[from Pete Kofod, 30 March 2011]
I flew Aerosur roundtrip from Miami, through Santa Cruz, Bolivia, to Salta, & returned the same way I came. The experience was largely without incident. Aerosur is a smaller airline, compared to other national carriers like American, Aerolineas, and LAN. To the best of my understanding, their only US destination is Miami, and I believe they serve the route 4-5 times per week. The flight is a red-eye in both directions, leaves around 11 PM, and lands 5:30 the following morning.
The only drawback was the 9 hour layover in Santa Cruz (both times), but the Internet was fast, the food good, and the atmosphere very relaxed, so I only considered it a minor inconvenience. The airport has modern regional airport feel to it with a gentle stream of business people and backpackers passing through the terminal throughout the day.
It is clear that the US DEA heavily subsidizes law enforcement in Bolivia. On my return to the US, my carryon bags were inspected with the ardor typically reserved for forensic scientists with OCD. This level of personalized attention was extended to everyone flying in to the US, not just yours truly. The poor chap next to me had his bag of trail mix opened and sampled. Ah yes, the War on Drugs. We may not be winning, but we can sure blow a bunch of money in the process.
Aerosur's website is a hopeless mess. It goes down continuously, and when by chance it happens to be available to the public, it provides no useful information. In the days leading up to my travel, I found myself hoping that the level of effort put to website management was not reflective of Aerosur's commitment to keeping its fleet safely maintained. Thankfully, my fears were unfounded. On my flight down, there were many Brazilians on board. Apparently it is cheaper to fly from Miami through Santa Cruz to Sao Paulo than to catch the direct flight.
I booked my reservation through travelocity, but later found the best prices at cheapOair (yes, that is the name of the company). Miami - Salta roundtrip is $750 or about $200 less than I paid. Because Aerosur doesn't fly to/from Miami every day, I entered a travel window of +/- 3 days for both departure and return to make sure the flight showed up in the search listing.
The onboard service was OK. The flight attendants were competent and polite. The meal was good, but certainly not memorable. Apparently, the service delivery model is to feed you and put you to sleep, so bring a DVD player if you want to watch a movie. I, for one, was exhausted from a week of revelry in Cafayate, so I succumbed to Morpheus' advances shortly after dinner.
On balance, I find the Aerosur option far more attractive than flying through Buenos Aires and will probably do it again, even with the whole family (my kids are 10 and 13). Candelaria indicated that Aerosur honors its Latin American relationship to punctuality and as such may not be an ideal choice for first time visitors arriving from the US or Canada. That said, the ability to check luggage from Miami directly to Salta, not having to deal with the Ezeiza-Aeroparque transfer, and shaving about four hours of flight time makes it my choice for the time being.
As a final note of interest, the Aerosur magazine showed a flight from Santa Cruz to Tucuman. I was unable to find the flight anywhere else, including on their dysfunctional website, though I will keep my eyes peeled for it.
One more observation: the immigrations desk at Salta airport does not charge US/Canadians/Brits the reciprocal visa fee. When I landed with the Tessaris, the immigration official just stamped their passport and waved them through. As Canadians they are supposed to pay every time, yet there wasn't even a booth to collect the fee like there is in Ezeiza. Sometimes inefficiency plays in your favor!
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Carlos de Inglaterra y Camilla dando vueltas por España
Seguramente habrán venido a invitar a nuestra familia real, a la boda de su hijo Guillermo.
Al menos eso es lo que hacen los padres de un futuro matrimonio, ir a los conocidos a entregarles la invitación en propia mano para asegurarse que no se pierde el cartoncito que lleva el número de cuenta corriente y el banco, a donde los invitados tienen que aflojar la pasta.
A mi me molesta ya ir de boda más que ir de entierro.
Si te invitan a una boda tienes que hipotecar la casa para quedar bien, y los entierros son gratis, a lo más tienes que llorar un poco, y eso embellece los ojos.
El principe Felipe le ha recordado a Charles de Gales que la selección de fútbol española, es la actual campeona del mundo, por si se le había olvidado pensando en la cerradura de Madrid.
¿Y esta visita quien la paga?....
Gorbachov su 80 cumpleaños , en Londres
Mijaíl Gorbachov nació el 2 de marzo de 1931 en Privolnoye, pero se acordaron ayer de celebrar su 80 cumpleaños.
Se celebró el homenaje por todo lo alto en el Royal Albert Hall de Londres, más parecía una representación de cualquier opera de Verdi que un cumple.
Asistieron muchos famosos, supongo que estarían invitados, a ese tipo de fiestas colarse da vergüenza.
Todos los beneficios que se recaudaron la pasada noche en la celebración de su cumpleños serán donados a la organización Macmillan Cancer Support y al Instituto Infantil Raisa Gorbachova de Transplantología y Hematología con sede en San Petersburgo.
Solo nos queda desearle a Don Gorba que cumpla muchos más...y que nosotros lo veamos.
FUENTE:Gorbachov festeja su 80 cumpleaños
Andy Warhol volvió a Nueva York
Pero esta vez Andy Warhol es una estatua plateada, que parece volver para quedarse, a mi me parece que lleva una maleta en la mano.
De momento la visita es hasta Octubre, aunque si a la gente le gusta igual la estancia es más larga.
Total uno más uno menos por esas calles tan concurridas no se nota.
Andy Warhol, el padre del “pop art” está en Union Square, Nueva York.
El autor de la estatua es Rob Pruit, y el hombre parece muy satisfecho.
A mi como que me resulta indiferente el tal Andy, ni me va ni me viene.
FUENTE:Bienvenido, Mr. Warhol
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Carol & Mike's House Tour
Rudi Goldman asked for a house tour, & Carol & Reg Chappell & Ted Harrison & his wife Louise Andrew came along, too. Rudi video'd it:
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
gringos in Latin America
[from Paco Ignacio Taibo II's Four Hands, tr. Laura C. Dail, St. Martin's Press, 1990]
To be a U.S.-citizen-born-gringo in Latin America is a pastime for the unconscious, economic gangsters, commercial missionaries, radicals on the verge of jubilation, freaks, dreamers or crusaders. They all furnish the continent south of the border with their own demons. They travel with their ghosts. Then there are the others, us dreamers, those who believe there are no borders or countries, just landscapes and song sometimes sung in unknown languages. Of all the monsters who travel south, we are the most dangerous because we believe we don't have the original sin that has to be forgiven; because we rationally think that we are not excessively different, that we can coexist with the natives on fair terms: You give to me, I give to you, you smile at me, I smile at you, even though at night we have nightmares in which half-naked, starving children, the live Latin American ghosts, point their fingers at us.
Going south is, as Malcolm Lowry and Joseph Conrad and Ambrose Bierce knew, a descent into hell itself. Leaving the deceptive North American Paradise, the true hell, the demons attack, they attempt to escape from the skin and gush forth. One knows it when traveling south, one knows the Martians who play Ping-Pong inside our heads. And in the end, one is grateful that it is so and not any other way. Anyone who doesn't have hells will be content to die kneeling in front of a television in a place as ludicrous as Indianapolis.
To be a U.S.-citizen-born-gringo in Latin America is a pastime for the unconscious, economic gangsters, commercial missionaries, radicals on the verge of jubilation, freaks, dreamers or crusaders. They all furnish the continent south of the border with their own demons. They travel with their ghosts. Then there are the others, us dreamers, those who believe there are no borders or countries, just landscapes and song sometimes sung in unknown languages. Of all the monsters who travel south, we are the most dangerous because we believe we don't have the original sin that has to be forgiven; because we rationally think that we are not excessively different, that we can coexist with the natives on fair terms: You give to me, I give to you, you smile at me, I smile at you, even though at night we have nightmares in which half-naked, starving children, the live Latin American ghosts, point their fingers at us.
Going south is, as Malcolm Lowry and Joseph Conrad and Ambrose Bierce knew, a descent into hell itself. Leaving the deceptive North American Paradise, the true hell, the demons attack, they attempt to escape from the skin and gush forth. One knows it when traveling south, one knows the Martians who play Ping-Pong inside our heads. And in the end, one is grateful that it is so and not any other way. Anyone who doesn't have hells will be content to die kneeling in front of a television in a place as ludicrous as Indianapolis.
Vangelis hoy cumple 68 añitos
Evángelos Odiseas Papathanassiou , se cambió el nombre por el de "Vangelis", porque nadie en este mundo, a excepción de los griegos , sabía pronunciarlo.
Nació, por nuestro bien, el 29 de marzo de 1943, en Volos (Grecia), y su música es mucho más internacional y amada que si hubiera nacido en una gran y cosmopolita capital del mundo.
No pongo ningún nombre de capital para que nadie se enfade, he hecho votos de pacifista mientras dure la cuaresma...o hasta que me olvide, cosa muy probable.
En cuanto saque el post a la vista del mundo mundial, ya no recordaré que escribí.
No, a Dios gracias no es Alzeimer, es una manera de protegerme y curarme en salud, no voy a estar dando vueltas a algo que escribí sintiendo en ese momento.
Y que, o no será leído, o se leerá por las próximas Navidades...o las otras.
Escuchar la música de Vangelis es volar hacia el infinito te hace sentir más buena.
Hace que ames hasta a los extraterrestres, aunque prefiero a Harrison Ford.
Felicidades Vangelis , gracias por tu música.
No me gusta escoger ni la mejor película, ni la mejor canción, ni el mejor libro, tengo sitio en mi cabeza para muchos "mejores".
Pero esa BSO de "Blade Runner" y "Carros de fuego" me pueden...
FUENTE:Vangelis - Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre
Brazil's new tax
[from MercoPress, 29 March 2011]
Brazil plans to tax local corporations overseas bond issues, says financial media
The Brazilian government is planning to impose a financial operations tax on overseas bond issues by Brazilian companies, local financial daily Valor Economico reported Monday.
The tax is part of a government drive to reduce U.S. dollar inflows and arrest the appreciation of the Brazilian Real against the U.S. dollar. The Real has gained 45% against the dollar over the past two years, hurting exports.
According to the newspaper, which cited an unnamed person close to the government, officials are also concerned about a recent increase in dollar-denominated debt among Brazilian companies. The government is planning to impose a financial operations tax of 6% on such operations.
In the first two months of the year, local companies increased overseas debt by 16.4 billion US dollars to 190.3 billion USD, according to the central bank.
In 2008, some local companies suffered huge financial losses when dollar-denominated debt ballooned because of a rapid depreciation of the Brazilian real against the U.S. dollar. The Real depreciated strongly against the dollar from 2008 to 2009 because of the global financial crisis. In 2009, the Real began a swift recovery.
Brazil plans to tax local corporations overseas bond issues, says financial media
The Brazilian government is planning to impose a financial operations tax on overseas bond issues by Brazilian companies, local financial daily Valor Economico reported Monday.
The tax is part of a government drive to reduce U.S. dollar inflows and arrest the appreciation of the Brazilian Real against the U.S. dollar. The Real has gained 45% against the dollar over the past two years, hurting exports.
According to the newspaper, which cited an unnamed person close to the government, officials are also concerned about a recent increase in dollar-denominated debt among Brazilian companies. The government is planning to impose a financial operations tax of 6% on such operations.
In the first two months of the year, local companies increased overseas debt by 16.4 billion US dollars to 190.3 billion USD, according to the central bank.
In 2008, some local companies suffered huge financial losses when dollar-denominated debt ballooned because of a rapid depreciation of the Brazilian real against the U.S. dollar. The Real depreciated strongly against the dollar from 2008 to 2009 because of the global financial crisis. In 2009, the Real began a swift recovery.
the best pasta in Buenos Aires
According to Brando, Buenos Aires has great pasta restaurants because so many porteños (people who live in Buenos Aires) are of Italian descent. Here's Brando's map of fine pasta restaurants:
Read today's Brando article to learn more.
Read today's Brando article to learn more.
