Argentina

Elections and then some in Argentina

Elections and then some in Argentina

I never knew midterm elections could be so important. In the US, the ruling party usually takes a shellacking, but that didn’t happen here. The President’s party won the majority of the provinces.

The elections were important both internally and externally. Inside, the win allowed the president to start meeting just a few days later with the Governors and others to go after some real changes. The big reforms are, cutting government spending, making hiring and firing easier, and jailing the crooked fat cats.

From the outside, investors were waiting for a clearer validation of the president’s pro business orientation. Now you read names like George Soros (via Reuters) investing in mobile banking startups. That idea, while still shocking to me for three reasons (Soros, mobile banking, startup) would have been much harder if they had lost.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-argentina-economy-startups/soros-cohen-among-big-name-investors-betting-on-argentine-startups-idUSKBN1DG32R

Speaking of losers, remember the last president who robbed the country blind? She came in second place for Senate in the province of Buenos Aires, but still gets a place in the legislature since there were a couple of seats to be awarded. The rub is now she has legislative immunity which is much like diplomatic immunity. She is facing three ongoing investigations into her “what happened to all the money?” past administration. While she may be found guilty of one or all (all!), she won’t serve any time. However, the spotlight is on her and her cronies (who are being scooped up every other day).

The resulting division among the former ruling Peronists helps President Macri and it looks like this country has the best chance it has seen in generations.

 

BizEnglish
Peter Nyheim, Ph.D.

 

Bitcoin, Bolivia, and Barbeque

Bitcoin, Bolivia, and Barbecue

Bye, bye Bitcoin?

So, China and Jamie Dimon say no to Bitcoin while Argentina is adding 200 Bitcoin ATMs:

https://cointelegraph.com/news/argentina-jumps-on-bitcoin-atm-bandwagon-with-200-expected-in-october

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/22/bitcoin-jpmorgans-jamie-dimon-lays-into-bitcoin-again.html

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/chinese-bitcoin-exchange-btcchina-stops-accepting-deposits/articleshow/60853179.cms

As I write this, and after a 20% dip, the electronic currency is rebounding nicely over the key $4000 (USD) level seen as crucial. Now South Korea and Japan are giving the cryptocurrency a thumbs down as well. In Asia, many seem to be scared of scams or things run amok. It will be interesting to see what Vietnam has planned in a couple months. In other places such as Argentina where cattle are still trusted more than banks as a long term savings mechanism, a new digital currency may seem safer. Some are even saying that it could prove to be White Knightish* for the almost failed state of Venezuela where I worked for a year in the 90’s when most parts were safe. Good luck finding one now in Caracas, or for that matter, milk. They deserve so much better.

I have no claims to cryptocurrency mastery (nor to quantum computing, and fear those who claim expertise!) and subconsciously am still partial to the gold standard. But who do you trust? We are all still scarred from the last financial crisis. Maybe a little digital competition could be a  good thing for the financial houses who brought down all of ours? Or maybe Bitcoin is just another tulip. For now, new Bitcoin ATMs are planned in Argentina. Planned.

Bolivia. Where have you been all my life?

Apologies to Bolivia for not visiting sooner and for being manipulated by the western press. Over a decade of growth, many say due to the natural gas, and mineral reserves, has led to some great new infrastructure. Imagine a highway you would expect in Stuttgart, but through the Andes. A socialist president who mostly nationalized the natural gas reserves, noticeably plowed a pile of money into infrastructure. Couple this with small business entrepreneurialism throughout the country and you have year after year of growth. Fossil fuel smugglers to Argentina have been thwarted (others thrive however) due to the fact that foreigners pay a higher international fuel price to even fill up their cars. Huh? Why hasn’t Venezuela thought of this? Oh yeah, the government are the smugglers, and the drug dealers, and the (insert pejorative here).  The mix of socialism and capitalism was fascinating to see as a strategy, conscious or not. Hats off to you Bolivia.

Barbeque.

The famous Argentine beef has slipped a notch. Not to worry, it is still good. Rumor has it that the best meat is exported. Remember the no competition thing? The beef industry is sitting pretty to the disadvantage of many an asado (bbq). So now you are forced to buy what is offered domestically. Slowly it seems more competition is coming. Like the rest it will take time. Congressional elections are coming in a couple weeks. If the president’s party does well enough, international investors will feel more at ease. Stay tuned.


*It can maybe help a little, but that is one big hole of a mess

BizEnglish
Peter Nyheim, Ph.D.

 

 

Project fi in tourism technology

Project fi in tourism technology

Wherever I go, people always ask me about my phone, or rather my plan. I have been using Project fi from Google for about six months and it has been generally good.

How it works
Google did a deal mostly with Sprint and T-Mobile and many international carriers in 2015. It tries wifi first and then switches to a carrier if the signal strength is not strong enough. At last count, it was available in 135 countries for about $20 dollars a month plus $10 a gig for data with unused data carried over to the next month. Scared Verizon?

Porting my number from Verizon took a day or two and the Project fi website was user friendly. I ordered the Nexus 5x through Project fi. One of the major criticisms of Project fi deals with the limited phone options. Currently only Pixel and Nexus phones can use it. To their credit, they have announced that a deal is in the works for more options later this year. My phone came a couple days later with the Project fi SIMM card. Later, I bought a backup phone with another SIMM, just in case.

