Teachers protest in La Plata (photo: Carlos Cermele/Télam/aa)
Teachers Protest as Conflict Continues: Hundreds of teachers protested today in front of the Buenos Aires provincial government building in La Plata as part of the ongoing conflict over wage negotiations. On the 11th day of their strike, teachers once again rejected the government’s offer of a 30.9% salary increase to be paid between March and August. They demanded to be called back to the negotiation table, and warned that “the conflict could extend through the year.” Union representative Roberto Baradel confirmed that the unions will not accept the mandatory conciliation established last Wednesday and that they will continue striking. “If they touch one peso belonging to the workers we will go and look for them in every corner in the province,” said Baradel. Buenos Aires governor Daniel Scioli stated that “my pacience is endless but I have to make decisions that are somewhere between what’s ideal and what’s possible,” whilst state news agency Telam quotes government sources as saying that “an appeal for legal protection is an alternative [the government] is considering if the unions don’t accept the mandatory conciliation and don’t begin the school year, leaving almost 4 million children without school.”
President Fernández Meets With French Counterpart: President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner met French president François Hollande in Paris this morning. In a joint press conference after the private meeting, the presidents stated that they discussed issues of bilateral trade, education agreements, and international security. The most celebrated outcome of the meeting was the assurance by president Hollande that his country will “back a financial agreement” between the Argentine government and the Paris Club in order to cancel the country’s debt. “France wants Argentina to sort out its financial situation, they are about to negotiate a financial deal with the Paris Club and we will back it, because it’s also in our best interest to boost our exchange with Argentina,” said the French president. President Fernández also thanked Hollande for his government’s support in the litigation against holdouts that Argentina is fighting in a US court. Talking about both governments’ concerns over the situation in the Ukrainian region of Crimea, president Fernández ratified her government’s stance on territorial integrity, saying that “in order to preserve world peace, it’s fundamental to not have a double standard, you can’t agree with territorial integrity in Crimea and not agree with territorial integrity in Malvinas.” The Argentine president will remain in France until Friday. This afternoon she was meeting representatives from oil company Total, whilst tomorrow she will meet French prime minister Jean-Marc Ayrault and will attend the opening of the Paris Book Fair, where Argentina will be a guest of honour on the 100th anniversary of writer Julio Cortázar’s birth.
Trucks Toll Suspended: A judge suspended a measure put in place last month, by which trucks had to pay a special $185 toll when entering or leaving the City of Buenos Aires on peak hour. The three-month suspension came as a response by judge Pablo Cayssials to an appeal for legal protection filed by the Argentine Federation of Freight Companies (Fadeeac), as the judge understood that paying the toll “would be a violation to the rights” of Fadeeac, and stated that it is not within the jurisdiction of the Interior and Transport Ministry to set such toll, as he considered it a tax (which can only be set and modified by Congress). Interior and Transport Minister Florencio Randazzo said that the government will appeal the ruling, which he called “a complete lack of common sense.” Randazzo also said that the judge ruled “in favour of the transport businesses” by establishing “that thousands of trucks can circulate again on motorways in peak hour, holding traffic which was already beginning to be more fluid and safe for everyone.”