Yesterday, I told Taipan Insider readers that Argentina’s penion nationalization left much to be desired in the way of transparency. On Monday, a federal judge froze assets here in the U.S. in connection with the pension.

Read my full Taipan Insider article (available to all Taipan Publishing Group members) for all the details.

But that’s not the end of the nationalization trend.

Actually, it’s not the beginning either. The timeline can get a bit confusing, so try and stick with me…

On May 25, 2003, Nestor Kirchner was elected president of Argentina. He was elected by default, however… The main candidate, former President Carlos Menem, withdrew from the race for fear of a run-off election that he felt he could not win.

He was a popular president, though, with one of his notable acheivements being the renegotiation of Argentina’s massive debt from defaulted loans with the IMF. He successfully dropped the payback amount to about one-third of the original amount.

But in the background, President Kirchner was creating state-owned companies and nationalizing a number of industries: energy, railways, water companies, and telecoms.

The Economist wrote about him on August 10, 2006, “By founding state-owned enterprises and re-nationalising privatised ones he has expanded the executive’s power over employment and prices… His biggest triumph came on August 3rd, when Congress gave him authority to reallocate government spending as he sees fit.”

That’s in line with some of Kirchner’s closest allies, like Evo Morales, president of Bolivia, and Hugo Chavez, president of Venezuela. Even the leftist Lula da Silva, president of Brazil has some nationalization tendencies. (Read my blog post from Nov. 12 for more info.)

So with so much of the countries infrastructure under the State’s belt, what’s left for private investors?

Not much, and dwindling everyday, it would seem.

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Alright, folks, my trip to Buenos Aires is nearly complete, and I have to say, I think I’ve found the three best things in the city, foodwise.

Yesterday I told you about a place in Puerto Madero that served outstanding raviolis. Tonight I just had the best dessert and the best wine. Let me tell you about them.

Okay, here’s your night out…

Start in Puerto Madero, walking along the water, checking out the people in sidewalk seating as they check you out. Head to Bahia Madero and have the spinach ravioli in parmasean sauce. Another option is the ricotta and walnut ravioli in spinach sauce. Enjoy the ambiance of al fresca dining, and watch the couples stroll by in their (undoubtably uncomfortable) stylish shoes.

Then make your way to San Telmo, to a little organic restaurant called Origen. It’s a small corner eatery with a lot of vegetarian options, but since you’ve just had the best ravioli in the world, you headed straight for the postres y dulce (or dessert). Go with the helado de frutas rojas.

You’ve just order the best vanilla icecream with raspberry sauce (with frest raspberries) you’ve had in your life. It’s a healthy portion, too, so after you get your check, you’ll walk for a couple blocks up Av. Peru to a place called La Cava.

This is an out of the way wine bar with excellent staff, and a number of very good wines served by the cup.

And to be honest, in this city, it can be hard finding wine by the cup.

I had the Tempranillo (pronounced Tempranisho) and it was delightful. I may have found the one red wine that will not give me headaches. A heavy pour and a plate of smoked swiss cheese and bread will set you back only 15 pesos, or about $4.33.

When I left the wine bar, it was raining, and the street I wasn’t frequented by taxis all that often. Now, the staff will certainly be more than happy to call one for you, as they did for one of their regular patrons just before I left.

But I like the rain, and it was only a couple blocks before I hit the major street, Av. de Mayo, where the tango festival was last Saturday.

I stopped for a brief moment under an overhang in a quiet plaza with an old clock tower at the end and watched the storm roll in with some spectacular lightening displays.

It was the perfect end to a wonderful evening.

With my belly full, and my head not aching (yet), I’m calling it a night. I sincerely hope you’re enjoying your evening as well.

I’m kind of a laid-back person. I like to get dressed up to go out somewhere fancy every once in a while, but for the most part, I like comfort.

And since much of this trip was to be spent outside the fashion-conscious cities of Santiago and Buenos Aires, I opted for hiking shoes and my stinky flip-flops that have travelled with me from Casablanca to Vietnam.

So when I got to Buenos Aires, and was slammed by 90-degree heat, and surrounded by chic portenos in their little sandals and Bermuda shorts, I felt more than a bit underdressed.

Good thing there are clothing stores everwhere, and shoe stores by the dozen.

I opted for something simple, black sandal thongs to replace the stinky flip-flops that were wearing thin anyway. I slid them on and instantly felt more chic. In the basura went the old pair, and I sauntered down Florida Avenue.

I’d forgotten that fashion and vanity comes with a price: blisters.

Throwing away those old stinky flops was a big mistake… Lesson learned.

Well, it’s Tuesday, and it’s back to business as usual in the streets of Buenos Aires.

Yesterday, the city celebrated its Dia de la Virgen, a national holiday that closed many businesses, including the stock exchange. After the break, the exchange is opening higher today.

The one immediate way you can tell BA is back in business is by listening to the traffic.

My hotel is on a busy street, Sarmiento that runs east to west, parallel to major corridors, like Av. Cordoba and Av. Corrientes. As people make their way down to Puerto Madero, or out to the Palacio del Congresso (where I spent some time this morning), many of them pass right under my “balcony.”

(It’s actually more of the size of a step, but it’s pretty.)

The sidewalks are packed with people on their way to somewhere… It reminds me a bit of New York. I even saw one gentleman get nudged by a car trying to pull into an alley. There was the inevitable fist slamming on the hood, and curses in Spanish, and the flow of people around the problem never stopping.

As far as I can tell, people will only stop to watch a fight at a futbol match…

I popped into a restaurant/cafe for some empanadas de jamon y queso (ham and cheese) on the way back to the hotel. They were scrumptious. It’s fast food, but I stood with the locals at the high tables, and ate with a knife and fork.

It’s a bit overcast today, and muggy. I was sure we were going to get a storm last night. We did see some lightening and a quick shower, but the humidity is sticking around, it would seem.

That means I’ll be sweating through my T-shirt as I make my way to the Palermo neighborhood.

Enjoy your Tuesday, and I’ll chat with you again this evening.