News of opinion and analysis

This photo taken and handout on October 13, 2026 by The Vatican Media shows Pope Leo XIV arrival at Rome's Gemelli University Hospital ahead of an operation to remove a lump from his lung.

Pope's cancer operation already reshaping his papacy

Today 12:42 Questions are swirling about how Pope Leo XIV's lung cancer operation could change his papacy, less than two years after his election.

El papa León XIV llega al Hospital Universitario Gemelli en Roma.

POLITICS & THE POPE

Government prepares for possibility Pope Leo may not visit

Today 00:33 Officials publicly insist preparations for the papal visit are continuing, but Javier Milei and his top spokesman have acknowledged that the dates could change. Other government sources believe the trip could be cancelled altogether.

by Javier Calvo

Beyond the headlines

Chinese whispers

10-10-2026 06:57 Sino-Argentine links slightly predate the Wuchang Uprising of 115 years ago – in 1909, the dying Manchu empire started to grope towards establishing formal relations with an almost centennial Argentina but ran out of time.

by Michael Soltys

ANALYSIS

Brazil’s second MAGA moment

10-10-2026 06:16 South America has truly turned to the right politically in a move that mirrors the “pink tide” of the early 2000s.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during the state memorial ceremony for the third anniversary of October 7 attack, at Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem on October 5, 2026.

AS I SEE IT

Israel continues to surge ahead

10-10-2026 06:06 Now that Israel has emerged as a regional powerhouse that is far stronger than her Muslim neighbours, attitudes have changed.

by James Neilson

Argentina supporters display a flag reading 'The Malvinas Islands are Argentine' in the stands during the international friendly football match between Argentina and Benin at the Mas Monumental stadium in Buenos Aires on October 6, 2026.

GUEST COLUMN

Malvinas and dissidence

10-10-2026 06:01 National causes? Argentina is and must remain pluralistic.

FOOTBALL

Messi steps off-stage with a show to remember

09-10-2026 10:41 What a privilege to have seen the greatest player ever to practice this sport do what he loves so well, for so long.

by Dan Edwards

A Banco Galicia bank branch in the financial district of Buenos Aires.

ANALYSIS: SHOCK THERAPY

Milei fails to boost lending as banks load up on government debt

08-10-2026 08:54 Tight monetary policy and high interest rates are driving banks back into government debt as the economy slows, partly due to a lack of credit.

Job-seekers wait in line in Buenos Aires.

POLLING & SURVEYS

Poll: Unemployment now top concern as households struggle financially

07-10-2026 14:48 Lack of jobs has overtaken rising prices and utility bills as the country's main problem, according to a new national survey by Management & Fit consultancy firm.

by María Lorena Rodríguez

GEOPOLITICS

Trump builds vast Latin America military alliance on the cheap

07-10-2026 12:29 US president has slashed aid to Latin America despite alignment of governments; Military assistance to eight nations dropped to just US$56 million last year.

ANALYSIS

Argentina chooses its own Brazil

07-10-2026 11:27 President Javier Milei's government and Argentina's opposition have selectively interpreted the results of Brazil’s election to suit their own interests.

by Javier Calvo

A man looks at newspapers displaying coverage of Brazil's presidential election results at a newsstand in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on October 5, 2026.

ANALYSIS

Why polls keep getting it wrong on Brazil's right

06-10-2026 12:06 Pollsters across the world have struggled to gauge support for the right from voters who can be cagey about their choices. Brazil's election, last Sunday, was no different.

Flávio Bolsonaro speaks in Brasília on October 4, 2026.

Brazil election 2026

Bolsonaro pushes Lula to brink of defeat ahead of Brazil run-off

05-10-2026 08:30 Flávio Bolsonaro now overwhelming favourite to win October 25 run-off; Scale of right's success leaves Lula aides concluding vote was broader rejection of veteran leftist's Workers' Party.

