After two years of unrest, the national outlook in Argentina is improving. (Source: La Nación & Poliarquía)

Turn on Bloomberg or CNN International, and you’ll see optimism is a rare global commodity these days. Gulf of Mexico residents watch their livelihoods disappear, the Euro hits a 4-year low against the dollar, and Iran prepares to join the flotilla party on the Gaza strip. Funny thing then this Argentina. Maybe it’s PBES (Post-Bicentennial Euphoria Syndrome) or possibly PMOS (Pre-Mundial Optimism Syndrome). Or maybe it is a genuine belief among Argentines that the times they are a changing, and better days lie ahead. The front-page headline of La Nación yesterday certainly suggests a strong shift in the winds of local expectations. “After an extended period of a political and social conflicts, economic crisis and serious questions about the quality of their elected officials,” says La Nación, “the negative national outlook has started to moderate regarding the country, the government and the future.” According to the survey conducted by Poliarquía, twice as many Argentines are optimistic about the country’s future compared to just six months ago, while the number of residents who have a negative outlook fell 22 points from 54% to 32%. While the numbers are encouraging, concerns persist on a variety of issues affecting Argentines like unemployment, poverty and insecurity. In summary, La Nación cautions public officials against breaking out the party hats; yet, a rising tide of optimism anywhere in the world today deserves a second look. (Full Story in Spanish)

Sebastian Piñera becomes Chile's next President in March. He is pro-business & foreign investment.

2011 will be a critical presidential election year in Argentina and aspiring candidates would do well to look at neighboring Chile and Uruguay for lessons in economic transformation. Both countries have elected presidents who ran on platforms prioritizing pro-business, foreign investment solutions over government programs and additional bureaucracy. Uruguay’s new president, Jose Mujica, takes office in March and “begins an international campaign for enticing investors to the country,” according to UPI. “Mujica said Uruguay needs more investment to create a greater number of better jobs and his government would ensure the right conditions are created for investors to be drawn to the Uruguayan economy. He realized the economy could not be improved only with legislation and that investors needed to have faith in Uruguay’s economic future.” And if Uruguay stands as the emerging model, Chile on the opposite border is the veteran shining star with a solid, twenty-year track record of attracting foreign investment across industries.  Building on that success, Investor’s Business Daily says the election of pro-free market Sebastian Piñera is a symbol “that an already prospering country (is) preparing to soar.” What has been Chile’s recipe for success? It’s really quite simple says IBD: “Instead of blaming the gringos and waging class warfare in Che Guevara T-shirts, they balanced their budget and respected private property. Instead of squandering a $19 billion state windfall from soaring copper prices, they managed it. They continued free-market privatization of pensions without reflexively opposing its origins, and signed free trade pacts with any nation that asked.” If it wants to remain relevant, much less competitive in the global economy, Argentina had better get its act together and do the same.  (Full IBD editorial)

500 new police officers, Chevy Merivas & Honda motorcycles hit the streets of BA this morning.

The new International Living Quality of Life Index covered yesterday gave Argentina high marks for “Risk & Safety;” yet security—or the lack thereof in many lower and middle class neighborhoods—remains the most important and troubling issue for many porteños. That’s why today’s introduction of the Metropolitan Police Force is being applauded throughout many corners of Buenos Aires.  According to Clarín, 500 trained officers will hit the streets and initially serve a supporting role to the Federal Police who have long held jurisdiction. In addition to taking on additional duties in the coming months, Police Chief Eugenio Burazco says the MPF ranks will grow to 1,400 officers by May and over 10,000 officers by 2016. In addition to being armed, the new officers will be patrolling the streets of Buenos Aires in style with a fleet of 50 new Chevrolet Meriva patrol cars painted with a distinctive black-and-white checkerboard pattern. Years in the making and highly politicized by opposition parties, the acceptance and perceived effectiveness of a Metropolitan Police Force will have serious implications for 2011 candidates like BA Mayor Mauricio Macri. On his facebook page, Macri describes today as an historic day designed to restore the “tranquilidad de la gente.” (the calm of the people.)

From China With Love: Over 400,000 fake Viagra and Cialis tablets were seized yesterday in BA.

