The Wall Street Journal - 03.09.2019

A8| Tuesday, September 3, 2019 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

BUENOS AIRES—When

President Mauricio Macri took

office in 2015, he quickly elim-

inated his leftist predecessor’s

interventionist policies that

economists had blamed for sti-

fling business in Latin Amer-

ica’s third-biggest economy.

Now Mr. Macri has reversed

course, implementing policies

similar to those he once railed

against as he confronts finan-

cial-market turmoil sparked by

a crisis of confidence in the fi-

nal months of his embattled

administration.

On Monday, the govern-

ment implemented capital

controls, in an unexpected

move that comes more than

three years after Mr. Macri

lifted similar restrictions. His

administration already has

frozen prices for gasoline and

BYRYANDUBE

electors” named by Pope Francis

to 67, or 52% of the total. The

rest were named by St. John

Paul II or Pope Benedict XVI.

—Francis X. Rocca

SYRIA

Unilateral Truce Holds

In Rebel Area

A cease-fire in northwest

Syria held Monday, months after

the United Nations warned of a

humanitarian crisis developing in

the last rebel stronghold fighting

against the regime of President

Bashar al-Assad.

Russia declared the unilateral

cease-fire in Idlib province on

Friday and it went into effect

Saturday morning. The province

has suffered daily airstrikes

since the end of April as the re-

gime of President Bashar al-

Assad, backed by Russia and

Iran, attempts to retake the

province and reassert control

over the entire country after

eight years of conflict.

—Nazih Osseiran

LEBANON

Israel Shells Hezbollah

After Missile Attack

Israeli armored units and an

attack helicopter on Sunday

fired around 100 artillery shells

at a Hezbollah squad that at-

tacked an Israeli military base

and military ambulance near the

border town of Avivim, a mili-

tary spokesman said. The ambu-

lance and base were hit by anti-

tank missiles fired by Iran-

backed Hezbollah, he said; there

was no major damage.

—Dov Lieber

some basic food products to

help Argentines hurting from

economic stagnation and an-

nual inflation running at about

55%, one of the world’s high-

est rates.

“It’s a disaster for Macri,”

said Bruno Binetti, a political

analyst in Buenos Aires. “For

him to reinstate restrictions

after lifting them in the first

days of his administration I

would say is a humiliation.”

The Argentine peso

strengthened on Monday to

close at 57.99 to the dollar

from 59.51 in the previous ses-

sion on Friday, according to

Tullett Prebon. The benchmark

Merval stocks index closed up

6.45%.

The capital controls require

the central bank to limit dollar

sales, forcing companies and

banks to obtain authorization

to purchase hard currency. Ex-

porters now have to repatriate

all hard currency from sales

abroad. Individuals seeking to

buy dollars will have a limit of

$10,000 a month. Bank trans-

fers abroad by individuals will

also face a monthly limit of

$10,000. Dollar purchases by

nonresidents will be restricted

to $1,000 a month, and they

won’t be allowed to make bank

transfers abroad.

Finance Minister Hernán

Lacunza said the government

wasn’t happy about imple-

menting “unpleasant mea-

sures” it once quickly dis-

carded in hopes of building a

modern and competitive econ-

omy open to global trade.

“Argentina seems to be in a

circle where every so often we

return to the same port,” Mr.

Lacunza said in a television in-

terview late Sunday. “This

isn’t the port where we imag-

ined we’d be at this moment.”

Mr. Lacunza, who was ap-

pointed finance minister two

weeks ago, said Argentina

wasn’t facing a run on the cur-

rency. But he defended the

controls as a precaution to

prevent an uncontrollable de-

preciation of the peso.

The International Monetary

Fund, which approved a $

billion bailout package for Ar-

gentina last year, said it was

analyzing details of the mea-

WORLD NEWS

sures and would be in contact

with Argentine authorities.

In the short term, Mr.

Macri’s measure could help

stem capital flight and slow

the depletion of reserves, Cap-

ital Economics, a London-

based consulting firm said.

But in the long term, the con-

trols would undermine busi-

ness activity and fuel black-

market demand for dollars.

The central bank has in-

creased the selling of dollars

in an effort to reduce the

sharp depreciation of the peso

after Mr. Macri suffered defeat

in an Aug. 11 primary vote.

Economists say foreign-cur-

rency reserves have fallen by

$12.2 billion since Aug. 9,

some 20% of the total.

The latest turmoil was

sparked by investor concerns

about the return to power of

the nationalist Peronist move-

ment that is expected to ditch

austerity policies Mr. Macri

began to put in place in 2015

after winning power. Alberto

Fernández, the Peronist candi-

date, is the heavy favorite to

win the Oct. 27 election.

Argentina Imposes Capital Curbs

President introduces

policies he once

opposed to try to

stem a peso rout

President Mauricio Macri in Buenos Aires on Monday, a day after his government reinstated some restrictions on dollar purchases.

NATACHA PISARENKO/ASSOCIATED PRESS

WORLD WATCH

POLAND

Pence, Duda Sign

Accord on 5G Security

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence

and Polish President Andrzej Duda

signed an agreement tightening

guidelines on 5G network security,

part of a wider push by the Trump

administration that has targeted

Chinese telecom giant Huawei.

The declaration didn’t mention

Huawei Technologies Co. by name

but said Poland would carefully re-

view any company interested in

building new, faster 5G internet in-

frastructure to establish “whether

the supplier is subject, without in-

dependent judicial review, to con-

trol by a foreign government.”

The two leaders made the deal

official Monday during a visit by

Mr. Pence to Poland. He came for

a World War II commemorative

ceremony and meetings.

—Catherine Lucey

VATICAN

Pope Francis Names

13 New Cardinals

Pope Francis named 13 men

whom he would appoint as car-

dinals next month, with the

choices highlighting some of his

signature concerns: the develop-

ing world, relations with Islam

and advocacy for migrants.

The pope said in St. Peter’s

Square in the Vatican on Sunday

he would bestow red hats on

the new cardinals on Oct. 5, in a

ceremony called a consistory.

Ten of the men named are

under the age of 80 and thus el-

igible to vote for a pope in a fu-

ture conclave. Their addition will

bring the number of “cardinal

A BETTER PLACE: An Afghan migrant boards a boat on the Greek

island of Lesbos with his son, joining hundreds of others being

relocated as part of a bid to reduce overcrowding in refugee camps.

ALKIS KONSTANTINIDIS/REUTERS

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