POLITICS – ANALYSIS

Milei sticks to his guns even if he looks crazy

03-10-2026 00:31 President Javier Milei has once again captured the spotlight and is using it to set the agenda to his tune. But are voters listening?

by Agustino Fontevecchia

BEYOND THE HEADLINES

Drowning by numbers

03-10-2026 00:07 On the frequent reality of news announcers tossing out supposedly alarming statistics with zero context or explanation.

by Michael Soltys

AS I SEE IT

Europe awaits its Milei moment

03-10-2026 00:04 Many European leaders would like to emulate Milei, but they know that most of their compatriots would rather not be told they would have to tighten their collective belts.

by James Neilson

ANALYSING ARGENTINA

The best Argentina needs a better Milei

03-10-2026 00:01 A convincing re-election would need a much better Milei than the one we are getting, one who is less concerned about being right and more about empathising with the people he is meant to represent.

by Marcelo J. García

Argentina defender Cristian Romero heads the ball to score his team's third goal during the international friendly football match between Argentina and Bolivia at Mario Alberto Kempes Stadium in Cordoba, Argentina, on September 30, 2026.

INTERNATIONAL FOOTBALL

Argentina run riot against Bolivia in first post-World Cup friendly

01-10-2026 00:13 National team takes its first steps without Lionel Messi; Albiceleste ease to a 4-0 victory in Córdoba as a new generation begins to emerge

President Javier Milei opened with the sentence he has used since his inauguration: it is always better to tell an uncomfortable truth than a comfortable lie.

GUEST COLUMN

Milei said in public what the UN walkout crowd says in private

29-09-2026 11:27 Javier Milei told the UN General Assembly that an uncomfortable truth beats a comfortable lie. The walkout Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faced the next day proved his point.

Wealthy lawmakers – the top 12 from 2025 asset declarations.

POLITICS & MONEY

Argentina's richest lawmakers – what their asset declarations reveal

29-09-2026 07:04 Millionaires and indebted lawmakers sit side by side in the Chamber of Deputies. Máximo Kirchner, the son of ex-president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and PRO veteran cum government ally Cristian Ritondo top the ranking of rich lawmakers, with fortunes above 10 billion pesos.

by Giselle Leclercq

Brazil election 2026

Lula battles for Brazil’s northeast against Flavio Bolsonaro

28-09-2026 11:43 As key election draws near, incumbent scraps for every vote in a part of Brazil he's dominated for decades.

EDITORIAL

UN = Unbridled Nationalism?

26-09-2026 00:57 For all his unambiguous alignment with Trump and Israel, it is hard not to conclude that Milei fell in line with Argentina’s UN tradition of addressing domestic rather than global audiences.

POLITICS – ANALYSIS

The domestication of Javier Milei

26-09-2026 00:46 What happened to Milei, the outsider? Was he converted or domesticated by the political ecosystem? Did he change when faced with the opportunity to accumulate power and personal wealth?

by Agustino Fontevecchia

BEYOND THE HEADLINES

A world of difference

26-09-2026 00:29 Argentina joined the United Nations as one of the 51 founding members on its very first day – October 24, 1945 – but neither Juan Domingo Perón nor his military replacements could be bothered to take time off for the annual regular session of its General Assembly....

by Michael Soltys

Riding the roller coaster with Javier Milei.

As I see it

Riding a roller coaster

26-09-2026 00:20 Perhaps Milei was what the country needed three years ago. However, this does not mean that he will be the best person to steer the country through the years that lie ahead.

by James Neilson

US President Donald Trump and Argentina's President Javier Milei.

US-ARGENTINA TRADE DEAL

Milei’s US trade deal under threat as Argentina demands better terms

22-09-2026 11:26 Milei government tells Trump administration it doesn't have the votes in Congress to ratify bilateral trade agreement signed last February and are seeking renegotiation of the terms.

Argentina's President Javier Milei holds a national football jersey next to Brazil's right-wing presidential hopeful Flavio Bolsonaro holding a national flag during the launching of the latter's candidacy within the Liberal Party convention, in São Paulo, Brazil on July 25, 2026.

