Radical Turn: What's Populist Javier Milei's Plan for Argentina? • FRANCE 24 English

Nov 20, 2023 | You know the old adage about politics: you campaign in poetry and you govern in prose. Introducing Argentina’s Javier Milei and even though the winner of Sunday’s presidential runoff did not wield a chainsaw like he did on the campaign trail, the free market absolutist did again promise in his acceptance speech Argentina’s answer to draining the swamp. How radical will he be?

Javier Milei Wins Argentina Presidential Run-off Election - BBC News

Nov 20, 2023 | Far-right libertarian outsider Javier Milei has won Argentina's presidential run-off poll, according to provisional results. His rival, economy minister Sergio Massa, called him to concede, while former US President Donald Trump congratulated Milei on his victory, saying he would "Make Argentina Great Again!". Milei's proposals, which included "blowing up" the central bank, won support with voters desperate for change amid an economy in crisis.

Another bloody disaster for the world! – © Mark Alexander

Who Is Javier Milei? Argentina’s New Far-right President ‘El Loco’ Takes the Stage

THE GUARDIAN: Likened to Wolverine and Trump and nicknamed ‘the madman’, the former TV pundit is known for his prolific swearing and pledge to take a chainsaw to the machinery of state

Javier Milei addresses supporters after winning Argentina's runoff presidential election, in Buenos Aires Photograph: Cristina Sille/Reuters
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EXTRACT:

“The vote represents a desperate attempt at something new, come what may,” said Benjamin Gedan, an Argentina specialist from the Wilson Centre. “The option [voters had] was more of the same in catastrophic economic conditions or a radical gamble on a potentially bright future with a lot of downside risk.”

Gedan believed there would be “a lot of buyer’s remorse in Argentina” if Milei pursued even a small fraction of his ideas. Those ideas include legalising the sale of human organs, dramatically slashing social spending, downplaying the crimes of Argentina’s 1976-83 dictatorship, and cutting ties with Argentina’s two most important trade partners, Brazil and China. On the campaign trail, Milei vowed to abolish Argentina’s central bank and dollarise the economy, and brandished a chainsaw intended to symbolise ferocious cuts he believes will help stabilise the economy and “exterminate” rampant inflation.

Read the whole article by Tom Phillips in Buenos Aires here » | Monday, November 20, 2023

Argentina presidential election: far-right libertarian Javier Milei wins after rival concedes: Victory for TV celebrity-turned politician catapults South America’s second-largest economy into an unpredictable future »


If my instincts are right, this experiment will end in tears. I hope for long-suffering Argentinians that it won't; but I fear that it will. – © Mark Alexander

Argentina Elects Javier Milei in Victory for Far Right: Argentina’s next president is a libertarian economist whose brash style and embrace of conspiracy theories has parallels with those of Donald J. Trump. »

Javier Milei gana la presidencia de Argentina, una victoria para la ultraderecha mundial: El próximo presidente del país es un economista libertario cuyo estilo osado y proclividad a las teorías conspirativas le ha valido comparaciones con Donald Trump. »

Argentina Presidential Election: Far-right Libertarian Javier Milei Wins after Rival Concedes

GUARDIAN INTERNATIONAL: Victory for TV celebrity-turned politician catapults South America’s number two economy into an unpredictable future

Javier Milei, a volatile far-right libertarian who has vowed to “exterminate” inflation and take a chainsaw to the state, has been elected president of Argentina, catapulting South America’s number two economy into an unpredictable and potentially turbulent future.

With nearly 90% of votes counted, the Mick Jagger impersonating TV celebrity-turned politician, who is often compared to Donald Trump, had secured nearly 56% of the vote compared to Massa’s 44.1%.

Milei’s rival, the centre-left finance minister Sergio Massa, conceded defeat in a press conference on Sunday night. » | Tom Phillips Latin America correspondent and Facundo Iglesia in Buenos Aires | Sunday, November 19, 2023

Rising Antisemitism and Anti-Israel Sentiment in Latin America | DW News

Nov 3, 2023 | Anger over the Israeli offensive in Gaza has led to a spike in antisemitic attacks around the world. In the wake of the Hamas terror attack, already traumatized Jewish communities have had to grapple with hate speech, and verbal and physical abuse. Jews in many countries say they feel unsafe and like they are being held responsible for decisions and actions of the Israeli government. That's the case too in Argentina, which has the largest Jewish community in South America.