Receta de Garré para la protesta social
Por Raúl Kollmann
La ministra de Seguridad, Nilda Garré, presentará hoy ante los ministros de Seguridad de las 23 provincias y la Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, así como ante los jefes de todas las fuerzas de seguridad del país, la propuesta de un acta-acuerdo en la que se establecen las bases de actuación de las fuerzas de seguridad ante manifestaciones públicas. El texto, al que tuvo acceso exclusivo Página/12 señala, por ejemplo, que la intervención de las fuerzas policiales será progresiva, comenzando por el diálogo con los organizadores de la protesta; que siempre los poderes ejecutivos deberán designar a un funcionario político responsable de coordinar todas las acciones, se establecerá claramente la prohibición de portar armas de fuego a todo el personal policial que pudiera tener contacto directo con los manifestantes, quedando prohibido el uso de pistolas lanzagases; las postas de goma sólo podrán usarse para fines defensivos; todo el personal policial debe estar identificado y esa identificación debe verse claramente sobre el uniforme; habrá un funcionario policial a cargo de la operación y otro funcionario a cargo del control; en las manifestaciones previstas tendrán que establecerse barreras (vallas) para salvar la integridad de los manifestantes y evitar que haya terceras personas perjudicadas; se prohíbe la utilización de vehículos no identificados; todos los detenidos deberán ser transportados en patrulleros o vehículos específicos; los efectivos policiales deberán garantizar la libre cobertura de los medios de prensa y queda prohibido impedir la toma de fotografías, imágenes o testimonios.
La primera reunión plenaria del Consejo Nacional de Seguridad empezará hoy a las 9.30 de la mañana en el Salón Gaudí del City Tower Hotel de la calle Bolívar, en pleno centro porteño. Garré encabezará un encuentro en el que estarán presentes todos los ministros de Seguridad del país, los jefes de las policías provinciales y los titulares de las fuerzas federales, la Policía Federal, Gendarmería, Prefectura y Policía de Seguridad Aeroportuaria, así como funcionarios del Registro Nacional de Armas; la Aduana Nacional y la Agencia Nacional de Seguridad Vial.
El temario será muy extenso y abarca dos protocolos: uno, el de preservación del lugar del hecho o escena del crimen, y el segundo, de evaluación psicológica de los integrantes de las fuerzas de seguridad. En ambos temas, la experiencia ha mostrado errores en los años recientes. En forma sistemática se alteraron elementos claves de los lugares donde se producen delitos, al punto que los casos de contaminación son mayoría: aparecen perfiles genéticos y huellas de identidad del personal que interviene en las investigaciones; se pierden rastros, proyectiles y otras evidencias sustanciales para esclarecer los casos. En forma paralela, ante la presión por incorporar más y más efectivos, ha ocurrido que se incorporan a las fuerzas de seguridad individuos con gravísimos problemas psicológicos y que incluso registran serios antecedentes penales.
Desde el punto de vista del combate del delito, habrá dos temas que serán abordados con mucho detenimiento: la trata de personas y el combate al narcotráfico. El Ministerio de Seguridad de la Nación llevará protocolos y documentos para poner a consideración de todos los participantes, que son los ministros y funcionarios que tienen bajo su responsabilidad la conducción de las fuerzas de seguridad en cada distrito y a nivel nacional. En el equipo de Garré había anoche satisfacción porque estarán presentes tanto los ministros de Seguridad bonaerense, Ricardo Casal, como el porteño, Guillermo Montenegro.
Garré realizará la presentación inicial y uno de los puntos clave del temario será el acta-acuerdo denominada Criterios Mínimos sobre la Actuación de los Cuerpos Policiales y las Fuerzas de Seguridad en Manifestaciones Públicas. El texto se basa en considerandos en los que se plantea como prioridad la vigencia de los derechos humanos, la preservación de la vida, los Códigos de Conducta aprobados por las Naciones Unidas e incluso el Acuerdo para la Seguridad Democrática, suscripto por referentes de casi todas las fuerzas políticas argentinas. Sobre esas bases, se propone el acta-acuerdo, ya que el Consejo Nacional de Seguridad tiene entre sus funciones proponer doctrinas y planes para las acciones y operaciones policiales.
El acta-acuerdo propone criterios muy concretos frente a las manifestaciones públicas:
- El objetivo es el respeto y protección de los participantes, así como reducir las afectaciones que puedan causar las manifestaciones en derechos de otras personas y bienes públicos.
- Se buscará garantizar el control del tránsito para minimizar los inconvenientes para personas ajenas y reducir la posibilidad de hechos de violencia con los manifestantes.
- Se agotarán todos los recursos para garantizar la resolución de los conflictos que no implique daños a la integridad física de las personas. Por ello, la intervención de los cuerpos policiales debe ser progresiva, comenzando por el diálogo con los organizadores de la manifestación.
- La negociación con los organizadores no podrá estar en manos de quien conduzca el procedimiento operativo policial.
- Cuando las manifestaciones sean programadas o con amplia concurrencia o cuando se prevean riesgos potenciales, el Poder Ejecutivo deberá designar un funcionario político responsable de coordinar todas las acciones y hacer cumplir las normas.
- No podrán participar en los operativos los policías que se encuentren bajo investigación por casos anteriores de uso excesivo de la fuerza. Deberá existir una capacitación previa del personal que intervenga.
- Se establecerá claramente la prohibición de portar armas de fuego. El personal que intervenga no dispondrá de municiones de poder letal. La utilización de pistolas lanzagases está prohibida. Se considerará falta grave la utilización de armamento o munición no provista por la institución correspondiente.
- Las postas de goma sólo podrán ser utilizadas con fines defensivos en caso de peligro para la integridad física de algún miembro del personal interviniente. No se puede utilizar ese material para dispersar una manifestación.
- Los agresivos químicos y antitumultos sólo podrán ser utilizados en última instancia y siempre previa orden del jefe del operativo.
- Todo el personal interviniente deberá portar identificación clara que pueda advertirse a simple vista en los uniformes.
- Todo el personal que intervenga será previamente individualizado y se registrarán el armamento, la munición, los vehículos, los equipos y los aparatos de telefonía celular.
- La responsabilidad operativa y la de control recaerá en funcionarios policiales diferentes.
- Se establecerán con claridad los canales de comunicación de las fuerzas policiales y se registrarán esas comunicaciones.
- En operativos programados, se dispondrán barreras físicas (vallas) que ayuden a preservar la integridad física de los manifestantes y los efectivos policiales.
- Se dispondrá que, siempre que los riesgos para el personal no lo desaconsejen, que los cuerpos especiales (policía montada, canes, infantería) se mantengan a distancia prudente de la manifestación y sólo intervendrán en caso de que las condiciones lo exijan.
- Se prohíbe expresamente la utilización de móviles que no se encuentren debidamente identificados. Si hubiera detenidos, éstos sólo podrán ser trasladados en patrulleros o vehículos específicos.
- Se velará por el respeto de grupos que requieran una protección especial de sus derechos, tales como niños, jóvenes, mujeres, ancianos, pueblos originarios y personas con capacidades diferentes.
- Los efectivos de seguridad deben garantizar la actividad periodística. Los periodistas no podrán ser molestados, detenidos ni trasladados. El personal actuante debe abstenerse de realizar acciones que impidan el registro de imágenes o la obtención de testimonios.
El espíritu general del texto es “la voluntad de no reprimir la protesta social, garantizar la libertad de expresión y atender a las causas de los conflictos por vías políticas y no violentas de entendimiento”. Habrá que ver si este primer encuentro de todos los ministros y jefes de las fuerzas de seguridad sienta las bases para una forma de actuación común en todo el país.
Fuente
Pagina12Monday, March 28, 2011
Allende's Chile
During Salvador Allende's presidency, Marxist Edward Boorstein was an assistant & close friend of Jaime Barrios, an economic advisor to Allende. Boorstein's Allende's Chile: An Inside View is the author's report on what happened, what Allende achieved, & why he failed.
I knew nothing of this history & found the book well worth the read.
Boorstein's proposition is that Allende failed because he behaved honorably, while everyone else – Chilean political parties, Chilean armed forces, Chilean press, international corporations with Chilean interests, United States government (Nixon, Kissinger) & CIA – behaved dishonorably wherever dishonor served them well.
Ya comenzó a rodarse "El Hobbit"
Al fin comenzó la producción de "El Hobbit" en Wellington (Nueva Zelanda).
Desde luego a esta película le ha pasado de todo, huelgas, directores que abandonan, incendios, manifestaciones, rebajas fiscales a la carta, y hasta creo que el director Sir Peter Jackson, tuvo una úlcera o algo así, pero a Dios gracias ya está bueno y manos a la obra con lo que sea de J.R.R. Tolkien.
Lo que no se es si se trata de dos secuelas, dos precuelas, o dos Spin-off , o si tienen vida propia.
Esto me pasa por no haber leído a Tolkien, y no haber visto la trilogía del anillo.
Cosa que, de momento, no pienso hacer, me hartó tanta promoción y tanto anillo antes del estreno.
Pero lo mejor de "El Hobbit" es...la pasta gansa que dejará en Nueva Zelanda, la promoción del país, y sobre todo el trabajo por muchas horas y meses de los actores nativos y extras a mogollón.
Ojalá la hubieran traído a Europa, y puestos a pedir, a España...que la crisis y el paro nos corroe las entrañas...
FUENTE:El Hobbit vive en Nueva Zelanda
EDUARDO ALIVERTI: No quieren
Por Eduardo Aliverti
Chubut termina de prender lo que en Catamarca fue una señal de alarma enorme para la oposición. El panorama se agravaría si el recuento del escrutinio favoreciera al candidato kirchnerista, pero aunque no fuera así el dictamen ya es inequívoco. Desde las propias usinas de la derecha citaron como acertada la definición de Felipe Solá, quien fue el único del “peronismo federal” acompañante de Das Neves que, en la mal disimulada noche fúnebre de ese domingo, se animó a liquidar el diagnóstico en dos oraciones: “Hay un candidato que ganó por muy poco y hay otro que perdió por muy poco. Pero está claro que hay uno que ganó y otro que perdió”.
Lo que siguió a lo sucedido en Chubut da la pauta del grado de desconcierto que vive el conjunto opositor. Pero es necesario discriminar entre los indicios de reorientación o reagrupamiento producidos allí, y aquello que en verdad les dificulta dar algún paso adelante. Lo primero es un simple análisis de especulaciones dirigenciales. Das Neves, que se bajó de la interna. El hijo de Alfonsín, que ahora estaría dispuesto a resolver por consenso la candidatura radical. Duhalde, que de sostener la condena al éxito de la Argentina pasó a que están condenados a aliarse con Macri. De Narváez, que estaría manejando un plan B de articulación con los cobistas. Macri, que no sale de un ta-te-ti de agenda electoral ya exasperante para su propio entorno y ahora, según confluyen todas las fuentes que se quieran, dispuesto a congelar las relaciones electorales con el engendro de El Padrino & Cía. ¿De qué estamos hablando? ¿Sólo de que Catamarca y Chubut les sacudieron la modorra? ¿O de gestos inerciales que ocultan un trasfondo de impotencia, porque ni saben ni pueden ni, por lo tanto, quieren presentar a la sociedad una alternativa seria? Si admiten que la popularidad del Gobierno es haber establecido el piso del “nunca menos”, y esa definición encierra haber dejado atrás varias de las políticas más escabrosas de la etapa neoliberal, ¿cómo hacen para plantarse en la promesa de una instancia superadora, habiendo los antecedentes que portan? “Superadora”, para conceder, sólo les cabría a las huestes que se dicen de centroizquierda no kirchnerista, que tienen el pequeño inconveniente de demostrar por qué, para superar, serían mejores que los K. Si el tema es en cambio la derecha peronista, directamente debe hablarse de retraso y nunca de superación alguna. Es el retorno de la apertura a los mercados, de las relaciones carnales con “los países exitosos”, del discurso de la mano dura. Y el dato fundamental de que, en toda hipótesis, el kirchnerismo conservará, además de una contundente porción de votos, un volumen de movilización del que carece el resto. Para peor escenario opositor, hay ya significativas franjas del establishment que confiesan aceptar este modelo en rol de mal menor; ya sea porque les va antes muy bien que nada mal, como por el hecho de que se reconocen más cómodas ante quienes demuestran fortaleza de mando. Podría decirse, incluso, que Clarín es el único factor corporativo dispuesto a persistir en un oposicionismo feroz.