ANALYSIS

Milei’s chainsaw inspires Bolsonaro to wield scissors in Brazil election

21-09-2026 18:38 Flávio Bolsonaro is holding up Javier Milei's economic overhaul as an example of the fiscal discipline he says Brazil needs as election race heats up.

Pope Leo XIV waves to pilgrims as he leaves after his weekly general audience at The Vatican on September 16, 2026.

CATHOLIC CHURCH

Leo XIV, first American pope, transcends his restrained style

20-09-2026 07:52 Pope Leo XIV has gradually imprinted his style on the leadership of the Catholic Church, finding his voice as he takes on some of the world's most pressing issues.

ANALYSING ARGENTINA

A chainsaw pause to improve re-election hopes

19-09-2026 00:59 Milei’s Budget bill hides a crucial and realistic acknowledgment: his famous "chainsaw" will mostly pause over the year leading to the presidential elections in October 2027.

by Marcelo J. García

BEYOND THE HEADLINES

Fidget, fudge it, Budget

19-09-2026 00:34 National budgets only started with any regularity after the Constitution of 1853 when Argentina’s first elected president Justo José de Urquiza created the modern Economy Ministry in 1854.

by Michael Soltys

AS I SEE IT

The eve of destruction, perhaps

19-09-2026 00:25 If the tech bros are right about what their research teams have devised, it is already too late to do anything to put AI back in a far more restrictive “sand box” than the ones from which it has managed to make a Houdini-like escape…

by James Neilson

Much like with Covid, the AI issue is now fraught with discomfort.

ANALYSIS

AI’s Covid moment

19-09-2026 00:14 The AI 'end game' scenarios are fascinating and quite realistic, but that doesn’t mean they are imminent or inevitable.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

Editorial

A lost generation?

19-09-2026 00:05 Analysis of the problems facing the young tend to focus on specific aspects such as juvenile delinquency, drugs, youth unemployment and online betting. Yet perhaps it is worth paying attention to the everyday lives of this universe beyond these issues.

Analysis

Milei’s Presidency at risk from stalling economy

18-09-2026 13:29 One year out from his re-election bid, the economic recovery that has underpinned President Javier Milei's popularity is stalling.

Can Rodolfo Arruabarrena lead Boca to continental glory?

FOOTBALL IN ARGENTINA

Boca take another step towards ending silverware drought

17-09-2026 13:52 Rodolfo Arruabarrena has led the Xeneize into semi-finals of Copa Sudamericana, Copa Argentina quarters and Clausura play-off spots. The pressure is on – and he, his players and the fans know it.

by Dan Edwards

ANALYSIS: SHOCK THERAPY

Milei’s strong peso is holding back economic growth

17-09-2026 12:46 Government's efforts to tame inflation with a strong currency are taking a growing toll on the economy.

ECONOMIC WOES

Crisis prevention filings equal 2025 total in just seven months

16-09-2026 11:13 Applications to Argentina's crisis-prevention bankruptcy procedure have matched last year's total in just seven months, a freedom-of-information request reveals. Behind the acceleration lies a deepening squeeze on the payment chain and mounting financial strain on the country's small and medium-sized firms.

by Eugenia Muzio

Residents wait in line to receive chachos in La Rioja.

FEATURE

Defying Milei, Quintela brings back his ‘chachos’ currency in La Rioja

16-09-2026 10:19 The return of the ‘chacho’ currency, which circulates only in opposition-led La Rioja Province, exposes a stubborn reality lying just beneath the President’s radical reform agenda.

OPINION & ANALYSIS

Milei’s war on Perfil, state advertising lies and attacks on press

13-09-2026 10:23 A President who wishes bankruptcy on his enemies, steered billions of pesos in advertising to friendly outlets while starving critical ones and hurled scatological abuse at journalists who ask him questions – this is not what liberty looks like.

by Rodrigo Lloret

SPECIAL INVESTIGATION

What does Peter Thiel want in Argentina?

