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WORLD NEWSWednesday 8 March 2017

Argentina unions protest against president’s job cuts 

A union member waves a flag atop a roof as thousands demonstrate in Buenos Aires, Tuesday,                                       Federation and backed by        metallurgic industry where
March 7, 2017. Argentina’s most powerful unions brought tens of thousands of people into the                                     other unions, demonstra-        17,567 workers lost jobs
capital’s streets to protest government job cuts, the lifting of restrictions on imports and other poli-                         tors waved banners and          between December 2015
cies of President Mauricio Macri.                                                                                                white and blue national         and January 2017, accord-
                                                                                                                                 flags and blocked traffic       ing to the Argentine Center
                                                                                                   (AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano)  along the main avenues          for Economic Policy, an op-
                                                                                                                                 of Buenos Aires. Unionists      position think tank.
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina        into the capital’s streets on   other policies of President                                       also asked for salary hikes     The job cuts, the elimina-
(AP) — Argentina’s most        Tuesday to protest govern-      Mauricio Macri.                                                   to keep up with the high        tion of tariffs aimed at pro-
powerful unions brought        ment job cuts, the lifting of   During the march orga-                                            inflation and threatened to     tecting the local industry,
tens of thousands of people    restrictions on imports and     nized by the CGT Labor                                            stage a nationwide strike       and the slashing of utility
                                                                                                                                 in March or April if their      subsidies have fueled la-
                                                                                                                                 demands are not met by          bor unrest ahead of this
                                                                                                                                 Macri’s government.             year’s Congressional elec-
                                                                                                                                 Tens of thousands of state      tions, which are seen as
                                                                                                                                 employees have been             key if Macri wants to con-
                                                                                                                                 fired since Macri took of-      tinue implementing pro-
                                                                                                                                 fice last year vowing to        market policies that have
                                                                                                                                 reduce spending and con-        been praised by investors
                                                                                                                                 sumer prices. Macri says        abroad.
                                                                                                                                 the measures are needed         “We come from five years
                                                                                                                                 to revive Argentina’s weak      of recession and we’ve fi-
                                                                                                                                 economy, attract invest-        nally returned to the world
                                                                                                                                 ments and end economic          in an intelligent manner
                                                                                                                                 distortions under Macri’s       and with extreme care
                                                                                                                                 populist predecessor that       when it comes to jobs,”
                                                                                                                                 fanned an inflation rate of     said Production Minister
                                                                                                                                 around 40 percent, one of       Francisco Cabrera. “This
                                                                                                                                 the highest in the world.       year we’re going to grow
                                                                                                                                 The layoffs have hit par-       and no march is going to
                                                                                                                                 ticularly hard in Argentina’s   stop us.” q

Colombia’s Santos may have received Odebrecht contributions 

JOSHUA GOODMAN                 government to help it win       bill for Santos’ conservative                                     plea agreement last year        in the war-torn country of
Associated Press               a $100 million arbitration      rival during the 2014 race.                                       with the U.S. Justice Depart-   public safety and the lack
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) —        involving disputes over a       Martinez said his office had                                      ment, admitted to paying        of economic opportunity.
A corruption scandal that      highway project.                obtained new evidence                                             some $800 million in bribes     The fallout from Brazil’s
has spread across Latin        It’s not clear what evidence    showing how Odebrecht                                             to win business across Latin    continuing investigation
America is inching closer to   existed to back up the          executives introduced the                                         America, Santos’ approval       into Odebrecht is increas-
Colombian President Juan       claim or what crime, if any,    candidate, Oscar Ivan Zu-                                         rating stood at 24 percent      ingly implicating politicians
Manuel Santos amid new         may have been commit-           luaga, to a top-flight Bra-                                       in February, near the lowest    across the region. Last
evidence that suggests         ted. Presidential campaign      zilian campaign strategist                                        since he took office in 2010,   month, a judge in Peru or-
a Brazilian construction       contributions by compa-         during a 2014 meeting in                                          according to a Gallup poll.     dered the arrest of former
company paid $1 million        nies other than banks are       Sao Paulo and then pro-                                           The same survey found Co-       President Alejandro Tole-
for an opinion poll carried    illegal in Colombia, and        ceeded to pay $1.6 million                                        lombians for the first time in  do for allegedly receiving
out during his re-election     Santos didn’t report taking     for services to the candi-                                        more than 12 years of poll-     some $20 million in bribes
campaign. Chief Prosecu-       any contributions from in-      date’s campaign.                                                  ing by Gallup listing corrup-   for granting a lucrative
tor Nestor Humberto Marti-     dividuals. But it’s an open     Santos has yet to comment.                                        tion as the country’s top       contract to build a high-
nez said late Monday eve-      secret in Colombia and          But just his association with                                     problem, more than even         way between Brazil and
ning his office had verified   elsewhere in Latin America      Odebrecht is bound to fur-                                        the traditional concerns        the Pacific Coast.q
that Odebrecht signed a        where such restrictions ex-     ther damage Santos with
contract with a Panama-        ist that politicians regularly  elections to choose his
nian-registered company        turn to companies for un-       successor 14 months away
linked to a local advertising  declared contributions and      and an uneasy coalition in
agency hired by Santos’        to pay costs associated         congress needed to imple-
2014 campaign. He said         with running for office.        ment a peace accord with
the company’s goal was to      Indeed, Odebrecht is also       leftist rebels showing signs
curry favor with the Santos    accused of covering the         of fraying. Odebrecht, in a
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