I was up and running pretty quickly and after about two weeks, my withdrawal symptoms from iOS started to subside. I still have a tablet and MacBook Air. What I missed most were Apple notes for quick thoughts shared across all devices. Now it is a Google doc.

Wifi please!
So fi is available just about everywhere. Well, not in Vietnam. Wifi only here. Turns out the country right now is one of the few where fi is not available using a carrier. There is still a 15 minute delay in television signals, imposed by the government for censorship purposes, so it is not too surprising. Wifi is readily available, but I do remember trying to tell a cab to wait while I went back into a restaurant to get a signal to show him an address. He left due to my offline nonexistent Vietnamese language capabilities. Translate is not the best either. I got another cab, but still.

Pick up, pick up, pick up...
I may have a cheap plan, but that doesn’t mean others do. I tried to call a dry cleaners in Vietnam and they did not pick up since there would be a charge for accepting an international call. I friended them on Facebook and used Messenger. All went well.

Welcome to…
is always a nice greeting. When I landed in Seoul for example, and turned on my phone, Project fi greeted me with “Welcome to Korea,” Project fi has coverage here… with all the applicable rates. I also remember flying over countries and my phone lighting up, “Welcome to Brazil” (never been, yet) on my way to the Southern Cone. With that in mind, don’t forget to update your contacts with the country codes.

Anytime now fi…
In Argentina, fi originally thought I was in Uruguay and not Buenos Aires. It took a day and some empanadas later before they caught on and I could get a signal “outside.”

Battery life, ugh...
By far the weakest link is the battery. The new Oreo operating system, (which to me, sounds like a pejorative) is said to help. It is available in beta, but I’ll wait for Google to push it to my phone when they are ready. In the meantime, a charge for 30 minutes during the day typically gets me through.

Google has a whole host of technology strategies. Remember Google Fiber? It looks like they got burned there which could explain the lack of push behind Project fi. Can a primarily software dedicated company succeed and scale in the customer service centric phone business? They seem to be moving very slowly.

So...
For now, I use the phone to call at (20 cents a minute) and text back to the states and Messenger (Vietnam) and WhatsApp (Argentina) internationally. It is nice having a signal in the streets for quick things though. Go figure, my two communication worlds are Google and Facebook. Future utilities?

Digital trends does a good job breaking it down. The pricing strategy must scare the incumbent carriers.
https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/google-project-fi-plans-pricing-explained/


BizEnglish
Peter Nyheim, Ph.D.

Technology hurdles and beer in Argentina

 

Technology hurdles and beer in Argentina

Protectionism.

I could end this story there. Anytime anyone comes to Argentina, they come with electronics in tow, hopefully undetected by customs. I happened to be traveling with beer making equipment and English language translation books. A friend- in a burst of mashup strategy- is both adding beer and English classes to his hotel. While the US craft beer market may have reached maturity, it is in the early stages here. I had no problem getting my handles, taps, and screws from JFK to Buenos Aires since I prepped TSA before I put my bag through. However on my domestic connection here, I could not carry them on board and had to scramble to box and check them. Victoria at the ticket counter saved the day.

There is no way I could have shipped the goods. They would have been confiscated. Lawyers, connections, time, and money may help others get some stuff through. But for the most part, one would be forced to see what they can buy here to make beer. Nothing. You have to have the equipment made. My crass capitalistic mind has trouble with the fact that one has to start at such a disadvantage in getting things going. That could change. Remember the new president?

Ok so with beer, you have to make your own tools. Crazy. With electronics, the price point is often too high, say 2-3 times as American prices. Taxes (a whole host of them) are mostly to blame. Needless to say the black market is thriving while honest brokers are closing their stores. The demand for electronics and good beer is there in this highly educated country. Imagine what could happen if they could actually get stuff (anything!) and at world market prices.


BizEnglish
Peter Nyheim, Ph.D.

Argentina elections, Kinda

Argentina - Elections, kinda

No wine with those empanadas today Mister!; unless you are creative. More on that later. There is an antiquated law that prohibits alcohol sales on election days. In the way, way past I have been told that the gauchos would get too drunk to vote; and in Argentina, they vote on Sundays. Luckily, I have been coming here for some time and was provided a glass of Malbec, sorry two, ensconced in a teapot and cup.

President Macri, a reform minded president, was elected almost two years ago, which drew the visits of Obama, and today, Pence (with great live translation). The country used to be blacklisted on the world capital markets. Not anymore. And after yesterday’s better than expected results for the kinda elections, expat investors are mapping out where to plant their investments. By kinda, I mean Sunday was one big non binding poll for the real midterm elections in October; but they mean a lot here and provide more clarity and momentum, and sadly more ads. Like all elections, digital marketing and search engine optimization played an even bigger role in some cases replacing past campaign strategies of big rallies. Less spoken words and more online photos were the orders of some campaign advisors. We are still unpacking its effectiveness, since the Senate race in Buenos Aires is still to close to call.

Some of the major areas that the President is trying to reform and facing resistance is in competition. For example, in the area of technology strategies, there is only one main company in the nation that provides a network for credit card transactions. Hmm. So while many want to protect the workers of native industries, such as textiles, as another example, the other side wants consumers to have more choices and as a result lower prices and, wait for it, less inflation.

In this context, bitcoin is playing a bigger role than in many other places, with a lot of startups located in Buenos Aires (where the Governor lives on a military base, for her protection, but more on that next time) are focused on digital currency. I wish them better luck than Uber. More to come..

Bizenglish