International

Brazil’s Lula meets Fernandez as begins first international trip

Photo: LUIS ROBAYO / AFP

January 23 | By AFP | Mauricio Rabuffetti |

Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva arrived at the presidential palace in Buenos Aires on Monday as he began a first foreign trip since his election by meeting with Argentine counterpart Alberto Fernandez.

The two leaders are due to discuss strategic bilateral “gas integration” and a “common South American currency” for financial and trade flows, the Argentine presidency said in a statement released on Sunday night.

Lula, 77, arrived at the Casa Rosada in central Buenos Aires at 11:00 am accompanied by his wife Rosangela da Silva. He was greeted by Fernandez and First Lady Fabiola Yanez.

Brazil is Argentina’s largest trade partner, according to official figures published last week by the INDEC national statistics institute.

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Brazil is the top destination for Argentine exports, amounting to 14.3 percent and $12.7 billion in 2022.

Close to 20 percent of Argentina’s imports are from Brazil, worth just over $16 billion last year.

“Argentina is the most important country in our diplomatic relations,” Feliciano de Sa Guimaraes, academic director for the Brazilian Center for Diplomatic Relations, told AFP.

Likewise, Fernandez’s government “depends a lot on Brazil”, not least in its negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), with whom Argentina has a $44 billion debt.

Following the bilateral meeting with Fernandez, Lula was due to hold talks in the afternoon with Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro.

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However, that meeting was canceled and Brazilian sources told AFP that Maduro had called off his trip to Argentina.

Maduro’s expected presence in Argentina had caused a stir, with civil organizations filing a complaint against the Venezuelan leader for human rights abuses, and some opposition politicians demanding he be arrested on arrival.

‘Rebuilding bridges’

On Tuesday, Lula will take part in a Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) summit.

His far right predecessor Jair Bolsonaro suspended Brazil’s participation in CELAC, alleging the body “gave importance to non-democratic regimes such as those of Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua.”

Lula is also due to meet Cuba’s President Miguel Diaz-Canel in Buenos Aires before heading to Montevideo on Wednesday for talks with Uruguay President Luis Lacalle Pou.

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Brazil Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira told the Argentine Telam news agency on Saturday that Lula was looking to “rebuild bridges” with the international community after four years of Bolsonaro’s populist leadership.

“What we will do in Buenos Aires and Montevideo is speak without partners about the situation we inherited and possible paths to follow,” said Vieira.

One challenge Lula will face is a crisis within the Mercosur trade group that comprises Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay over Montevideo’s decision to negotiate a bilateral free trade agreement with China without the consent of its regional partners.

Lula begins his visit to Argentina just two days after sacking army commander Julio Cesar de Arruda due to a a lack of “confidence” following the storming of the seats of power in Brasilia earlier this month by Bolsonaro supporters.

Lula has said he suspects the security forces may have been involved in the riots.

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International

Fire at substation triggers major blackout in San Francisco

The U.S. city of San Francisco was plunged into darkness Saturday night after a power outage left about 130,000 customers without electricity, although the utility company said service was restored to most users within hours.

Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) said in a statement posted on X that nearly 90,000 homes had their power restored by 9:00 p.m. local time (05:00 GMT on Sunday), while the remaining 40,000 customers were expected to have service restored overnight.

Large areas of the city, a major technology hub with a population of around 800,000, were affected by the blackout, which disrupted public transportation and left traffic lights out of service during the busy weekend before Christmas, a crucial period for retail businesses.

“I know it’s been a difficult day,” San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie said in a video posted on social media from the city’s emergency operations center. “There has been progress, but for those still without power, we want to make sure they are safe and checking in on their neighbors,” he added.

Lurie said police officers and firefighters advised residents to stay home as much as possible. He also noted that officers and traffic inspectors were deployed to manage intersections where traffic lights were not functioning.

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The mayor confirmed that the outage was caused by a fire at an electrical substation. Parts of the city were also covered in fog, further complicating conditions during the incident.

As a result of the blackout, many businesses were forced to close despite it being the weekend before Christmas. The sudden drop in shopper traffic ahead of the holiday is “devastating” for retailers, the manager of home goods store Black & Gold told the San Francisco Chronicle.

International

Cristina Kirchner recovering after appendicitis surgery in Buenos Aires

Former Argentine President Cristina Kirchner underwent surgery on Saturday after being diagnosed with appendicitis and is recovering “without complications,” according to a medical report released by the Otamendi Sanatorium.

Kirchner was admitted to the Buenos Aires medical center on Saturday after experiencing abdominal pain. Doctors performed a laparoscopic procedure that confirmed a diagnosis of “appendicitis with localized peritonitis,” the statement said, adding that her post-operative recovery has been progressing without complications.

The former president was transferred to the clinic with judicial authorization from her apartment in Buenos Aires, where she is serving a six-year sentence under house arrest for corruption.

International

Argentina detects first local cases of Influenza A (H3N2) Subclade K

Argentina’s National Administration of Laboratories and Health Institutes (ANLIS) “Dr. Carlos G. Malbrán” has confirmed the detection of three cases of influenza A (H3N2) corresponding to subclade K in the country. These are the first locally recorded cases of this variant, which has become predominant in several countries in the Northern Hemisphere in recent months and is associated with higher transmissibility.

The cases were identified through the National Network of Laboratories and Sentinel Units and confirmed by the National Reference Laboratory of INEI-ANLIS using genomic sequencing techniques. According to health authorities, the cases involve two adolescents from the province of Santa Cruz, detected as part of the Ambulatory Monitoring Strategy for Acute Respiratory Infections, and a child who had been hospitalized in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires.

In all three cases, patients experienced mild illness and recovered without complications. Officials did not specify whether any of the affected individuals had a recent travel history.

The jurisdictions involved have already launched the corresponding epidemiological investigations and are responsible for ensuring timely medical care for the detected cases. According to the latest integrated surveillance report, the circulation of influenza and other respiratory viruses in Argentina remains within expected levels for this time of year.