Weekly Report - 09 January 2014 (WR-14-01)

President Cristina Fernández appears to be taking seriously her doctors’ advice to work less. After a little over a month’s medical leave of absence in October and November, she took a further 18-day break over Christmas. Her usually busy Twitter feed has been inactive since 13 December. In her absence the government has been struggling with a wage dispute with the provincial police forces that culminated in widespread rioting, and a heatwave that left much of Buenos Aires without power for days on end. Government communication has also suffered, as demonstrated by contradictory statements on a possible property tax hike.