En la serie Cuadernos del Pensamiento Crítico Latinoamericano, coordinada por Emir Sader y editada por este diario, el martes pasado se publicó un ensayo del cientista social Pablo Alegre, investigador de la Universidad Católica de Uruguay. Es atractivo lo que señala sobre Argentina, en su caracterización de las trayectorias de desarrollo de los países del Cono Sur. “La Argentina mantiene un sistema de partidos poco institucionalizados, a lo que debe agregarse un proceso de creciente fragmentación y faccionalización de las elites partidarias. Hoy el Gobierno logra, gracias a la localización de amplios recursos estatales y poder político, tejer alianzas transversales con liderazgos regionales y locales (...) (Hay) la constitución de un frente electoral controlado por un liderazgo vertical, que procura recomponer algunas de las orientaciones neoestatistas en materia de políticas de desarrollo (...) El funcionamiento de esta alianza vertical (...), que logra articular vínculos (...) con sectores populares fragmentados por un lado, y con movimientos organizados heredados de la era Movimiento Sindical por el otro, ha permitido al Gobierno neutralizar el conflicto social, ampliando los márgenes para implementar distintos paquetes de políticas sin posibilidades de focos de veto”. Luego, Alegre adosa que a su vez “la Argentina ha presenciado el sostenido aumento del precio de sus bienes exportables, que, en combinación con la sensible disminución de los niveles de endeudamiento externo a partir de una exitosa política de canje, le ha permitido mejorar sus márgenes fiscales, aumentar la capacidad de ahorro y expandir la economía”. Si se desea ponerlo en palabras ratificatorias de lenguaje simplemente más periodístico que sociológico, hay una conducción política encarnada en la figura de Cristina (susceptible de confirmación efectiva a mediano y largo plazo, bien que al corto porque todavía no comunicó su decisión de ser reelecta). Por debajo de ella, rige un arco que va desde Moyano hasta los movimientos sociales o sectoriales paridos por la crisis de 2001/2002. Y todo eso puede ser eficiente porque la economía sopla a favor gracias a decisiones políticas que –entre otros motivos– saben aprovechar ventajosas condiciones externas. ¿Qué clase de modelo pregona la oposición, o cuál podría instaurar, que dé seguridades de una estabilidad más firme que la actual, incluyendo –en el lugar que apetezca– un buen clima de negocios?
Entre un partido, el radical, que puede no ser la añoranza de lo que nunca jamás sucedió pero parece que lo fuera; y el peronismo antikirchnerista, que en reemplazo de no tener siquiera una estructura partidaria se limita a ser un rejuntado de figuritas mediáticas cuya sobresaliencia corresponde –siendo benéficos– a ese invento que es Mauricio Macri, la oposición cayó en manos de una corporación comunicacional que como mucho puede disponer de poder de fuego para afectar, pero no para construir. Es lo que Héctor Magnetto desesperó por trasladarles con el gesto público de la famosa cena en su casa, sin éxito porque, además de los problemas para armonizar un programa de gobierno creíble, corroboró encontrarse con una batalla de egos insoportable. De manera que, según es perceptible hasta para el más despistado, la cantidad y –primerísimo– calidad de errores en que debe incurrir el kirchnerismo para perder las presidenciales de octubre supera lo que hoy permite la imaginación política. Y así los cometiera, como en los episodios de carácter eventualmente expansivos que involucran al jefe de la CGT, quedaría por ver si la oposición tiene la capacidad para aprovecharlos. No porque no podría desde varios mandobles efectistas, si acaso tuviera un referente confiable. Es porque sencillamente carece de convicción para ofertar algo distinto a lo que ya se conoce que ofreció en el pasado reciente. A valores de la actualidad estricta, su única esperanza sería que Cristina decida no presentarse. Y si sucediera eso, quedaría por ver si no se metería en un problema mayor vista la incapacidad antedicha de no estar en condiciones para convidar un programa de gobierno fiable.
El firmante se sabe reiterativo, pero no tiene por qué renegar de su profunda seguridad: la oposición no quiere ganar.
Fuente:
Hallan 11 cadáveres en carretera de Tamaulipas (México)
Al menos 11 cadáveres han sido encontrados en dos parajes de la ciudad de Nuevo Laredo, estado de Tamaulipas , fronterizo con Texas EEUU.
Había mensajes al lado de los cadáveres, se investiga la masacre.
Por ahora no han sido identificados.
La sensación que da México, es la de un país en guerra que se quiere tapar.
Y a veces, muchas, se consigue que las noticias pasen por alto esta barbarie que se vive en algunas zonas de México.
Sea por lo que fuere, no se acaba con el narcotráfico, principal causante de las muertes en México.
Tampoco se consigue desenmascarar a los asesinos de emigrantes que están de paso hacia EEUU.
La política es permisiva, o se tapa los ojos ante lo que se llama "mordida", que es como un pago a una mafia, pero conocida y reconocida.
Es México un país de grandes riquezas, y de terribles pobrezas.
Un pueblo orgulloso, y al mismo tiempo de los más corruptos del mundo.
Pero ese orgullo mal entendido, hace que no se arreglen las cosas, empezando por los dirigentes políticos que dan la sensación de ser "dueños" de la democracia a la mexicana.
El retorno de los nómades... (14)
El retorno de los Nómades
Lía Schenck
El Amor
Fragmento de Historias de Amor
Ser mujer es parte de la completud del hombre
y viceversa.
En la alquimia del hombre y la mujer
hay polvos de infinito en cantidades
proporcionales a sus completudes.
Una mujer anduvo casi toda la vida
enamorada de un Pierrot y le parecía
verlo en todas partes.
Le parecía verlo en los subtes y en los bares.
A veces salía corriendo de los bares porque le
parecía que Pierrot pasaba caminando por
la vereda con una serpentina violeta en
la solapa.
Después de casi una vida sin encontrarlo, una
noche dejó de buscarlo y se fue a dormir,
sola de soledad,
debajo de una palmera de la rambla.
Allí estaba Pierrot, cazando dátiles con los
ojos abiertos y esperando que ella viniera
para completar la luna llena.
Una vez el amor de dos nómades
duró una lluvia.
Cuando se despidieron, mojados y vivos,
supieron que volverían a amarse
en todas las lluvias por venir
aunque nunca más volvieran
a encontrarse.
Si deseas leer el libro desde el principio, haz click en la etiqueta
"El retorno de los nómades", que aparece al pie de esta entrada,
donde dice "Guardadito en"
Sunday, March 27, 2011
GPS in Argentina
Greg Utas offers this information about using a Garmin GPS in Argentina:
I took my Garmin 255W to Argentina and it worked great. Very useful for driving around the city of Salta. The maps were loaded onto a small memory card that goes into a slot on the side of the Garmin. I ordered a preloaded card from travelbygps.com.
You can download the maps yourself, but for $20 I didn't want to spend time on it. The maps also include Chile, Uruguay, and Paraguay.
Not everything went smoothly. My 12V (cigarette lighter) adapter would often fall out when driving over a bump. You can imagine the hassle, so I travelled around Salta in search of a new adapter. Marc Chagall, located at Florida 11 in the pedestrian mall area just south of the Hotel Alejandro I, had a 12V adapter with a USB port. They also had a USB cable to plug into this port, one with the right connector for the Garmin at the other end. This adapter could still fall out, but twisting a car key under the spring clips widened their grip to the point where they would hold.
The maps don't know about La Estancia's roads yet, apart from the southern service road. And a couple of times, they wanted to send me the wrong way down a one-way street. So pay attention.
On 2 April 2011, Jeremy commented: You can find Garmin-compatible maps of Argentina and Uruguay at www.proyectomapear.com.ar. It's free, by the way, and it works.
I took my Garmin 255W to Argentina and it worked great. Very useful for driving around the city of Salta. The maps were loaded onto a small memory card that goes into a slot on the side of the Garmin. I ordered a preloaded card from travelbygps.com.
You can download the maps yourself, but for $20 I didn't want to spend time on it. The maps also include Chile, Uruguay, and Paraguay.
Not everything went smoothly. My 12V (cigarette lighter) adapter would often fall out when driving over a bump. You can imagine the hassle, so I travelled around Salta in search of a new adapter. Marc Chagall, located at Florida 11 in the pedestrian mall area just south of the Hotel Alejandro I, had a 12V adapter with a USB port. They also had a USB cable to plug into this port, one with the right connector for the Garmin at the other end. This adapter could still fall out, but twisting a car key under the spring clips widened their grip to the point where they would hold.
The maps don't know about La Estancia's roads yet, apart from the southern service road. And a couple of times, they wanted to send me the wrong way down a one-way street. So pay attention.
On 2 April 2011, Jeremy commented: You can find Garmin-compatible maps of Argentina and Uruguay at www.proyectomapear.com.ar. It's free, by the way, and it works.
special report on La Estancia de Cafayate
[from Jeff Berwick's The Dollar Vigilante, 25 March 2011, published here under special permission from the author]
Special Report: La Estancia de Cafayate
Sitting Out TEOTMSAWKI In Galt's Gulch
I accepted an invitation (all at my own expense) to go down to Doug Casey’s, La Estancia de Cafayate, in Salta Province, Argentina without quite understanding what I was about to discover. I even told friends and those who asked that, “I doubt I’ll buy a place.”
Why? For starters, I like living in larger cities – or at least not “out in the country” somewhere. I like shops, restaurants, bars and discos. And secondly, I had the complete misperception that this was some sort of typical, planned gated community. Not my style.
What I discovered has excited me so much that I am, as I write, working on purchasing a lot on which I will build a small home. As well, I am telling all my like-minded friends that if they can, they must come down and see what is being developed there.
GALT’S GULCH
It’s Galt’s Gulch. There is no better way to describe it. For those who haven’t read Atlas Shrugged, the long awaited movie based on the book is coming out next month (see the movie trailer here).
Galt’s Gulch, in the book, was a place where many of the most productive, intelligent and industrious people of the world esconded when the rest of the world was thrusting socialism/communism upon them.
The parallels to Galt’s Gulch are numerous, including the fact that Galt’s Gulch was built far away from civilization at a high altitude.
ABOUT CAFAYATE
Founded in 1840 and protected by incredible red rock formations that frame the drive in from Salta, Cafayate is internationally known for its wines - of which we tasted many on this particular tour.
It is a high altitude valley, 1600 meters (5800 ft) above sea level, which offers ideal conditions for producing world-class wines, and is known for its Torrontes and Malbec which grow easily inside of the temperate climate and over 320 days of sunshine each year - something which I consider crucial to health - free, daily Vitamin D.
One of the nicest features of La Estancia is that it is just outside the city boundary of Cafayate - about a 2 minute drive from town. So, you are out-of-town, but within minutes of dozens of world-class restaurants and shops.
WHAT IS LA ESTANCIA DE CAFAYATE?
La Estancia is an ultra-modern, luxury development in Salta Province, Argentina. It was conceived by best-selling author Doug Casey (The International Man, Crisis Investing and founder of Casey Research) and partners as the quintessential retreat for discerning individuals looking for an amenities rich lifestyle in the company of a diverse community of residents from around the globe (at this point, owners come from more than 20 different countries - off the top of my head, of owners I met: Germany, Lithuania, Mexico, Romania, US, Canada...).