Far-right Populist Javier Milei Fails to Win First Round of Argentina’s Presidential Election

GUARDIAN EUROPE: Potty-mouthed political outsider will head to November runoff with centrist finance minister Sergio Massa

Javier Milei votes in the first round of Argentina’s presidential election. He will face Sergio Massa in a second round vote. Photograph: Juan Ignacio Roncoroni/EPA
The eccentric far-right populist Javier Milei has failed to win the first round of Argentina’s presidential election, with the centrist finance minister Sergio Massa unexpectedly beating his radical challenger.

Supporters of Milei, a potty-mouthed political outsider described as an Argentinian mashup of Donald Trump, Jair Bolsonaro and Boris Johnson, had hoped he was heading for a sensational outright victory similar to Bolsonaro’s shock triumph in Brazil in 2018. » | Tom Phillips, Uki Goñi and Facundo Iglesia in Buenos Aires | Monday, October 23, 2023

Far-Right Candidate Heads to Runoff in Argentina Election: Javier Milei, a far-right libertarian, performed worse than polls predicted and will face Sergio Massa, Argentina’s economy minister, next month. »

Is Argentina on the Brink of a Radical Economic Overhaul? | DW News

Oct 20, 2023 | This Sunday, people in Argentina will head to the polls to elect a new president. The vote is taking place against the backdrop of a deep economic crisis. Inflation rates of over 100 percent have become the norm - and an increasing share of the population is slipping into poverty. Video features an overview of candidates Sergio Massa, Patricia Bullrich and Javier Milei, as well as expert analysis from Paula Gandara, from Adcap Asset Management.

Javier Milei, a ‘Mini-Trump,’ Could Be Argentina’s Next President: The global far-right movement faces an important test in Argentina’s election on Sunday. »

Why Is Argentina’s Economy Such a Mess?

Sep 7, 2023 | Rampant inflation, a booming black market for US dollars and crippling debt - welcome to Argentina, one of the world's most dysfunctional economies. How did it end up like this?

Argentina Devalues Peso, Raises Rates after Shock Primary | The World

Aug 21, 2023 | Inflation has hit 113 percent in Argentina this year, leading to soaring consumer prices and plunging 40 percent of its population below the poverty line. The situation has worsened as the currency fell off the back of a shock primary election result. Madeline Lobooth reports.

What Does Far-right Javier Milei’s Win in Argentina Primaries Mean?

Aug 14, 2023

Far-Right Libertarian Wins Argentina’s Presidential Primary: Javier Milei, who wants to abolish the central bank and adopt the U.S. dollar as Argentina’s currency, is now the front-runner in the fall general election. »

Argentine : avant la présidentielle, l’ultralibéral Javier Milei bouleverse le paysage politique du pays : L’économiste est arrivé en tête des primaires, dimanche, destinées à présélectionner les candidats qui seront en lice le 22 octobre. »

Ultrarechter Kandidat erhält die meisten Stimmen bei Vorwahlen: Javier Milei leugnet die Verbrechen der Militärdiktatur, will das Waffenrecht lockern und Abtreibungen verbieten. Er könnte Argentiniens nächster Präsident werden. »

Heat Wave Grips Portions of South America in the Middle of Winter

THE NEW YORK TIMES: An unusual winter heat wave has brought record high temperatures to cities across Argentina, Chile and Paraguay this week, triggering concerns about the impacts of climate change.

Residents of Buenos Aires were wearing shorts and fanning themselves as they struggled to cope with unusual heat on Tuesday. By Thursday, they were back in the jackets and scarves that they would normally wear at this time of the year.

The sudden change in wardrobe was the result of a heat wave gripping portions of South America, including Argentina, Chile and Paraguay, that are supposed to be experiencing winter.

Argentina’s capital city broke an 81-year-old daily temperature record on Tuesday, when the high reached 86 degrees Fahrenheit (or 30 degrees Celsius), according to the national weather service. Normally, highs in Buenos Aires this time of year are in the 60s.

