CRISIS WITH BRAZIL
A crisis has blown up with Brazil after President Javier Milei insulted both his Brazilian colleague Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva and the country’s Supreme Court Chief Justice Alexandre de Moraes while participating in the São Paulo launch of the Liberal Party presidential candidacy of Flavio Bolsonaro (without a running-mate so far) for the October 4 elections last Saturday. Brazil recalled its ambassador to Argentina Julio Bitteli for consultations while Argentine Ambassador to Brasilia Daniel Raimondi was summoned to the Itamaraty Foreign Ministry to give explanations but Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno ruled out breaking off diplomatic relations with Brazil. Instead of backing down, Milei escalated the aggression in an interview the next day by alleging that the Lula da Silva government had financed 25 percent of the anti-Argentina campaign accompanying the World Cup. In São Paulo Milei called Lula a “thief” and De Moraes “bald rubbish,” comparing the “Lula risk” with the “Kuka (Kirchnerite) risk” in Argentina. Milei’s visit there also included a morning meeting with São Paulo Governor Tarcisio Gomes de Freitas.
IMF CALLING
International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva was in town last Monday and touring the Vaca Muerta shale patch in Neuquén on Tuesday, congratulating the country on its “much sounder” situation and ruling out any further need for IMF loans. More specifically, she hailed the accumulation of Central Bank reserves and prompt debt repayments while describing the creation of formal employment as the main challenge lying ahead at a press conference given with Economy Minister Luis Caputo. A busy Monday included a 90-minute meeting with President Javier Milei.
MILEI IN LIMA
President Javier Milei flew to Lima on Monday night to attend the inauguration of his new Peruvian colleague Keiko Fujimori the following day, holding a bilateral meeting with her at 11am on Tuesday morning shortly before the ceremony on Peru’s Independence Day. This was followed in the afternoon by being awarded an Honoris Causa doctorate by the San Martín de Porres University. Other Latin American presidents attending the ceremony were Santiago Peña (Paraguay), Daniel Noboa (Ecuador), José Raúl Mulino (Panama), Rodrigo Paz Pereira (Bolivia), Yamandú Orsi (Uruguay), José Antonio Kast (Chile) and Nasry Asfura (Honduras).
CRISTINA PROTESTING TO UN
Ex-president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner last Wednesday defended her innocence in a column published simultaneously in international media such as Spain’s El País and France’s Libération as well as locally where she announced that she would be taking her case before the United Nations Human Rights Committee, arguing that her disqualification from public office for life violated fundamental guarantees. At the same time a team of her lawyers held a press conference where they presented the official communiqué to be sent to the Geneva-based UN committee, resting their case on the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Fernández de Kirchner maintained that the judiciary in complicity with the government had destroyed democratic quality by interfering in political competition instead of guaranteeing rights. She described the lifelong ban imposed on her by male judges as especially heinous as affecting “the only woman elected and re-elected to be Argentine President,” as well as taking issue with the judges for ignoring the attempt on her life in September, 2022. The ex-president further insisted that these infringements went beyond her personal situation to affect the rights of everybody. But Supreme Court Justice Ricardo Lorenzetti affirmed that her conviction for the fraudulent administration of Patagonian highway contracts was “a closed issue” once it had been confirmed by the Supreme Court in mid-2025.
RED CARD FOR HATERS
The government late Wednesday issued a DNU emergency decree signed by President Javier Milei to expel or deny entry to all foreigners "inciting or directing messages of hate, discrimination and violence against the Argentine people" or "vandalising national symbols." The measure was justified as a response "to the recent manifestations of hostility" against this country. Describing the defence of the citizenry and their symbol as not being negotiable, the decree concluded: "Whoever attacks the Argentine Republic is not welcome in our country."
