Category: Uncategorized

Verb. This term has two main meanings somehow related to each other. 1. To call formally one or more people to attend a specific place or event. E.g.: ¿Quiénes son los expertos que convocó la ANEP para repensar el futuro de la educación?: Who are the experts called by ANEP to rethink the future of education? 2. To announce, to make public an act, such as a contest, competitive examinations, a strike, etc., so that whoever is interested can participate. This term is used in expressions such as, convocar elecciones (to call an election), convocar una licitación (to call for tenders), convocar un concurso, etc. E.g.: JCE convoca licitación internacional para comprar papel de seguridad para actas: EC announces international tender to buy security paper for minutes.
In the first case, the noun is la convocación: la convocación de los expertos; and in the second la convocatoria: la convocatoria a licitación (the call for tenders). As you can see, we are always speaking about a call. dc

Masculine noun. To give something to someone to use for some time and then return it. E.g.: El granjero obtuvo un préstamo para comprar un tractor nuevo: The farmer took out a loan to buy a new tractor.
The lexcial expression is tomar/pedir un préstamo if you are the borrower or deudor and dar un préstamo or prestar if you are the creditor or acreedor.
Curiously, in Spanish we do not have a verb to express the concept of ‘to borrow’; we say instead pedir/tomar prestado. E.g.: Do not borrow or lend to others: No le preste, o pida prestado a otras personas. dc

Feminine noun. Another term with several meanings. These ones are relevant to us:
1. Decrease in the price, value and estimate of something. E.g.: Esto se demuestra por la tendencia a la baja de los precios de venta de la industria comunitaria en el período considerado: This is demonstrated by the decreasing trend in the Community industry’s sales prices over the period considered. The verb is bajar and the lexical locution is estar a la baja. E.g.; Los precios de las viviendas están a la baja: property prices are down.
2. Act in which the cessation is declared in industries or professions subject to tax and also the tax form to effect such withdrawal. The lexical locution is darse de baja de and dar de baja (de). E.g.: Me di de baja del impuesto a las ganacias: I unsubscribed from income tax.
3. Cessation of a person in a service, professional body, association, etc., and the document that accredits such act. The lexical locutions are also darse de baja de and dar de baja (de). E.g.: ¿Cómo me doy de baja del servicio? How can I unregister from the service?
4. Leave granted to a worker for a period of time in cases of illness, accident, etc. The lexical locutions is estar de baja. E.g.: María estuvo de baja por maternidad de enero a abril de 2021 y volvió a su cargo en mayo de 2021. María was on maternity leave from January to April 2021 and joined again in May 2021. dc.

Masculine noun. Also known as Producto Interior Bruto and Producto Bruto Interno (PBI), it is a macroeconomic quantity that expresses the monetary value of the production of goods and services of final demand of a country or region for a specified period, usually one year or quarterly. E.g.: La baja tasa fiscal real, estimada en 11% del PIB, limita las capacidades de inversión pública: The low real tax rate, estimated at 11 per cent of GDP, limits the possibility of public investment. dc

Femenine noun. Fund management. The person is called el/la gestor/a de fondos. The company is called la gestora de fondos. E.g.: Blackrock es una gestora de fondos de inversión.
There are different types of gestión de fondos: 1. fondos monetarios: monetary funds; 2. fondos de renta fija: fixex income funds; 3.fondos mixtos: mixed funds; 4.fondos de renta variable: equity funds; 5. fondos garantizados; guranteed funds.
The verb is gestionar. dc

Masculine noun. Board of directors of certain associations, parties, etc. The chairman of the board is called el/la presidente del directorio, and the CEO is el/la director/a ejecutivo/a, who is usually also a member of el directorio. E.g.: La designación del director ejecutivo se efectuará por un periodo limitado y renovable: The appointment of the CEO is made for a limited, renewable period. dc

Feminine plural noun. Essential expenses that must be paid during a judicial process. They include: 1. The fees of the lawyer, called honorarios in Spanish. 2.The fee of the expert (perito en Spanish), if necessary, and also called honorarios. 3. The fee of the procurator, when their intervention is required. 3. Court notifications, copies, documents, testimonies, etc. 4. Insertion of advertisements or edicts. 5. Duties such as the notary’s payment. 6. Compensation to witnesses. 7. Other expenses generated directly by the judicial process itself.
E.g.: La Directiva sobre asistencia jurídica que tenemos es tan limitada que no ayuda a cubrir las costas judiciales en estos casos: The Legal Aid Guidelines that we have is so minimal that it will not help with legal costs in these sorts of cases.
The verb with the same root but not used in the same context is costear and the adjective is costoso/a/s. dc

Feminine noun. Public sale of goods that is made to the highest bidder, and regularly by mandate and with the intervention of a judge or other authority. E.g.: Pujé por un famoso cuadro en la subasta: I bid for a famous painting at the auction. The verb is subastar.
An almost perfect synonym of subasta is remate, masculine noun. For example, Christie’s can be called casa de remates or casa de subastas. Paraphrasing Borges, shall I confess that I -moved by that most sincere of Argentinian passions- snobbery, personally would use remate when it is a private action and subasta when there is the intervention of a judge or an authority. So, casa de remates is my choice; but, nothing prevents you to use them interchangeably. The verb is rematar. dc