landing.ARGENTINA: Privatisation of Trains Derailed
The privatisation of Argentina's railways was a slick business deal in the 1990s for the companies that began to run the train service with subsidies from the state.ARGENTINA: Provincial Gov’t Auctions Off Nature Reserve for Farming
Despite criticisms from environmental organisations and legal complaints filed by indigenous groups, the government of the northwestern Argentine province of Salta broke up a 20,000-hectare nature reserve into plots and auctioned it off Thursday to farming and ranching companies.TRADE-ARGENTINA: President Heads to China to Boost Ties
Argentine President Néstor Kirchner and 200 business leaders from South America's Mercosur trade bloc begin a visit to China next Monday, with the aim of expanding exports, now based on soybeans, to industrial products and services.CULTURE-ARGENTINA: Spanish, the Divided Language
Academics, writers, artists and social organisations in Argentina defend linguistic diversity and accuse the Royal Spanish Academy of trying to ''appropriate'' the Spanish language.SCIENCE-ARGENTINA: New Findings Even After ‘Decade of the Brain’
The treatments for diseases like schizophrenia, depression, bipolar disorder and epilepsy could see improvements as a result of an important finding by an Argentine scientist: nerve cell function is not determined by genetics alone and can be altered using certain stimuli.LABOUR-ARGENTINA: Miners Suffocated by Negligence
This week's fire in a coal mine in southern Argentina left seven dead and seven missing. But it was a foreseeable tragedy, because for the past decade, the miners had been denouncing their employer for corruption and maintenance and security flaws.ARGENTINA: Energy Crisis – Gov’t Upbeat, Experts Still Worried
While the Argentine government is optimistic that its measures aimed at tackling the country's severe energy crisis have largely brought the situation under control, experts who talked to IPS warn that the system is operating at the limit of its capacity, and without any margin for unforeseen problems.RIGHTS-ARGENTINA: Officer Gives Testimony on the Descent into Horror
An active duty army officer in Argentina made an unprecedented confession of his participation in executing political prisoners during the 1976-1983 military dictatorship, providing graphic details that human rights lawyers described as extremely significant.ARGENTINA: Joining the Big Leagues in Spanish Language Training
Three public universities in Argentina have joined together to offer their own exam to assess and certify the Spanish language proficiency of non-native speakers, with the backing of the Education Ministry - a move that will make this country an even more attractive destination for ''language tourism''.FINANCE-ARGENTINA: Small Creditors Dissatisfied but Persistent
The local creditors of Argentina's public debt saw the debt they held declared in default 29 months ago and now are seeing progress in the restructuring offer the government presented Tuesday, but they are upset because they will be treated just like the so-called "vulture funds".ARGENTINA: Soy Steadily Encroaches on Indigenous Land, Forest Reserves
''They're like the devil, they come to alter the peace and to break off our roots, but we will be human shields in defence of our land,'' says Ramón Ferreira, a small farmer in Argentina fighting the steady expansion of soy crops.ARGENTINA: Benetton Wins, Mapuches Lose
"Laws are for the ‘huincas' (whites). For us, democracy has not yet arrived," Mauro Millán, an indigenous leader from southern Argentina told IPS after a court ruling that reinstated to the Italian business group Benetton 300 hectares of land claimed by a Mapuche Indian family.ENVIRONMENT: Climate Change Poses Bigger Threat to Developing Nations
Climate change experts say global warming resulting from the accumulation of greenhouse gases will not have an equal impact on all countries, but will especially hurt the poorest nations, either in terms of direct effects or due to their more limited capacity to deal with the changes.ARGENTINA: Glowing One-Year Reviews for Kirchner
Although analysts in Argentina might differ with one aspect or another of the administration of President Néstor Kirchner, there is virtually universal agreement that in his first year in office he has successfully restored the credibility of the political system, which was shot to pieces by his predecessors over the past decade./ARTS WEEKLY/ CULTURE-LATIN AMERICA: Voice for the Voiceless
It's the antithesis of contests that manufacture musical stars to feed the commercial entertainment circuit - it couldn't be any other way if the idea comes from Argentine pianist Miguel Angel Estrella, UNESCO goodwill ambassador.ARGENTINA: Gas Supply Cutoffs Threaten Economic Recovery, Jobs
When gas company representatives showed up at the Maffisa synthetic thread factory in Argentina to cut off the fuel supply, the workers were ready./ARTS WEEKLY/ BOOKS-ARGENTINA: Señor Borges and the Maid
The great Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges may well have laughed to learn that a woman who never read his work has published a critically acclaimed book about his life. "El señor Borges" is the testimony of the housekeeper who looked after him for more than 35 years.ARGENTINA: Consumer Defence Groups Rebel Against Planned Gas Hikes
A public hearing called to discuss an increase in the price of natural gas in Argentina, already agreed by the government and private energy companies, was abruptly cut short Thursday under pressure from consumer defence activists and lawmakers, who said President Néstor Kirchner was ''extorted'' by oil companies demanding a price hike.LATIN AMERICA: Mercosur Trade Bloc Does Not Fear EU Expansion
Like an ad that tempts customers with a bonus gift, South America's Mercosur trade bloc is welcoming the incorporation of 10 new countries into the European Union (EU) at a time when the two blocs are close to reaching an agreement on a free trade accord that has been in the works for nine years.« Previous Page — Next Page »
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