PALERMO FARM SHOW INAUGURATION
Inaugurating the 138th annual Rural Society farm show at the Palermo exhibition grounds on its closing day last Sunday, President Javier Milei made no specific announcements but affirmed that in time the growth of the energy and mining sectors would permit the permanent elimination of farm export duties, which he called “an aberration which never should have existed” and whose elimination was “a priority” but had to be sustainable. His 40-minute speech was preceded by Rural Society President Nicolás Pino complaining that the state has collected some US$215 billion in export duties since 2002, calling for the levy “to cease to exist by law and forever.” Milei defined farmers as “heroes” and said: “We are turning that dark page (of their tax burdens) forever.” He further estimated that his private property bill would bring investments of US$15 billion into agri-business without touching on the deregulation of land sales to foreigners or rural complaints about neglected roads (although he did mention waterways). Milei further defended the agro-industrial complex as accounting for nearly a quarter of formal jobs while creating extended indirect employment. He also claimed that his administration had taken soy producers from receiving around two-thirds of the international price to almost three-quarters with the intention of taking export duties down to 15 percent by the end of 2028. Several minutes were also absorbed by listing his government’s reforms to deregulate the sector while opening up over 500 international markets, including signature of the Mercosur-European Union agreement. Grain production could be doubled to 300 million tons, he forecast, making Argentina “one of the richest nations on the planet.” Milei also found time to attribute the hate campaign “demonising” Argentina in the recent World Cup to envy. His Sunday in Palermo further included yelling: “Thief robbing Argentines of US$30 billion” at José Ignacio de Mendiguren as the former Peronist Production minister was passing by while the President was giving a radio interview. The ex-minister is contemplating a lawsuit. In 11 days the Palermo farm show drew over 1.3 million visits (the figure includes virtual) with business deals of some 25 billion pesos made with 500 participants exhibiting over 2,500 animals.
CONICET PROTEST
Researchers at the CONICET National Scientific Research Council staged a protest last Wednesday to demand the extension of 400 postdoctoral scholarships at risk but the government seemed in no mood for concessions. The continuation of these scholarships would entail an extra budget allocation of 2-3 billion pesos requiring the approval of Cabinet Chief Diego Santilli. The request is backed by over 100 universities and research institutes, as well as opposition deputies from Unión por la Patria and Frente de Izquierda y de Trabajadores-Unidad (FIT-U).
SEVEN CHOPPER DEATHS
A Bell 412 helicopter belonging to San Juan Province and heading to La Rioja to fight forest fires itself caught fire and crashed near the border of the two provinces on Wednesday morning, killing all seven aboard. The fatalities included four senior provincial authorities – the Civil Protection director, the deputy chief of the provincial police and the chief and deputy chief of the provincial fire brigade – alongside the pilot and two fire-fighters. It took over two hours to locate the helicopter due to the inaccessibility of the zone. Paying tribute to the dead men, San Juan Governor Marcelo Orrego said: “The causes of the blaze are the subject of investigation,” decreeing three days of mourning throughout the province for the tragedy and ordering flags to be flown at half-mast.
IGUAZU TRAGEDY
A young Dutchman aged 26 vacationing with his in-laws was drowned at the Iguazú waterfalls last Tuesday when a tourist launch capsized for reasons yet to be established, sending all the passengers into the water. Two other tourists, both Dutch, were hospitalised.
TECNOPOLIS TENDER
AEG (Anschutz Entertainment Group) Worldwide of the United States, one of the biggest live entertainment operators in the world, last Tuesday sealed a strategic alliance with Fénix Entertainment, headed by Marcelo Figoli, and CMN (Cárdenas Marketing Network) to disembark in Argentina in the context of the Tecnópolis tender. Their rivals in the bidding for the Villa Martelli grounds will be La Nación and Live Nation, another global giant which in recent years boosted its presence in Argentina by acquiring 51 percent of Movistar Arena.
ROSARIO CENTRAL VERSUS QUIRNO
Rosario Central football club last Monday called upon Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno to make a public apology for his social network statements within the following 48 hours or face a lawsuit for damages. Quirno had commented sarcastically on a World Cup team photo highlighting Rosario Central product Giovani Lo Celso while allegedly airbrushing coach Lionel Scaloni and superstar Lionel Messi for their past links with club local rivals Newell’s Old Boys. Rosario Central considered his affirmations to be “false, malicious and offensive.”
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