“Climate change is not a distant scenario,” the service said in a Facebook post on Tuesday. “It is here, and it is urgent to act.”

This week’s heat wave in South America is part of a recent trend of abnormally high temperatures in the middle of the continent’s winter and also comes as countries in the Northern Hemisphere have faced record heat this summer. » | Jesus Jiménez and Natalie Alcoba (Natalie Alcoba reported from Buenos Aires.) | Thursday, August 3, 2023

In Argentina, Inflation Passes 100% (and the Restaurants Are Packed)

Street-food patrons in an alley hot spot near Chinatown on a chilly May evening in the Belgrano neighborhood of Buenos Aires. | Sarah Pabst for The New York Times
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Argentina’s financial crisis has a surprising side effect: a flourishing dining scene in Buenos Aires, as residents rush to spend pesos before they lose more value.

Wine glasses clinked in an Art Nouveau culinary gem basking in its restored splendor. It was tasting night in the more than century-old coffeehouse turned restaurant at the old Buenos Aires zoo, as beet tartare, pan-seared squid and a perfect rib-eye floated out of the kitchen, chased by a velvety chocolate mousse.

“As you can see, we are betting hard on the opportunity of the food scene in Argentina,” said Pedro Díaz Flores, on a tour of the restaurant, Águila Pabellon, that he co-owns — the 17th food venture he has opened in Buenos Aires in the past 18 months.

In Buenos Aires, Argentina’s cosmopolitan capital, a world-class culinary scene is flourishing. That would not necessarily be news if it were not for the fact that Argentina is in the middle of an extraordinary financial crisis.

Inflation is at more than 114 percent — the fourth highest rate in the world — and the street value of the Argentine peso has crumbled, dropping about 25 percent over a three-week period in April. » | Natalie Alcoba | Photographs by Sarah Pabst, Reporting from Buenos Aires | Monday, June 19, 2023

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A Painting by Argentinian Artist Fabián Pérez

”His father owned bordellos and nightclubs that were illegal. He also was a gambler. To this day, Fabian remembers the police coming to their home looking for his father who would try to escape through the back door.”
Many thanks to Peadro on Pinterest for this lovely painting.

Please watch this video for exemplars of Fabián Pérez’ works.

Celebrations as World Cup Winners Argentina Return Home – BBC News

Dec 20, 2022 | World Cup winners Argentina have been greeted by jubilant crowds at Buenos Aires airport and a bank holiday has been declared in the country. After beating France in Sunday's final, the team landed home in the early hours of Tuesday morning. They travelled on an open-top bus to Argentine Football headquarters. Fans lined the streets en route, with the main celebration taking place at Buenos Aires' Obelisk monument at midday (15:00 GMT) on Tuesday. The Argentine government said Tuesday would be a bank holiday so fans "can express their deepest joy for the national team".

Argentina : LGBTQ Tango : BBC Travel Show

Sep 4, 2019

In Argentina, One of the World’s First Bans on Gender-Neutral Language

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The city of Buenos Aires blocked the use of gender-inclusive language in schools, reigniting off a debate that is reverberating across the world.

BUENOS AIRES — Instead of “amigos,” the Spanish word for “friends,” some Spanish speakers use “amigues.” In place of “todos,” or “all,” some write “todxs.” And some signs that would say “bienvenidos,” or “welcome,” now say bienvenid@s.

The changes, which had been informally adopted by teachers in schools across Buenos Aires, were a deliberate effort to include people who don’t identify as male or female in a language where many words are categorized as either masculine or feminine.

Similar gender-neutral language is being increasingly introduced across Latin America, as well as in other languages, including English and French, by supporters who say it helps create a more inclusive society.

But to some Spanish speakers, including many academics and politicians, the changes degrade a language spoken by a half-billion people around the world.

In Argentina, the tension has shifted from a war of public opinion to a battle over policy.

The city government in Buenos Aires, the nation’s capital, last month banned teachers from using any gender-neutral words during class and in communications with parents. The city’s education minister said such language violated the rules of Spanish and stymied student’s reading comprehension.