La Estancia de Cafayate is simply massive in size, stretching over 1,360 acres - a meandering collection of vineyards, horse pastures, and the brand new Bob Cupp links style golf course. All of the properties enjoy stunning views of the surrounding mountains, then, depending on personal tastes, also benefits from golf course or polo field frontage, or surrounding vineyards or pastures.
It will be home, upon completion, to 360 housing lots. Already 200 are sold and, in my opinion, it won’t be much longer for the rest to sell. And once they are sold, that is that. They will not be building more.
WHAT MAKES LA ESTANCIA SPECIAL?
La Estancia De Cafayate is the brainchild of Doug Casey – an avid fan and past friend of Ayn Rand – who scoured much of the world looking for the perfect place to sit out The End Of The Monetary System As We Know It (TEOTMSAWKI). According to him and his wife they spent years looking for a place that had all the right characteristics.
What characteristics?
It had to be far from “civilization”. Cafayate meets that, in that the closest large city is a thousand miles away. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t “civilized” – it is, in fact, ultra-civilized in this remote location in Salta Province. However, it should be noted, even if there were large population centers nearby, La Estancia would still be one of the safest places on Earth. Why? Nearly everyone I spoke with who intends on living in La Estancia are the type of people who consider self-defense their responsibility and not the responsibility of the state.
It also had to be fairly self-sufficient. Cafayate meets that in that it is built atop a giant aquifer where much of the Andes drains into. Water? No problem. Electricity? The power comes from hydroelectric so even in the event of serious supply chain collapse there is very little chance that the waterfalls and rivers supplying the power will come to a halt. Coal fired, natural gas and nuclear plants could see their supply of energy get cut-off for a period of time as supply chains grind to a halt – but this is very unlikely to happen to hydro plants.
As well, La Estancia is home to hundreds of acres of vineyards (which are owned by home owners in the project) – so no shortage of wine. And on or near the estate almost any and every form of agriculture and farm animals are nearby. Doug Casey, in fact, owns a very large cattle ranch just a few hours north of Salta. So, in the event of parts of the world being forced into a famine situation as supply chains seize, those at Cafayate will be dining on steak, fresh vegetables and fine wines.
Another important factor for locating La Estancia in Cafayate is that it needed to be situated in a country where government is not much more than a nuisance. Argentina fits the bill here. In fact, the ex-Governor of Salta Province is a partner in the development so, even if the government in Argentina begins to try to appropriate land or wealth from residents (something it has never done) it is highly unlikely that La Estancia de Cafayate will be targeted.
WHAT AMENITIES WILL LA ESTANCIA OFFER?
La Estancia de Cafayate has been designed from the ground up to support an incredibly rich lifestyle.
These are just a few of the amenities:
§ 60-100 hectares of shared-ownership vineyards – As a property owner you legitimately pick up bragging rights as owning a vineyard in Argentina!
§ Vintner’s Heath Golf Course – An 18-hole Bob Cupp-designed golf course with a clubhouse, driving range and short game practice facility. When completed, this will be one of the finest golf courses in all of Argentina, and even South America - and from what I understand, owners play at $12/round!
§ Authentic Argentine equestrian experience – With stabling and pasturing facilities for private and community horses.
§ Polo fields and associated facilities
§ A network of riding trails, also used for nature walks and mountain biking - as well as horse riding - many people even ride their horses into town... that's just normal for this part of the world
§ Tennis, squash, bocce & parcours facilities;
§ Heath Club – offers a bar, restaurant and asado, as well as locker rooms, a pro-shop, viewing tower, wide patios, WiFi and more.
§ Social clubhouse with all the amenities for civilized living – featuring a bar and lounge, wine cellars, game room, library (only stocked with the best in libertarian, anarcho-capitalist, austrian finance classics), cigar lounge, business center and even a poker room!
§ Full-service Spa – With multiple swimming pools, locker rooms, fitness center and treatment rooms; this is one of the most important features to me: the Gym - I spoke with Doug Casey on this and he intends to make it a world class gym! He is even likely putting in Power Plates - something I wrote up in the September Issue of TDV (Premium/Basic)
§ Kids clubhouse – With game room and more;
§ Pueblito – A small village center with asado (barbeque) cabin, small shops with crafts and conveniences, gathering and game spaces;
§ Cafayate Concierge – A dedicated staff which can help you with anything you need
COSTS
There are 3 types of lots available:
§ Chacra: 5,000-10,000 Square Meters (averaging 1.5 acres) - cost $320-$400k USD
§ Quinta: 4,000 Square Meters (averaging 1 acre) - cost $235k-$295k USD
§ Jardin: 2,000 Square Meters (averaging 1/2 acre) - cost $135k-$195k USD
Home building costs in Cafayate today range from $800 - $1300 per square meter (about $80 - $130 per square foot). As in most places, building costs do not include design and engineering, earthwork, landscaping, and furnishings. “All-in” building costs are likely to run from $1100 - $1500 per square meter (about $110 - $150 per square foot) for high quality homes that include natural stone and wood, in-floor radiant heat, high ceilings, outside verandas and gracious patios.
Annual dues are assessed to each owner to pay for the management and maintenance of all the common elements and services, including golf, vineyards, equestrian facilities, roads, landscaping, and other amenities. The current estimate for the fees is a very reasonable $3500 -$5000 per year per property. However, Doug Casey has stated that it is his intention to have the vineyard profits get those fees to as close to zero as possible.
In the meantime, at normal production levels, it is anticipated that approximately 10 - 15 cases or 60 - 90 bottles per year will be distributed to each owner. Once fully mature, the property vineyards will have the potential to produce about 550,000 bottles of wine each year.
The wine allocation to all the owners will equate to approximately 5% of the total grape production.
SCHOOLING
The schooling system in Argentina offers two options, public and private. The Elementary stage is called primary and children attend from the age of 6 to 12. The next stage is called secondary and it is attended from the age of 13 to 18.
Cafayate has 6 primary public schools, 4 secondary and 2 private schools. Private schools offer an 8-hour day with a secondary language, which is typically English.
However, of the owners I talked to who have children, nearly all do home school or plan to home school. This brings up the next topic: business opportunities.
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES
If you can't afford to buy a place in La Estancia and/or you need some sort of income to live there, I lost track of all the business opportunities I came up with over just a few days.
This is going to be a community of about 300 homes - and almost every person there will be well off or outright wealthy. They will need and want a multitude of specialized services.
As example, most of the families want to home school, but I am sure many of the mothers would love to have a VERY private, almost home school style school in Cafayate which only teaches the subjects the parents want their children to learn... Austrian Economics, as example.
As well, a smart young entrepreneur would be wise to go down to Cafayate, rent an apartment in the town of Cafayate itself (for $300/month or less in many cases) and spend some time surveying the landscape and talking to new owners at La Estancia about products or services they would be interested in - and then offer that to them.
Not to mention, buying real estate in the town of Cafayate will almost, without doubt, be an excellent speculative investment. Think of it like buying real estate or land in Aspen, Colorado, fifty years ago.
NEGATIVES
No place is perfect but it wasn't easy to come up with too many negatives for La Estancia:
§ Weather - While there is rarely a cloudy day in Cafayate it can definitely get chilly. It never snows but overnight there can definitely be nights where a sweater and even a jacket are needed. Many people have the misconception that most of South America is hot/tropical but this isn't the case. But if you don't mind chilly evenings and having some warm weather clothes then you'll be fine.
§ Distance - This is both a positive and a negative - depending on perspective. If one of your biggest concerns is the unforeseen risks of TEOTMSAWKI then Cafayate's distance from virtually anywhere is a big plus. However, if you see Cafayate as being a place where you might visit for a week or so from time to time, unless you live in South America plan on spending a full day (24 hours) in transit. There are two main ways to get there... through Buenos Aires or through Santa Cruz, Bolivia (onAerosur) but even once you get to Salta you still have a 3 hour drive - or another short flight. This isn't a "weekend getaway" kind of place. But, again, that can be a positive as you don't get the weekend tourist crowd
§ There is no local international school (yet)
§ Everyone at La Estancia speaks English but you will be hard pressed to find anyone in the town of Cafayate who speaks English. However, one of the best investments you can make, in my opinion, is to learn Spanish. It is one of the best languages to know, with over 20 countries that speak it and more native Spanish speakers in the world than native English speakers.
CONCLUSION
Of course, if it is Galt’s Gulch, then I am breaking one of the sacred rules - as was written in Atlas Shrugged. To liken it to Fight Club: “First rule of Galt’s Gulch, Don’t talk about Galt’s Gulch!”
However, I am so excited about this project that I am putting my money where my mouth is and buying a place there. And I recommend to anyone looking for something of this sort that you take a look ASAP. I will be surprised if there are many lots left by October/November when they are having their next big celebration.
In a recent blog post I called La Estancia, "the world's first libertarian enclave". I used the word "libertarian" because that was the best one-word label I could put on it. However, it is more than that. The people who are gravitating to La Estancia can best be described as non-conformists. They tend to be individualistic, non-statist, free-minded and free willed people who refuse to accept and live life the way they are told to live it.
This, more than anything, is why you should consider having a place there. There is no other place in the world, that I know of, where you can live amongst a group of people like this.
CONTACT
During my time at La Estancia de Cafayate I got to know virtually everyone - all the salespeople, concierges, developers and planners. They have set-up a special email just for TDV subscribers:tdv@lec.com.ar. They understand that TDV readers are going to be quite a bit more intelligent and savvy in regards to wanting a place in a spot like La Estancia than just regular off-the-street enquiries, so you'll get priority attention by contacting them through that email.
Or if you contact them directly through their website (www.laestanciadecafayate.com), just mention you heard about it from The Dollar Vigilante and they'll give you prompt attention.
Special Report: La Estancia de Cafayate
Sitting Out TEOTMSAWKI In Galt's Gulch
I accepted an invitation (all at my own expense) to go down to Doug Casey’s, La Estancia de Cafayate, in Salta Province, Argentina without quite understanding what I was about to discover. I even told friends and those who asked that, “I doubt I’ll buy a place.”
Why? For starters, I like living in larger cities – or at least not “out in the country” somewhere. I like shops, restaurants, bars and discos. And secondly, I had the complete misperception that this was some sort of typical, planned gated community. Not my style.
What I discovered has excited me so much that I am, as I write, working on purchasing a lot on which I will build a small home. As well, I am telling all my like-minded friends that if they can, they must come down and see what is being developed there.
GALT’S GULCH
It’s Galt’s Gulch. There is no better way to describe it. For those who haven’t read Atlas Shrugged, the long awaited movie based on the book is coming out next month (see the movie trailer here).
Galt’s Gulch, in the book, was a place where many of the most productive, intelligent and industrious people of the world esconded when the rest of the world was thrusting socialism/communism upon them.
The parallels to Galt’s Gulch are numerous, including the fact that Galt’s Gulch was built far away from civilization at a high altitude.
ABOUT CAFAYATE
Founded in 1840 and protected by incredible red rock formations that frame the drive in from Salta, Cafayate is internationally known for its wines - of which we tasted many on this particular tour.
It is a high altitude valley, 1600 meters (5800 ft) above sea level, which offers ideal conditions for producing world-class wines, and is known for its Torrontes and Malbec which grow easily inside of the temperate climate and over 320 days of sunshine each year - something which I consider crucial to health - free, daily Vitamin D.
One of the nicest features of La Estancia is that it is just outside the city boundary of Cafayate - about a 2 minute drive from town. So, you are out-of-town, but within minutes of dozens of world-class restaurants and shops.
WHAT IS LA ESTANCIA DE CAFAYATE?
