DEATH OF A POPE
Just as he was slowly recovering from pneumonia, Pope Francis died in the Vatican in the early hours of the week at the age of 88 following a brain haemorrhage and heart failure. Easter Sunday (including the Urbis et Orbi greeting and a brief audience granted to United States Vice-President J.D. Vance) was thus the last complete day of his life. After declaring seven days of national mourning and cancelling all activities, President Javier Milei flew out to Rome last Thursday to attend today’s funeral, accompanied by almost half his Cabinet. City Hall for its part has submitted a bill to rename the first stop on the “D” subway line “Catedral- Papa Francisco.” Much more on this Argentine-born Jesuit’s unique papacy and legacy in the rest of this newspaper.
CAPUTO JOINS SPRING MEETINGS
Economy Minister Luis Caputo flew out to Washington Tuesday to attend the Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, his first visit to the IMF since sealing the financing agreement for US$20 billion. During his stay he was due to meet the heads of both host organisations, Kristalina Georgieva (IMF) and Ajay Banga (World Bank), as well as various G20 colleagues, alongside addressing a private meeting with international investors organised by JPMorgan. Fellow-ministers Federico Sturzenegger (Deregulation & State Transformation) and Patricia Bullrich (Security) were also in town in different contexts. At a press conference, the IMF stuck to its forecast of 5.5-percent growth for Argentina this year despite a global downturn in the wake of United States President Donald Trump’s erratic tariff policies, basing their optimism on the positive data so far this year while not ruling out increased risk. The IMF has lowered its figure for potential global growth this year to 2.8 percent from 3.3 percent (with 1.8-percent forecast for the United States). On Wednesday the World Bank echoed the IMF forecast of 5.5 percent growth for Argentina, up from 4.2 percent last October. Also on Wednesday United States Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent (who spent 10 hours of April 10 in Argentina) said that Washington could advance a special line of credit to the Javier Milei government beyond the IMF package if needed in the event of external shock jeopardising economic recovery "because the country is truly progressing," always assuming that current economic policies are maintained.
END OF A ROMANCE
Amalia ‘Yuyito’ González began her television programme Empezar el Día last Monday with a surprise announcement: confirmation of her separation from President Javier Milei after a romance lasting eight months. The decision was taken by mutual consent and “with dignity and maturity,” she said. No comment from President Milei up to press time.
PAPAL CLUB SCANDAL
Precisely in the week of the death of its most famous fan, San Lorenzo football club was hit by scandal with a hidden camera showing its president Marcelo Moretti receiving a bribe in order to incorporate a player from a lower division into its team. A video, published by television Channel 9, shows Moretti being given US$25,000 by the mother of a youth in mid-2024, a sum on which Moretti insisted after initially being offered US$10,000. The club president is then shown tucking the money into his jacket pocket without counting it. The video also includes Francisco Sánchez Gamino, the National Development director of the Strategic Affairs Undersecretariat working under Cabinet Chief Guillermo Francos, who ended up losing his job. Despite being under intense pressure to follow suit from fans, Moretti, who argues that the money was a donation to the club, had not yet resigned at press time, requesting a leave of absence instead.
LAST OF THE BIG-TIME SPENDERS
While President Javier Milei insistently proclaims the "biggest austerity drive in history," its official spokesperson would seem to be exempt from Milei’s “chainsaw." Communication and Media Secretary Manuel Adorni has managed to hire 40 new employees (including the libertarian troll “Juan Doe”) for a total staff of 249 while his official budget this year is 25,412,859,403 pesos, which rises beyond 30 billion pesos if the funds of the dissolved Press Secretariat are included. All these details were present in the report submitted by Cabinet Chief Guillermo Francos to Congress this month. Adorni is the government’s top candidate in this city’s midterm elections next month with applying the “chainsaw” to City Hall spending a leading plank in his platform. But today will find him in Rome, joining Milei in paying his respects to the late Pope Francis at his funeral.
PRESS UNDER ATTACK
Roberto Navarro, the ultra-Kirchnerite director of the digital newspaper El Destape, was pushed in the back in a hotel lobby last Monday morning while arguing with a person and fell over, bruising his head and spending the next two days in hospital under observation. Ariel Lijalad, host of the allied radio programme Habrá Consecuencias, held President Javier Milei responsible, arguing that his aggression against journalists was advancing beyond the verbal and describing the incident as “an attack on the freedom of expression.” He based his argument on words addressed to “lying journalists” included in Milei’s Easter greetings: “I believe that people do not hate sufficiently these contract killers with credentials as presumed journalists. If they knew them better, they would hate them still more than politicians. CIAO!”. The Club Político Argentino expressed its concern over the President’s reiterated attacks on his press critics by name, a concern echoed by FOPEA (Foro de Periodismo Argentino).
SHUTTING STABLE DOOR
Just before the Easter long weekend, La Plata federal judge Alejo Ramos Padilla declared “unconstitutional” the presidential decree appointing Manuel García-Mansilla and Ariel Lijo to the Supreme Court, warning the government that the only legitimate avenue was approval by two-thirds of the Senate with the decrees violating the separation of powers and the independence of the judiciary. But Ramos Padilla also decided to accept the validity of García-Masilla’s rulings during his 40 days as a Supreme Court justice in order to avoid “unnecessary uncertainty.” The Senate had already rejected both nominations by over a two-thirds majority on April 3 while the government had already accepted García-Mansilla´s resignation on April 7.
HUGO ORLANDO GATTI, 1944-2025
The death of Pope Francis was preceded by the passing of a local idol when Hugo Orlando ‘El Loco’ Gatti, perhaps the most colourful goalkeeper in the history of Argentine football, died on Easter Sunday at the age of 80. While most identified with Boca Juniors, his extensive career took in both the arch-rivals Boca and River Plate (due to clash tomorrow) among other clubs, as well as the national squad. At his retirement in 1988 at the age of 44, he held two impressive records: the most First Division matches played (765) and the most penalties saved (26, together with Ubaldo Fillol). Gatti never really recovered from an operation after breaking his hip while walking his dog. He lost his wife Nacha Nodar in mid-2024.
MARÍA BECERRA UNDER KNIFE
The singer María Becerra, 25, underwent an urgent operation last Thursday due to complications resulting from an ectopic pregnancy causing an internal haemorrhage placing her life at risk with her condition reported "stable." The singer suffered a similar episode last September which started recurring last Tuesday with severe abdominal pains. She was due to perform at a show in the Spanish capital of Madrid tomorrow but her professional activities have been suspended indefinitely. María Becerra is especially popular among younger audiences with over 14 million followers in her social networks and eight Grammy nominations. An ectopic pregnancy occurs when a fertilised egg implants and grows outside of the uterus.
Comments