The policy, among the first anywhere to specifically forbid the use of gender-neutral language, provoked a swift backlash. Argentina’s top education official criticized the rule and at least five organizations, a mix of gay rights and civil rights groups, have filed lawsuits seeking to overturn it.

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In Romance languages, including Spanish, French, Italian and Portuguese, the debate over gender-neutral terminology can be particularly fierce because all grammar is gendered.

Gender-neutral language has scandalized linguistic purists. The Royal Academy in Spain, considered by many as the gatekeeper of the Spanish language, described the use of “e,” “@,” and “X” — which are used in place of the “o” and “a” that often signify a word’s gender — as “alien to the morphology of Spanish” in a 2020 report. » | Ana Lankes | Wednesday, July 20, 2022

The Dirty War: The Horrors of the Argentine Dictatorship | Messenger on a White Horse | Timeline

May 15, 2022 • Argentina's 1976-83 dictatorship was one of Latin America's most gruesome. Under the guise of a war on communism, the ruling Armed Forces tortured and "disappeared" thousands of young left-wing students, activists and militants, leaving a trail of devastation that would haunt the country for decades. But a soft-spoken journalist named Robert Cox had the courage to speak out.

You can sign up to History Hit, the “world's best history documentary service” and get 50% off using the code 'TIMELINE' here.

Why Did So Many German Officers Flee to Argentina after WW2?

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British Sovereignty over the Falklands Is an Absurd Imperial Hangover That Must End

THE GUARDIAN – OPINION: Forty years after the war in the South Atlantic, common sense demands a negotiated settlement with Argentina

Port Stanley, Falkland Islands. ‘In 2012 it was estimated that British taxpayers paid more than £20,000 per islander for defence alone.’ Photograph: Marcos Brindicci/Reuters
This April is the 40th anniversary of the start of the Falklands war. Less well known is that it is the 41st anniversary of a final attempt by the British government to concede sovereignty over the islands to the enemy in that war, Argentina. Negotiations in New York were in progress, aimed at securing self-government for the islands under a long lease from Argentina. Had they succeeded, it could have avoided war, resolved an archaic imperial dispute, and brought the islanders peace with their neighbours.

This was not to be. The talks ran into opposition both on the islands and on the Tory backbenches in London. At the same time a belligerent military regime under General Galtieri seized power in Buenos Aires and had other ideas. In April 1982, the regime took the islands by force, only to be driven from them by a British taskforce two months later. No peace deal was reached and the Falklands became an embattled fortress in the South Atlantic, with troops, jets and warships on permanent station.

The war cost Britain about £2.8bn (£9.5bn in present value) and the islands’ defence costs upwards of £60m annually. In 2012 it was estimated that British taxpayers paid more than £20,000 per islander for defence alone, and approximately one-third of the population worked for the government. Unlike other former colonies such as Gibraltar, relations with the nearest nation-state are thin. Though living in a technically autonomous British overseas territory, the islanders are wholly dependent on Britain. » | Simon Jenkins | Thursday, April 7, 2022

Latin America Has Become an Unlikely Leader in LGBT Rights

QUARTZ: In 2010, Argentina became the first Latin American country to legalize same-sex marriage, largely due to the work of LGBT activists like Esteban Paulon.

Paulon, who didn’t have a partner at the time, saw this movement as a political struggle, rather than a personal one.

“I fought for the law without knowing if I would ever get married or not,” said Paulon, vice president of the Argentine LGBT Federation. “But on the journey to this achievement, I met my partner.”

Paulon and his partner were married three years after the law was passed—turning a national political achievement into a personal milestone they were able to celebrate with their friends and family.

“If the state says that all families are equal before the law and that all families have the same worth, this inevitably has an effect on daily life and on social perception about sexual diversity,” Paulon said. “The fact of being able to access marriage is also personal.”

Since 2010, more than 15,000 same-sex couples have been married in Argentina, the tenth country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage. The decision illustrated Latin America’s unlikely leadership in the fight for LGBT equal rights. Indeed, the focus on the US gay rights movement has overshadowed other countries where important gains have been won. Finally, Latin America is being recognized as a major leader in the global LGBT movement by both academics and major global activists groups like Human Rights Watch. » | Anna-Catherine Brigida | Wednesday, June 6, 2018