La Estancia is an ultra-modern, luxury development in Salta Province, Argentina. It was conceived by best-selling author Doug Casey (The International Man, Crisis Investing and founder of Casey Research) and partners as the quintessential retreat for discerning individuals looking for an amenities rich lifestyle in the company of a diverse community of residents from around the globe (at this point, owners come from more than 20 different countries - off the top of my head, of owners I met: Germany, Lithuania, Mexico, Romania, US, Canada...).
 |
| Doug Casey speaking at La Estancia lunch |
La Estancia de Cafayate is simply massive in size, stretching over 1,360 acres - a meandering collection of vineyards, horse pastures, and the brand new Bob Cupp links style golf course. All of the properties enjoy stunning views of the surrounding mountains, then, depending on personal tastes, also benefits from golf course or polo field frontage, or surrounding vineyards or pastures.
It will be home, upon completion, to 360 housing lots. Already 200 are sold and, in my opinion, it won’t be much longer for the rest to sell. And once they are sold, that is that. They will not be building more.
WHAT MAKES LA ESTANCIA SPECIAL?
La Estancia De Cafayate is the brainchild of Doug Casey – an avid fan and past friend of Ayn Rand – who scoured much of the world looking for the perfect place to sit out The End Of The Monetary System As We Know It (TEOTMSAWKI). According to him and his wife they spent years looking for a place that had all the right characteristics.
What characteristics?
It had to be far from “civilization”. Cafayate meets that, in that the closest large city is a thousand miles away. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t “civilized” – it is, in fact, ultra-civilized in this remote location in Salta Province. However, it should be noted, even if there were large population centers nearby, La Estancia would still be one of the safest places on Earth. Why? Nearly everyone I spoke with who intends on living in La Estancia are the type of people who consider self-defense their responsibility and not the responsibility of the state.
It also had to be fairly self-sufficient. Cafayate meets that in that it is built atop a giant aquifer where much of the Andes drains into. Water? No problem. Electricity? The power comes from hydroelectric so even in the event of serious supply chain collapse there is very little chance that the waterfalls and rivers supplying the power will come to a halt. Coal fired, natural gas and nuclear plants could see their supply of energy get cut-off for a period of time as supply chains grind to a halt – but this is very unlikely to happen to hydro plants.
As well, La Estancia is home to hundreds of acres of vineyards (which are owned by home owners in the project) – so no shortage of wine. And on or near the estate almost any and every form of agriculture and farm animals are nearby. Doug Casey, in fact, owns a very large cattle ranch just a few hours north of Salta. So, in the event of parts of the world being forced into a famine situation as supply chains seize, those at Cafayate will be dining on steak, fresh vegetables and fine wines.
 |
| The Vineyards at La Estancia de Cafayate |
Another important factor for locating La Estancia in Cafayate is that it needed to be situated in a country where government is not much more than a nuisance. Argentina fits the bill here. In fact, the ex-Governor of Salta Province is a partner in the development so, even if the government in Argentina begins to try to appropriate land or wealth from residents (something it has never done) it is highly unlikely that La Estancia de Cafayate will be targeted.
WHAT AMENITIES WILL LA ESTANCIA OFFER?
La Estancia de Cafayate has been designed from the ground up to support an incredibly rich lifestyle.
These are just a few of the amenities:
§ 60-100 hectares of shared-ownership vineyards – As a property owner you legitimately pick up bragging rights as owning a vineyard in Argentina!
§ Vintner’s Heath Golf Course – An 18-hole Bob Cupp-designed golf course with a clubhouse, driving range and short game practice facility. When completed, this will be one of the finest golf courses in all of Argentina, and even South America - and from what I understand, owners play at $12/round!
§ Authentic Argentine equestrian experience – With stabling and pasturing facilities for private and community horses.
§ Polo fields and associated facilities
§ A network of riding trails, also used for nature walks and mountain biking - as well as horse riding - many people even ride their horses into town... that's just normal for this part of the world
§ Tennis, squash, bocce & parcours facilities;
§ Heath Club – offers a bar, restaurant and asado, as well as locker rooms, a pro-shop, viewing tower, wide patios, WiFi and more.
§ Social clubhouse with all the amenities for civilized living – featuring a bar and lounge, wine cellars, game room, library (only stocked with the best in libertarian, anarcho-capitalist, austrian finance classics), cigar lounge, business center and even a poker room!
§ Full-service Spa – With multiple swimming pools, locker rooms, fitness center and treatment rooms; this is one of the most important features to me: the Gym - I spoke with Doug Casey on this and he intends to make it a world class gym! He is even likely putting in Power Plates - something I wrote up in the September Issue of TDV (Premium/Basic)
§ Kids clubhouse – With game room and more;
§ Pueblito – A small village center with asado (barbeque) cabin, small shops with crafts and conveniences, gathering and game spaces;
§ Cafayate Concierge – A dedicated staff which can help you with anything you need
COSTS
There are 3 types of lots available:
§ Chacra: 5,000-10,000 Square Meters (averaging 1.5 acres) - cost $320-$400k USD
§ Quinta: 4,000 Square Meters (averaging 1 acre) - cost $235k-$295k USD
§ Jardin: 2,000 Square Meters (averaging 1/2 acre) - cost $135k-$195k USD
Home building costs in Cafayate today range from $800 - $1300 per square meter (about $80 - $130 per square foot). As in most places, building costs do not include design and engineering, earthwork, landscaping, and furnishings. “All-in” building costs are likely to run from $1100 - $1500 per square meter (about $110 - $150 per square foot) for high quality homes that include natural stone and wood, in-floor radiant heat, high ceilings, outside verandas and gracious patios.
Annual dues are assessed to each owner to pay for the management and maintenance of all the common elements and services, including golf, vineyards, equestrian facilities, roads, landscaping, and other amenities. The current estimate for the fees is a very reasonable $3500 -$5000 per year per property. However, Doug Casey has stated that it is his intention to have the vineyard profits get those fees to as close to zero as possible.
In the meantime, at normal production levels, it is anticipated that approximately 10 - 15 cases or 60 - 90 bottles per year will be distributed to each owner. Once fully mature, the property vineyards will have the potential to produce about 550,000 bottles of wine each year.
The wine allocation to all the owners will equate to approximately 5% of the total grape production.
SCHOOLING
The schooling system in Argentina offers two options, public and private. The Elementary stage is called primary and children attend from the age of 6 to 12. The next stage is called secondary and it is attended from the age of 13 to 18.
Cafayate has 6 primary public schools, 4 secondary and 2 private schools. Private schools offer an 8-hour day with a secondary language, which is typically English.
However, of the owners I talked to who have children, nearly all do home school or plan to home school. This brings up the next topic: business opportunities.
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES
If you can't afford to buy a place in La Estancia and/or you need some sort of income to live there, I lost track of all the business opportunities I came up with over just a few days.
This is going to be a community of about 300 homes - and almost every person there will be well off or outright wealthy. They will need and want a multitude of specialized services.
As example, most of the families want to home school, but I am sure many of the mothers would love to have a VERY private, almost home school style school in Cafayate which only teaches the subjects the parents want their children to learn... Austrian Economics, as example.
As well, a smart young entrepreneur would be wise to go down to Cafayate, rent an apartment in the town of Cafayate itself (for $300/month or less in many cases) and spend some time surveying the landscape and talking to new owners at La Estancia about products or services they would be interested in - and then offer that to them.
Not to mention, buying real estate in the town of Cafayate will almost, without doubt, be an excellent speculative investment. Think of it like buying real estate or land in Aspen, Colorado, fifty years ago.
NEGATIVES
No place is perfect but it wasn't easy to come up with too many negatives for La Estancia:
§ Weather - While there is rarely a cloudy day in Cafayate it can definitely get chilly. It never snows but overnight there can definitely be nights where a sweater and even a jacket are needed. Many people have the misconception that most of South America is hot/tropical but this isn't the case. But if you don't mind chilly evenings and having some warm weather clothes then you'll be fine.
§ Distance - This is both a positive and a negative - depending on perspective. If one of your biggest concerns is the unforeseen risks of TEOTMSAWKI then Cafayate's distance from virtually anywhere is a big plus. However, if you see Cafayate as being a place where you might visit for a week or so from time to time, unless you live in South America plan on spending a full day (24 hours) in transit. There are two main ways to get there... through Buenos Aires or through Santa Cruz, Bolivia (onAerosur) but even once you get to Salta you still have a 3 hour drive - or another short flight. This isn't a "weekend getaway" kind of place. But, again, that can be a positive as you don't get the weekend tourist crowd
§ There is no local international school (yet)
§ Everyone at La Estancia speaks English but you will be hard pressed to find anyone in the town of Cafayate who speaks English. However, one of the best investments you can make, in my opinion, is to learn Spanish. It is one of the best languages to know, with over 20 countries that speak it and more native Spanish speakers in the world than native English speakers.
CONCLUSION
Of course, if it is Galt’s Gulch, then I am breaking one of the sacred rules - as was written in Atlas Shrugged. To liken it to Fight Club: “First rule of Galt’s Gulch, Don’t talk about Galt’s Gulch!”
However, I am so excited about this project that I am putting my money where my mouth is and buying a place there. And I recommend to anyone looking for something of this sort that you take a look ASAP. I will be surprised if there are many lots left by October/November when they are having their next big celebration.
In a recent blog post I called La Estancia, "the world's first libertarian enclave". I used the word "libertarian" because that was the best one-word label I could put on it. However, it is more than that. The people who are gravitating to La Estancia can best be described as non-conformists. They tend to be individualistic, non-statist, free-minded and free willed people who refuse to accept and live life the way they are told to live it.
This, more than anything, is why you should consider having a place there. There is no other place in the world, that I know of, where you can live amongst a group of people like this.
CONTACT
During my time at La Estancia de Cafayate I got to know virtually everyone - all the salespeople, concierges, developers and planners. They have set-up a special email just for TDV subscribers:tdv@lec.com.ar. They understand that TDV readers are going to be quite a bit more intelligent and savvy in regards to wanting a place in a spot like La Estancia than just regular off-the-street enquiries, so you'll get priority attention by contacting them through that email.
Or if you contact them directly through their website (www.laestanciadecafayate.com), just mention you heard about it from The Dollar Vigilante and they'll give you prompt attention.
Alaska ; A quien le importa???
Esta canción, aparte de un clásico de nuestra música patria, tiene el poder en la letra, de que cualquier colectivo, o persona, la puede hacer suya en muchos momentos de su vida.
Es como un levantar la cabeza, mirar de frente y a los ojos de quien quizá te juzgue, y con un rejuvenecimiento rebelde, cantar con la sonrisa puesta "¿A quien le importa?.
Y seguir tu camino, tus ideas, o utopías sin que nadie te las cambie.
Solo hay que cambiar por convencimiento, no por lo que digan algunos charlatanes de feria...que ocupan buenos sillones, y tienen mejores sueldos...
interview with Dionisio Borda, Paraguay's minister of finance
[from Silvia Pavoni @ The Banker: Global Financial Intelligence since 1926, 20 August 2010]
Paraguay banks on natural resources
The government of Paraguay has faced many challenges when striving to implement democratic reform and social policies while maintaining economic stability and promoting growth. The country's minister of finance, Dionisio Borda, outlines the government's efforts to make the most of its natural resources, attract private investment and build up Paraguay's infrastructure.
Q: In what areas does Paraguay have opportunities for growth?
A: Paraguay has several very important competitive advantages. The country is a food producer, involving agriculture and cattle-raising. We're also a clean energy producer; we're the largest energy exporter in the region. We consume only about 6% of the output of Itaipú [a hydroelectric plant on the border between Paraguay and Brazil] and we're now in discussion with a foreign company [Rio Tinto Alcan of Canada] over the installation of an aluminium plant, which is very energy-intensive. The [aluminium] project is being studied by an economic team within the government, formed by the finance minister, the central bank governor and the industry, agriculture and public works ministries. It is a signal of the level of interest in the country.
The third advantage that Paraguay has is its low population density: 11 inhabitants per square kilometre - this is a density you don't see very often.
