San José de Flores subte station (photo: Beatrice Murch)
Subte Fares to Increase: Subte fares in the city of Buenos Aires will increase as of next Friday 14th March, from the current $3.50 to $4.50 for rides purchased with electronic cards, such as Sube and Monedero. Tickets bought in cash will cost $5 each, and the premetro will go up from $1 to $1.50. Those travelling more than 20 times per month will see the price of the 21st to the 30th ticket reduced to $3.60; the 31st to 40th will be reduced to $3.15, and all the trips from the 41st onwards will cost $2.70. The measure was published in the City’s Official Gazette this morning, and justified by a yearly rise in costs of 16%. The City’s General Auditor, Eduardo Epszteyn, criticised the rise, indicating that a report produced by his office at the legislature’s request found the subte‘s operational costs to be significantly lower than those mentioned by the government. “I can’t understand how [Mayor Mauricio] Macri’s government could reach that value. Their costs are grossly inflated,” he said.
Macri to Avoid Trial Over Wiretapping: A judge ruled that there is not enough evidence to bring Buenos Aires City Mayor Mauricio Macri to trial over the 2009 wiretapping scandal. Former Education Minister Mariano Narodowski, former Metropolitan Police chief Jorge ‘Fino’ Palacios, and alleged spy Ciro James will undergo trial. Judge Sebastián Casanello considered that neither the prosecutor or the complainants “specify direct evidence supporting the allegation that Macri ordered that Néstor Leonardo and Sergio Burstein be spied on.” According to Casanello, the political responsibility that may be attributed to the Mayor is insufficient for criminal proceedings. Despite this latest development in the case, Macri is still prosecuted and the judge has ordered new evidence to be presented to him in order to decide whether to acquit him or to bring him to trial with the rest of the accused.
Buenos Aires Province Teachers to Strike Next Week: Teachers’ unions in the province of Buenos Aires confirmed they will go on strike on Monday and Tuesday next week. In a statement, the Teachers’ Unions Front (FGDB) said that they will “continue with the struggle until we receive a wage offer from the government that can be analysed by the teachers.” The FGDB has rejected the provincial government’s offer of a 25.5% wage increase, as they demand at least a 35% raise. Schools in the province did not start the term as expected this week due to the strikes.