No shortage of strange merchandise arrives daily at the Port of Buenos Aires, but the shipment seized yesterday by port officials is the kind of fodder that makes satirists and late-night talk show hosts salivate. On the surface, the jumbo container from China appeared innocent enough….“Electric Lamps” read the paperwork. But on closer inspection, Argentine Customs officials discovered 400,000 blister packs containing Viagra and Cialis tablets in 23 boxes. (You have to give the Chinese credit for good market timing. With temperatures soaring to 100 this past weekend, exposed skin, stress and sexual tensions runneth over in BA.) But rather than confiscating or sampling these little electric lamps (that reportedly last between 6 and 36 hours), court officials ordered a chemical analysis of the merchandise. The lab results were less-than-arousing: The tablets were fake…a finding which Pfizer later confirmed. So with all of the comedic elements in place (cultural, sexual, trade scandal, etc.), the floodgates opened on the local message boards. This comment by “DCirlo_Carlo” under La Nacion’s article is a prime example: “How wonderful!  Just what we Argentines needed, fake Viagra! On the bright side, at least we have abundant alternative sexual stimulants at hand: You just need to read the Political page of any newspaper, and the fever it generates would be enough to film 30 consecutive pornos without pausing for an aspirin.”

Cows outnumber people over 3:1 in Uruguay and grass-fed beef is the norm. (Photo: Eduardo Amorim)

An American Express print campaign several years back encouraged cardholders to travel abroad with this culinary tagline, “Only 4 restaurants in the world can prepare the perfect steak…3 of them are in Argentina.” Perhaps the only thing bigger than the country’s reputation for fine beef is the sheer girth of the cattle that roam the fertile Pampas. But a funny thing happened on the road to recovery from the ‘02 financial crisis, Alexei Barrionuevo tells New York Times readers: “Argentina, in some ways, is a victim of its own success. Exports rose after a steep devaluation of the Argentine peso in 2002 made the country’s beef more competitive globally. But supplies began to dry up for Argentine consumers — who eat more beef per person than any others in the world, industry officials say — causing prices to rise and stoking social discontent.” Further meddling by former President Kirchner and recent drought conditions have forced many farmers to focus more efforts on soybean cultivation. Advantage Uruguay. The neighboring country of 3.8 million is growing beef exports and gaining visibility on the world stage, thanks in part to an aggressive marketing campaign by INAC, the National Beef Institute. InvestBA remains highly bullish on this beautiful country which offers foreign investors unique investment opportunities, tax advantages, natural beauty in both the interior and along the Tango Coast, and—together with Argentina—the highest quality of life of any countries in Latin America. (Full NYTimes article)

BA subway workers threw debris on the tracks to block service November 10. (Source: Clarín)

One of the primary goals of InvestBA is to promote trade and investment opportunities in Buenos Aires, but in order to maintain credibility (and not come across as a Chamber of Commerce site), it’s important to highlight the occasional negatives as well. For that reason, “competitiveness” is one of the site’s main categories and these posts typically highlight the challenges Argentina faces in embracing economic transformation and competing on the global stage. Yesterday’s Brazilian article offered a laundry list of things that make BA great including a first-class subway system. Unfortunately, a Subte worker’s strike last week plunged the city into total chaos. The Miami Herald’s Andres Oppenheimer says the hidden costs of these strikes–440 so far this year–probably outweigh the millions of pesos in lost business. On a deeper level, the government’s willingness to let these strikes continue unabated is tantamount to embracing an “anything-goes” culture where chaos reigns and the political agendas of a few penalize millions of hard-working porteños. According to Oppenhemimer, Buenos Aires Mayor Maruicio Macri criticized the federal government at last month’s Americas Conference in Miami saying such protests and street closures only move Argentina “in the direction of an anarchic society, where there will be fewer investments and more poverty.” He added: “You often have just 10 people blocking traffic, and the police are protecting those 10 people instead of the hundreds of thousands who need to go to work. That’s ridiculous.” Indeed.

Attendees of the 45th Annual IDEA Conference seek answers on global competitiveness

One of Argentina’s most prestigious—and probing—private sector gatherings took place last week at the 45th Annual IDEA Conference in Mar del Plata. Over 800 Argentine executives met in the coastal resort town to ponder one giant question: Why is Argentina not more competitive on the global stage? Electronic voting commenced on the Conference’s Opening Day…hands on buzzers…top five answers are on the board. And in a pro-capitalist blast across the bow of the ruling Kirchner administration, an overwhelming 60% of those in attendance said “Public policies that take the life out of macroeconomic gains” were the primary obstacles hampering Argentina’s global competitiveness. According to La Nación, another 30% of respondents shared the blame with their political rivals and chose, “The Inability of Politicians and Businessmen to Adapt to the International Environment.” The IDEA debate and self-criticism comes on the heels of the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2009-10 which ranked Argentina 85th out of 133 countries surveyed. According to the Report, the primary negative hurting Argentina’s overall ranking is the lack of confidence in the ethical standards of many of the country’s politicians.  Julián Rooney, VP of Public Affairs at Minera Alumbrera offered a positive spin at IDEA ‘09, “Argentina has incredible opportunities to keep growing. But we need to maintain clear (i.e., political) rules of the game in the long-term.”