The country has another very important natural resource: water. The Guarani aquifer [one of the world's largest sources of fresh water that lies beneath the surface of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay], which is underground and suitable for human consumption, has hardly been developed at all and has huge strategic value.
Paraguay is also defined by its rivers. If you look at a map of Paraguay, you'll see how the rivers look like the veins of a body. A friend of mine, who is a hydrologist, went into that profession because, when he was a child, he opened the encyclopaedia and looked at what it said about Paraguay. Against the many pages of information about other countries, what it said about our country was this: 'it is a country permeated by rivers; it is the country of water'.
This is a country of great inequality but of great [social] integration. We don't have direct access to the sea, but this is one of the challenges that this government has undertaken: the development of infrastructure and logistics.
Another advantage for Paraguay is being part of Mercosur [a regional trade agreement between Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay]. Paraguay has taken advantage of its membership, although it has its negative sides too. But in the medium to long term, membership of Mercosur offers many advantages and that's one of the reasons why Rio Tinto Alcan wants to put its plant here: low-cost energy and access to the markets of Brazil and Argentina.
Q: Paraguay has a very low tax/gross domestic product (GDP) ratio. If this increases, it might create more funds for infrastructure and education. What are the government's plans?
A: Yes, we have very few fiscal pressures. Our value-added tax (VAT) is the lowest in South America: 10% against 21% in Argentina, 23% in Uruguay, 19% in Brazil and 18% in Chile. Our corporate profit tax is 10%, while in the region the average is about 30%. We have yet to introduce a personal income tax; we have been trying to do so since 2003, but there is resistance.
Since 2003, though, we have had an expansion of the [corporate] taxpayer base from 100,000 to 500,000 today. We reduced the tax rate and this became an incentive for people in the 'informal' sector to join the formal sector. The tax/GDP ratio used to be 9%, then it went up to [the current] 12%, and we hope it will reach 15% [by 2013]. This would give us a better chance of funding our infrastructure and public works.
We keep on finding resistance from [Paraguay's] congress against the implementation of a personal income tax but we keep on fighting for it. It is going to be difficult to introduce it this year, but hopefully we can do so next year.
There are three objectives behind the introduction of a personal income tax: one is to increase the government's revenue. The second is to formalise the economy; people would be able to deduct VAT from their taxable personal income, so they'd have an incentive to ask for a receipt when they purchase items. The third objective is to fight illegal activities. Paraguay doesn't have a good reputation in this area, and the more we clarify how large someone's assets are, the more we can see where their income comes from. This should help resolve the issues of prestanombres [an individual who lends his or her name as owner of assets to circumvent regulations].
Also, we think that public-private partnerships (PPPs) will help develop the country's infrastructure. Right now, there is a legislative proposal to give the private sector a highway management concession. The roads concerned connect Asunción to Ciudad del Este and Encarnación in a triangle. This would be the country's most serious infrastructure plan to date through concessions to private investors.
We're also working on a PPP scheme for airports, which would be a first for Paraguay. There are already [smaller] private airports here and we need to work on a framework that would guarantee fair competition between all of them and guarantee that the government can comply with its obligations [in all of them].
Q: One of this government's promises was to enact stronger social policies but some say that the introduction of wider benefits has discouraged people from looking for jobs. What have been the results of the welfare strategy?
A: In reality, there isn't a true unemployment benefit scheme, but what the government did was to accelerate its conditional money transfer policy. This means that the government gives a small subsidy to people in extreme poverty [earning less than $1 per day]. Families in this situation receive about $50 per month on the condition that their children go to school and that the children go for medical check-ups once a month.
The government didn't have 100% control over the success of these measures but fundamentally I believe the impact has been positive. From 17,000 families in this programme in 2008, there were 103,000 families in 2009. This has complemented the [poor families'] income from remittances from their relatives in the US and Europe, which decreased last year.
We want sustainable growth that will generate employment and will not destroy the environment. We're working on some important environmental regulations in agribusiness.
We also want to promote private and public investment and attract foreign investors. Paraguay is a safe country in terms of security. It is an amicable country. It is welcoming towards foreigners. We have a law that gives incentives to foreign investors and says that they don't need to pay taxes until they start production - no VAT is charged on the installation of machinery and no tax is charged on capital imported. Glass companies, beverage companies and textiles companies from the wider Latin American region and from Europe have taken advantage of this.
Q: Do both Paraguay and its government have a perception problem?
A: Paraguay is not a country that does much promotion of itself abroad. We are a government with a social mission. We have a very high degree of poverty but there are no other restrictions. We work really well with businesses and their associations.
We are trying to eliminate the preconceptions about this government as populist because it has a social mission - this is not a populist government. This government wants to combine social policies with market policies for the sustainable growth of the country.
Companies that are present in Paraguay recognise that this government has improved the security situation. Social spending has increased, much of which has been directed towards the security of the country. Direct investment in security and education are also objectives. We also need to improve the institutions of the state - to ensure that the government, as an institution, works.
Q: The government has not played a significant role in developing Paraguay's infrastructure in the past, leaving the private sector to fill the gaps - building schools and roads that connect companies to highways, for example. Is there a risk that the private sector will increasingly become disaffected with the public sector?
A: In the past, during the dictatorship and early post-dictatorship period, public resources were not what they should have been. If the private sector is not provided with infrastructure or schools, it will try to create them itself, but this is not the correct approach. What we believe is that we should work in harmony with the private sector, that people should pay their taxes and that they should receive services from us. We are now working with the private sector on PPP programmes.
We have not had a very democratic government in Paraguay or a government committed to social issues. Being committed to social issues doesn't mean going to war with the private sector. We need to work with the private sector and deal with these issues. These are the conditions for [economic] growth. If you have social instability, none of the government's or private sector's efforts will produce any results: this is the history of central America. Countries where there was a lack of social policies had social instability in the end, and that hinders the development of the private sector too.
Q: You were finance minister for the first two years of the previous government, held by the right-of-centre Colorado party. How does this government differ from its predecessors?
A: There is more effort in this government. For 61 years, no government has handled this kind of public policy [focusing on social issues]. There is a learning curve, the bottom of which coincided with the international financial crisis. This made our efforts to meet our objectives much harder.
The international financial crisis and a terrible drought, combined with new people being brought into government and therefore lacking in public administration experience - all of this called for more communication and presentation [of our programmes and policies].
We solved some of the fiscal issues in the previous government term. First, we had to renegotiate the [public debt] maturity and the rate for internal debt; second, we implemented a partial reform of the fiscal base - we reduced corporation tax from 30% to 10% because in practice that was the actual rate that was being paid. We wanted to introduce a personal income tax.
We reformed the five cajas [savings banks] and the pension funds, so that their deficit would be reduced. We also created a 'second floor' bank, the Agencia Financiera de Desarrollo [financial development agency].
Q: You are known to be very strict with the budget. How do other ministries react when you do not accommodate their requests for additional funds?
A: It is not just one person's decision, it has to do with the availability of resources. At the beginning, it was difficult to establish a certain discipline; everybody wanted funds. Another part of the problem is efficiency. Initially, people thought that problems could be solved only with additional funding, but one also needs to develop the ability of doing things more efficiently. People understand this now.
Having a deficit gives a country inflation problems and affects its negotiating power for external loans. Since 2003, Paraguay has not had a deficit. Even during the crisis, in 2009, with a gross domestic product contraction of -3.8%, Paraguay increased the amount of tax collected. This is because there has been a big jump in the management of tax administration since 2003.
Q: What's the biggest challenge for the Ministry of Finance?
A: There is still much to be improved. We need to make all parts of the public administration more efficient; we need to invest more and to improve the service. Unfortunately, the political effort is not sufficient for the economic effort. If we have stronger political parties, they will make better public policies and better economic policy, and this means creating a better environment for growth and investment.
We need to work a lot with congress [to get our reforms approved]. It's a challenge. The political side of things needs to mature more. On the other hand, this society needs to create a stronger middle class, which would be the engine for growth. Our entrepreneurial class needs to look beyond Paraguay. Paraguay has a future in the export market. We need to learn from the emerging markets that have a good policy of investment distribution, such as Chile, Uruguay, Brazil and countries in Asia; [we must focus on] greater social justice, production geared for exports and investment in infrastructure.
The largest sector of employment in Paraguay is currently in family agricultural companies that have fewer than 50 employees. We need to generate employment and invite investments into Paraguay.
Paraguay banks on natural resources
The government of Paraguay has faced many challenges when striving to implement democratic reform and social policies while maintaining economic stability and promoting growth. The country's minister of finance, Dionisio Borda, outlines the government's efforts to make the most of its natural resources, attract private investment and build up Paraguay's infrastructure.
Q: In what areas does Paraguay have opportunities for growth?
A: Paraguay has several very important competitive advantages. The country is a food producer, involving agriculture and cattle-raising. We're also a clean energy producer; we're the largest energy exporter in the region. We consume only about 6% of the output of Itaipú [a hydroelectric plant on the border between Paraguay and Brazil] and we're now in discussion with a foreign company [Rio Tinto Alcan of Canada] over the installation of an aluminium plant, which is very energy-intensive. The [aluminium] project is being studied by an economic team within the government, formed by the finance minister, the central bank governor and the industry, agriculture and public works ministries. It is a signal of the level of interest in the country.
The third advantage that Paraguay has is its low population density: 11 inhabitants per square kilometre - this is a density you don't see very often.
The country has another very important natural resource: water. The Guarani aquifer [one of the world's largest sources of fresh water that lies beneath the surface of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay], which is underground and suitable for human consumption, has hardly been developed at all and has huge strategic value.
Paraguay is also defined by its rivers. If you look at a map of Paraguay, you'll see how the rivers look like the veins of a body. A friend of mine, who is a hydrologist, went into that profession because, when he was a child, he opened the encyclopaedia and looked at what it said about Paraguay. Against the many pages of information about other countries, what it said about our country was this: 'it is a country permeated by rivers; it is the country of water'.
This is a country of great inequality but of great [social] integration. We don't have direct access to the sea, but this is one of the challenges that this government has undertaken: the development of infrastructure and logistics.
Another advantage for Paraguay is being part of Mercosur [a regional trade agreement between Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay]. Paraguay has taken advantage of its membership, although it has its negative sides too. But in the medium to long term, membership of Mercosur offers many advantages and that's one of the reasons why Rio Tinto Alcan wants to put its plant here: low-cost energy and access to the markets of Brazil and Argentina.
Q: Paraguay has a very low tax/gross domestic product (GDP) ratio. If this increases, it might create more funds for infrastructure and education. What are the government's plans?
A: Yes, we have very few fiscal pressures. Our value-added tax (VAT) is the lowest in South America: 10% against 21% in Argentina, 23% in Uruguay, 19% in Brazil and 18% in Chile. Our corporate profit tax is 10%, while in the region the average is about 30%. We have yet to introduce a personal income tax; we have been trying to do so since 2003, but there is resistance.
Since 2003, though, we have had an expansion of the [corporate] taxpayer base from 100,000 to 500,000 today. We reduced the tax rate and this became an incentive for people in the 'informal' sector to join the formal sector. The tax/GDP ratio used to be 9%, then it went up to [the current] 12%, and we hope it will reach 15% [by 2013]. This would give us a better chance of funding our infrastructure and public works.
We keep on finding resistance from [Paraguay's] congress against the implementation of a personal income tax but we keep on fighting for it. It is going to be difficult to introduce it this year, but hopefully we can do so next year.
There are three objectives behind the introduction of a personal income tax: one is to increase the government's revenue. The second is to formalise the economy; people would be able to deduct VAT from their taxable personal income, so they'd have an incentive to ask for a receipt when they purchase items. The third objective is to fight illegal activities. Paraguay doesn't have a good reputation in this area, and the more we clarify how large someone's assets are, the more we can see where their income comes from. This should help resolve the issues of prestanombres [an individual who lends his or her name as owner of assets to circumvent regulations].
Also, we think that public-private partnerships (PPPs) will help develop the country's infrastructure. Right now, there is a legislative proposal to give the private sector a highway management concession. The roads concerned connect Asunción to Ciudad del Este and Encarnación in a triangle. This would be the country's most serious infrastructure plan to date through concessions to private investors.
We're also working on a PPP scheme for airports, which would be a first for Paraguay. There are already [smaller] private airports here and we need to work on a framework that would guarantee fair competition between all of them and guarantee that the government can comply with its obligations [in all of them].
Q: One of this government's promises was to enact stronger social policies but some say that the introduction of wider benefits has discouraged people from looking for jobs. What have been the results of the welfare strategy?
A: In reality, there isn't a true unemployment benefit scheme, but what the government did was to accelerate its conditional money transfer policy. This means that the government gives a small subsidy to people in extreme poverty [earning less than $1 per day]. Families in this situation receive about $50 per month on the condition that their children go to school and that the children go for medical check-ups once a month.
The government didn't have 100% control over the success of these measures but fundamentally I believe the impact has been positive. From 17,000 families in this programme in 2008, there were 103,000 families in 2009. This has complemented the [poor families'] income from remittances from their relatives in the US and Europe, which decreased last year.
We want sustainable growth that will generate employment and will not destroy the environment. We're working on some important environmental regulations in agribusiness.
We also want to promote private and public investment and attract foreign investors. Paraguay is a safe country in terms of security. It is an amicable country. It is welcoming towards foreigners. We have a law that gives incentives to foreign investors and says that they don't need to pay taxes until they start production - no VAT is charged on the installation of machinery and no tax is charged on capital imported. Glass companies, beverage companies and textiles companies from the wider Latin American region and from Europe have taken advantage of this.
Q: Do both Paraguay and its government have a perception problem?
A: Paraguay is not a country that does much promotion of itself abroad. We are a government with a social mission. We have a very high degree of poverty but there are no other restrictions. We work really well with businesses and their associations.
We are trying to eliminate the preconceptions about this government as populist because it has a social mission - this is not a populist government. This government wants to combine social policies with market policies for the sustainable growth of the country.
Companies that are present in Paraguay recognise that this government has improved the security situation. Social spending has increased, much of which has been directed towards the security of the country. Direct investment in security and education are also objectives. We also need to improve the institutions of the state - to ensure that the government, as an institution, works.
Q: The government has not played a significant role in developing Paraguay's infrastructure in the past, leaving the private sector to fill the gaps - building schools and roads that connect companies to highways, for example. Is there a risk that the private sector will increasingly become disaffected with the public sector?
A: In the past, during the dictatorship and early post-dictatorship period, public resources were not what they should have been. If the private sector is not provided with infrastructure or schools, it will try to create them itself, but this is not the correct approach. What we believe is that we should work in harmony with the private sector, that people should pay their taxes and that they should receive services from us. We are now working with the private sector on PPP programmes.
We have not had a very democratic government in Paraguay or a government committed to social issues. Being committed to social issues doesn't mean going to war with the private sector. We need to work with the private sector and deal with these issues. These are the conditions for [economic] growth. If you have social instability, none of the government's or private sector's efforts will produce any results: this is the history of central America. Countries where there was a lack of social policies had social instability in the end, and that hinders the development of the private sector too.
Q: You were finance minister for the first two years of the previous government, held by the right-of-centre Colorado party. How does this government differ from its predecessors?
A: There is more effort in this government. For 61 years, no government has handled this kind of public policy [focusing on social issues]. There is a learning curve, the bottom of which coincided with the international financial crisis. This made our efforts to meet our objectives much harder.
The international financial crisis and a terrible drought, combined with new people being brought into government and therefore lacking in public administration experience - all of this called for more communication and presentation [of our programmes and policies].
We solved some of the fiscal issues in the previous government term. First, we had to renegotiate the [public debt] maturity and the rate for internal debt; second, we implemented a partial reform of the fiscal base - we reduced corporation tax from 30% to 10% because in practice that was the actual rate that was being paid. We wanted to introduce a personal income tax.
We reformed the five cajas [savings banks] and the pension funds, so that their deficit would be reduced. We also created a 'second floor' bank, the Agencia Financiera de Desarrollo [financial development agency].
Q: You are known to be very strict with the budget. How do other ministries react when you do not accommodate their requests for additional funds?
A: It is not just one person's decision, it has to do with the availability of resources. At the beginning, it was difficult to establish a certain discipline; everybody wanted funds. Another part of the problem is efficiency. Initially, people thought that problems could be solved only with additional funding, but one also needs to develop the ability of doing things more efficiently. People understand this now.
Having a deficit gives a country inflation problems and affects its negotiating power for external loans. Since 2003, Paraguay has not had a deficit. Even during the crisis, in 2009, with a gross domestic product contraction of -3.8%, Paraguay increased the amount of tax collected. This is because there has been a big jump in the management of tax administration since 2003.
Q: What's the biggest challenge for the Ministry of Finance?
A: There is still much to be improved. We need to make all parts of the public administration more efficient; we need to invest more and to improve the service. Unfortunately, the political effort is not sufficient for the economic effort. If we have stronger political parties, they will make better public policies and better economic policy, and this means creating a better environment for growth and investment.
We need to work a lot with congress [to get our reforms approved]. It's a challenge. The political side of things needs to mature more. On the other hand, this society needs to create a stronger middle class, which would be the engine for growth. Our entrepreneurial class needs to look beyond Paraguay. Paraguay has a future in the export market. We need to learn from the emerging markets that have a good policy of investment distribution, such as Chile, Uruguay, Brazil and countries in Asia; [we must focus on] greater social justice, production geared for exports and investment in infrastructure.
The largest sector of employment in Paraguay is currently in family agricultural companies that have fewer than 50 employees. We need to generate employment and invite investments into Paraguay.
splendid Cafayate/Salta pix from Greg Utas (M8)
I just finished organizing the photos from my recent Argentina trip.
To see them go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/grutas/sets
Click on "Cafayate 2011" at the left.
Click on "Slideshow" at the upper right.
Click on "Show info" at the upper right.
The photos will play one at a time. You can also click on the small photos at the bottom of the screen or on the "< Prev" and "Next >" arrows at the top to navigate through them.
Cheers,
Greg
To see them go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/grutas/sets
Click on "Cafayate 2011" at the left.
Click on "Slideshow" at the upper right.
Click on "Show info" at the upper right.
The photos will play one at a time. You can also click on the small photos at the bottom of the screen or on the "< Prev" and "Next >" arrows at the top to navigate through them.
Cheers,
Greg
 |
| valve for the acequia that runs through Greg's lot (M8) & ours (M7) |
“La misa del asesino”
Por Laura Vales
Pagina12
Después de que la Armada lo pasara a retiro, Zanchetta soportaba con su mirada helada, su porte discreto y su voz suave cada vez más preguntas incómodas en las parroquias porteñas. Bergoglio lo trasladó de San Pedro Telmo apenas apareció en la primera plana de este diario. El Golfo de Génova lo cobijó en Italia por unos meses, hasta que a mediados del año pasado volvieron a buscarle destino. Los jerarcas de la Iglesia pensaron, quizá, que sacándolo de la comuna el confesor de los pilotos de los vuelos de la muerte recuperaría tranquilidad. No fue así: en julio del año pasado reapareció en la parroquia Nuestra Señora de la Merced de Caseros, la principal de Tres de Febrero. Lo reconocieron y el obispo Guillermo Rodríguez Melgarejo pretendió nombrarlo entonces en la Sagrada Familia. Las protestas de familiares de ex detenidos-desaparecidos lo obligaron a rever la designación. Esa iglesia está a pocas cuadras del Colegio Militar y cercana a la Brigada Aérea de Palomar, lugar desde el que partían vuelos para arrojar prisioneros vivos al mar. Vecinos, junto con integrantes del partido Nuevo Encuentro, van a gestionar ante el partido de Tres de Febrero la declaración de “persona no grata” del sacerdote.
Por orden del cardenal, Rodríguez Melgarejo le buscó otro lugar dentro de su diócesis. Zanchetta asumió el 6 de marzo pasado como administrador de la parroquia María Inmaculada de San Martín, el 14 se presentó a la feligresía. Apenas una semana después, una volanteada de la JP Evita le volvió a recordar su pasado, que es presente eterno. “Como a los nazis les va a pasar/ a donde vayan los iremos a buscar”, gritaban los militantes. Al presbítero se le acortan los tiempos: ya no son meses sino apenas días los que necesitan los fieles para detectarlo y reclamar que la jerarquía eclesiástica no siga ofendiendo la memoria colectiva.
–¿Cuál fue la explicación cristina?
–No me acuerdo bien, pero me hablaba de que era una muerte cristiana, porque no sufrían, porque no era traumática, que había que eliminarlos, que la guerra era la guerra, que incluso en la Biblia está prevista la eliminación del yuyo del trigal. Me dio cierto apoyo.
El testimonio de Graciela Daleo, una de las sobrevivientes de la ESMA, abunda en esa comunión de religión y milicia. Mientras le aplicaban descargas eléctricas, “yo rezaba Avemarías a los gritos y eso los enfurecía. Pernías tenía al cuello un crucifijo y una medalla de la Virgen Milagrosa”. Antonio Pernías fue uno de los primeros oficiales de la Armada que admitió ante el Senado que había torturado. La reapertura de los juicios por delitos de lesa humanidad convirtió a Pernías en uno de los presos de Marcos Paz.
Con poco más de 30 años, Zanchetta era uno de los sacerdotes adiestrados para defender la “civilización occidental y cristiana”. Los métodos eran lo de menos, apenas medios consagrados al fin supremo.
En la estructura del obispado castrense, la misión de Zanchetta fue bien recompensada. A partir de la recuperación democrática se desempeñó como jefe del Servicio Religioso del Comando de Operaciones Navales de la Base de Puerto Belgrano y ocupó hasta diciembre del 2004 el cargo de canciller y secretario general del obispado castrense. En el 2007, el entonces arzobispo Antonio Baseotto lo envió a Haití para asistir a las tropas argentinas que integran la Misión de Paz de la ONU. Por entonces ya había estallado el conflicto con el ex presidente Néstor Kirchner, que desconoció a Baseotto como obispo luego de que éste propusiera tirar al mar al ministro de Salud, Ginés González García, por pronunciarse a favor de la despenalización del aborto.
Como los antecedentes podían jugarle una mala pasada a Zanchetta, en 1981 sus superiores lo habían sacado de la órbita de la Armada y lo pasaron a Ejército. En 1984, en democracia, lo devolvieron a jurisdicción de la Marina. La Iglesia oculta esos pases y niega así la presencia de Zanchetta en la ESMA.
Cuando el presbítero Pedro Candia, a cargo del obispado castrense, informó en julio del 2008 a la Armada que Zanchetta cesaba en su tarea pastoral, el cardenal Bergoglio lo sumó a la diócesis metropolitana. El obispo Oscar Ojea lo destinó a principios de 2009 como vicario a la iglesia San Pedro González Telmo, de Humberto Primo al 300. Su llegada provocó algunas preguntas incómodas para el párroco Ernesto Salvia sobre los antecedentes del cura que lo asistiría. A mediados de ese año este diario reveló que a pesar de la orden de Defensa de pasar a retiro a los capellanes que hubieran estado durante la dictadura, la Armada lo conservaba a Zanchetta como capitán de fragata en disponibilidad con un sueldo de 5000 pesos. La información provocó una nueva orden de la entonces ministra Nilda Garré al jefe de la Marina, Jorge Godoy, para que cesara en sus funciones al capellán. La resolución adjuntaba el legajo oficial que daba cuenta del paso de Zanchetta por la ESMA transformada en centro clandestino de detención. Los lazos de complicidad entre oficiales y sacerdotes en actividad desde la dictadura alimentan más de una sospecha: en el Edificio Libertad algunos memoriosos aseguran que Godoy desde su cargo de secretario de Relaciones Institucionales de la fuerza había viajado a México para brindarle apoyo económico a Ricardo Miguel Cavallo, el oficial de la ESMA detenido en ese país en 2000 por orden del juez español Baltasar Garzón, extraditado a Madrid en 2003 y desde 2007 preso y juzgado en la Argentina.
La agrupación Hijos se presentó ante el juez federal Sergio Torres para solicitar que le pidiera a la Iglesia y a Defensa todos los antecedentes de Zanchetta y lo citara a declarar. Junto al capellán Luis Antonio Manceñido son los dos curas señalados como los confesores de los oficiales que piloteaban los vuelos y fueron reconocidos también por secuestrados en la ESMA.
Bergoglio le sigue buscando destino a Zanchetta. Quizá la confesión en los estrados judiciales le permita encontrar su lugar.
Fuente:
Pagina12
“Alerta vecino” decían los volantes que, el domingo pasado, militantes de la JP Evita repartieron en la iglesia María Inmaculada de la diócesis de San Martín cuando el cura Alberto Angel Zanchetta, desde el altar, se disponía a terminar la misa dando su bendición a los presentes. No pudo hacerlo. Ante el escrache de los chicos, aguantó lo que pudo y finalmente hizo mutis por el foro. Ex capitán de fragata, Zanchetta fue durante la dictadura uno de los capellanes de la Escuela de Mecánica de la Armada, donde se ocupaba de contener espiritualmente a los marinos que volvían de tirar secuestrados al mar.
Zanchetta había desembarcado a principios de marzo en esa parroquia del conurbano, donde lo mandaron con bajo perfil, para ocuparse sólo de hacer tareas administrativas. Cobijado por el obispo de San Martín y Tres de Febrero, Guillermo Rodríguez-Melgarejo, el cura sin embargo pronto se dio el gusto de subir al púlpito. Dio una primera misa el domingo 6 y a la semana siguiente comenzó a querer dar órdenes a la gente que participa en el trabajo social de esa parroquia.
“Se daba ínfulas. Empezó a preguntar quién se ocupaba a de esto y de lo otro, pero no con la actitud de un cura que viene a hablar tranquilamente con la gente. Se le notaban las insignias arriba del hombro”, definió a Página/12 una de las laicas del lugar. Así llamó la atención, googlearon su nombre y encontraron los antecedentes. La noticia corrió rápido.
Según varios testimonios, Zanchetta repitió ante la gente de la parroquia en una reunión de la Pastoral (cuando se reúnen los integrantes de Caritas y otras ramas del trabajo laico con el cura párroco) los dos argumentos que sostiene cada vez que es cuestionado. El primero es que “todo lo que se dice” sobre él “es mentira”. El segundo, que le “faltan pocos años” para jubilarse; “hasta entonces tengo que tener una actividad”.
El escrache
Los de JP Evita imprimieron volantes con la historia de Zanchetta y el domingo fueron a la misa de 11. Tal como lo esperaban, el cura estaba otra vez encargado de realizar el oficio. Los chicos se distribuyeron en la nave y escucharon buena parte del oficio antes de escracharlo. “En el sermón, dijo que Dios era como una empresa”, contó Carolina Bordón, que aun conociendo los antecedentes del personaje quedó impactada por lo burdo del estilo. “Además, como parte de la homilía preguntó a los que estábamos escuchando si creíamos que las elecciones en Chubut o el Ministerio de Economía nos iban a cambiar la vida, como para marcar que hay que prestar atención a la fe y no a la política.”
Cuando el cura terminó de dar de comulgar, largaron el escrache. Uno de los chicos se paró: “Vecinos, queremos contarles que esta persona que está dando la misa estuvo en la ESMA durante la dictadura”, dijo, mientras los compañeros repartían los volantes en los que se advertía que “en la iglesia de su barrio da misa un asesino”.
La denuncia ayudó a que la novedad circulara. En la comunidad ya había habido movimientos internos. La parroquia tiene una escuela primaria y el día anterior las madres de los chicos que van a catequesis los retiraron de la misa del sábado y anticiparon que no los harían tomar la primera comunión si era Zanchetta el encargado de realizar el oficio religioso. Y el domingo a la tarde, después del escrache, un grupo de la pastoral social fue a hablar con el obispo y le exigió que sacara a Zanchetta de la parroquia. Se fueron de la reunión con ese compromiso de parte de Rodríguez-Melgarejo y desde entonces Zanchetta dejó de ser visto en el lugar. Sin embargo, todo indica que sigue cumpliendo funciones en la parroquia de Caseros, para la escuela Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes.
Fuente:
Piedra libre para Zanchetta
Por Nora Veiras“La mentira y el engaño son las armas del demonio”, suele repetir el presbítero Angel Zanchetta en sus homilías. La advertencia a sus feligreses resuena como una confesión de parte: Zanchetta es uno de los capellanes de la Armada denunciado por aliviar la conciencia de los pilotos de los vuelos de la muerte. Entre el ’75 y el ’77 actuó en la ESMA y ese trabajo le garantizó los vínculos que lo siguen manteniendo a flote. En 2009, el Ministerio de Defensa le ordenó a la Armada que lo pasara a retiro. Lejos de quedar a la deriva, el cardenal Jorge Bergoglio lo acogió en su diócesis. Página/12 lo identificó en la Iglesia San Pedro Telmo y, de inmediato, le buscaron nuevos destinos. A principios de mes reapareció en la parroquia María Inmaculada de San Martín, pero el secreto no duro mucho; un escrache de la Juventud Peronista Evita expuso ante los fieles la historia del pastor (ver aparte).
Por orden del cardenal, Rodríguez Melgarejo le buscó otro lugar dentro de su diócesis. Zanchetta asumió el 6 de marzo pasado como administrador de la parroquia María Inmaculada de San Martín, el 14 se presentó a la feligresía. Apenas una semana después, una volanteada de la JP Evita le volvió a recordar su pasado, que es presente eterno. “Como a los nazis les va a pasar/ a donde vayan los iremos a buscar”, gritaban los militantes. Al presbítero se le acortan los tiempos: ya no son meses sino apenas días los que necesitan los fieles para detectarlo y reclamar que la jerarquía eclesiástica no siga ofendiendo la memoria colectiva.
Los méritos
En El vuelo, el libro de Horacio Verbitsky que reproduce la confesión del ex capitán Adolfo Scilingo, el marino cuenta que después del primer vuelo en el que arrojó al mar prisioneros vivos, adormecidos, se sintió mal y fue a hablar con el capellán que “le encontró una explicación cristiana al tema. No sé si me reconfortó, pero por lo menos me hizo sentir mejor”, recordó.–¿Cuál fue la explicación cristina?
–No me acuerdo bien, pero me hablaba de que era una muerte cristiana, porque no sufrían, porque no era traumática, que había que eliminarlos, que la guerra era la guerra, que incluso en la Biblia está prevista la eliminación del yuyo del trigal. Me dio cierto apoyo.
El testimonio de Graciela Daleo, una de las sobrevivientes de la ESMA, abunda en esa comunión de religión y milicia. Mientras le aplicaban descargas eléctricas, “yo rezaba Avemarías a los gritos y eso los enfurecía. Pernías tenía al cuello un crucifijo y una medalla de la Virgen Milagrosa”. Antonio Pernías fue uno de los primeros oficiales de la Armada que admitió ante el Senado que había torturado. La reapertura de los juicios por delitos de lesa humanidad convirtió a Pernías en uno de los presos de Marcos Paz.
Con poco más de 30 años, Zanchetta era uno de los sacerdotes adiestrados para defender la “civilización occidental y cristiana”. Los métodos eran lo de menos, apenas medios consagrados al fin supremo.
En la estructura del obispado castrense, la misión de Zanchetta fue bien recompensada. A partir de la recuperación democrática se desempeñó como jefe del Servicio Religioso del Comando de Operaciones Navales de la Base de Puerto Belgrano y ocupó hasta diciembre del 2004 el cargo de canciller y secretario general del obispado castrense. En el 2007, el entonces arzobispo Antonio Baseotto lo envió a Haití para asistir a las tropas argentinas que integran la Misión de Paz de la ONU. Por entonces ya había estallado el conflicto con el ex presidente Néstor Kirchner, que desconoció a Baseotto como obispo luego de que éste propusiera tirar al mar al ministro de Salud, Ginés González García, por pronunciarse a favor de la despenalización del aborto.
Como los antecedentes podían jugarle una mala pasada a Zanchetta, en 1981 sus superiores lo habían sacado de la órbita de la Armada y lo pasaron a Ejército. En 1984, en democracia, lo devolvieron a jurisdicción de la Marina. La Iglesia oculta esos pases y niega así la presencia de Zanchetta en la ESMA.
Cuando el presbítero Pedro Candia, a cargo del obispado castrense, informó en julio del 2008 a la Armada que Zanchetta cesaba en su tarea pastoral, el cardenal Bergoglio lo sumó a la diócesis metropolitana. El obispo Oscar Ojea lo destinó a principios de 2009 como vicario a la iglesia San Pedro González Telmo, de Humberto Primo al 300. Su llegada provocó algunas preguntas incómodas para el párroco Ernesto Salvia sobre los antecedentes del cura que lo asistiría. A mediados de ese año este diario reveló que a pesar de la orden de Defensa de pasar a retiro a los capellanes que hubieran estado durante la dictadura, la Armada lo conservaba a Zanchetta como capitán de fragata en disponibilidad con un sueldo de 5000 pesos. La información provocó una nueva orden de la entonces ministra Nilda Garré al jefe de la Marina, Jorge Godoy, para que cesara en sus funciones al capellán. La resolución adjuntaba el legajo oficial que daba cuenta del paso de Zanchetta por la ESMA transformada en centro clandestino de detención. Los lazos de complicidad entre oficiales y sacerdotes en actividad desde la dictadura alimentan más de una sospecha: en el Edificio Libertad algunos memoriosos aseguran que Godoy desde su cargo de secretario de Relaciones Institucionales de la fuerza había viajado a México para brindarle apoyo económico a Ricardo Miguel Cavallo, el oficial de la ESMA detenido en ese país en 2000 por orden del juez español Baltasar Garzón, extraditado a Madrid en 2003 y desde 2007 preso y juzgado en la Argentina.
La agrupación Hijos se presentó ante el juez federal Sergio Torres para solicitar que le pidiera a la Iglesia y a Defensa todos los antecedentes de Zanchetta y lo citara a declarar. Junto al capellán Luis Antonio Manceñido son los dos curas señalados como los confesores de los oficiales que piloteaban los vuelos y fueron reconocidos también por secuestrados en la ESMA.
Formador
Antes de partir a Haití, Zanchetta combinaba su prédica castrense con la civil. Con la bendición del párroco Alejandro Puiggari, recaló entonces como segundo sacerdote en Nuestra Señora del Rosario del barrio de Palermo. Algunos creyentes recuerdan sus palabras desde el púlpito instando a votar por Mauricio Macri frente a Aníbal Ibarra y el aval elogioso a George W. Bush por “la defensa de la vida”. Puiggari es el encargado de Catequesis de la Arquidiócesis de Buenos Aires y el director de la Junta Nacional de Catequesis, por él pasa toda la enseñanza del país. El tiempo que estuvo en San Pedro Telmo lo ocupó en el asesoramiento espiritual del grupo scout. En su paso por el conurbano, la Iglesia insiste en reciclarlo para la formación de las nuevas generaciones.Bergoglio le sigue buscando destino a Zanchetta. Quizá la confesión en los estrados judiciales le permita encontrar su lugar.
Fuente:
Pagina12
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