12-09-2026 06:23 Milei’s libertarian experiment, sweeping deregulation and appetite for technological disruption may explain why one of Silicon Valley’s most powerful figures is moving south. Journalists Giselle Lecrercq & Juan Luis González investigate.

Argentina has attracted the critical-minerals investment it was seeking. The harder question is what it does with it.

GUEST COLUMN

Argentina’s critical-minerals boom comes with a choice

12-09-2026 04:36 Milei’s RIGI regime has attracted major investment. The challenge is turning a resource boom into something that lasts.

POLITICS – ANALYSIS

The Malvinas trick

12-09-2026 00:29 If the Milei administration can gain momentum in Argentina’s sovereignty claim, he would be able to construct real political capital and adhesion from a broader base ahead of next year’s election.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

BEYOND THE HEADLINES

The territorial imperative

12-09-2026 00:26 Milei is seeking to sell Argentina as a haven of legal security for foreign capital while threatening to punish companies, shareholders and directors participating in a project opposed on nationalistic grounds.

by Michael Soltys

As I see it

We do need more education

11-09-2026 09:28 Argentine youngsters continue to fall farther and farther behind their peers in the rest of the world.

by James Neilson

A hijacked commercial plane approaches the World Trade Center shortly before crashing into the landmark skyscraper on September 11, 2001 in New York. September 11, 2026, will mark the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.

OPINION & ANALYSIS

The 9/11 terrorist attacks and our pending task as global community

11-09-2026 00:01 The fight against terrorism remains as relevant as ever and must be our shared responsibility.

by Marwan Gill

Shoppers at a wholesale supermarket in Buenos Aires.

ANALYSIS

Monthly inflation slows to lowest since last June

10-09-2026 17:38 Monthly inflation slows to the lowest level in 14 months, in a win for President Javier Milei.

ANALYSIS – SHOCK THERAPY

Oil and crop prices save Milei from surging demand for dollars

09-09-2026 14:56 Purchases of US banknotes jump, but remarkably, the peso has emerged largely untouced – an unusual feat for the historically volatile currency.

MALVINAS CLAMPDOWN

Milei-allied real-estate mogul defends his Malvinas investment

07-09-2026 17:55 Eduardo Elsztain, one of Argentina’s most influential business executives, breaks ground to defend his investment strategy in the Malvinas Islands

POLITICS – ANALYSIS

Milei quiets ruling-party rifts, reclaims agenda via Malvinas

06-09-2026 09:17 President Javier Milei’s nationwide broadcast brings sense of calm to ruling party; Adviser Santiago Caputo was involved in drafting of speech, a bid to reclaim centre stage and set the conversation.

by Pablo Varela

Brazil election 2026

Supreme Court feud threatens to upend Brazil’s presidential race

06-09-2026 08:47 Dispute between two powerful Supreme Court justices threatens to reshape Brazil's looming presidential election.

POLITICS – ANALYSIS

Milei vs Kicillof and the third wheel

05-09-2026 01:50 Milei has the advantage of being the incumbent and having the resources of the state. Kicillof has a similar, albeit much more limited, platform. Both of them promise to be genuine, meaning their rejection rates will be one of the election’s defining factors, particularly if they both make it to the run-off.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

BEYOND THE HEADLINES

Worthy of their higher?

05-09-2026 00:40 Milei’s government seems so grateful that unemployment has not risen dramatically, despite drastic austerity, that they’ve apparently settled for the falling productivity and job quality accompanying the relatively stable employment levels.

by Michael Soltys

Milei administration versus the Peronists.

ANALYSING ARGENTINA

The Bad, the Worse and the Peronists

05-09-2026 00:29 If the Peronists cannot deprioritise their differences, even as a weakened Milei creates an opening for victory, the prospects of sound political management if they eventually reach office are next to zero.

by Marcelo J. García

As I see it

Time to batten down the hatches

05-09-2026 00:09 Economists and financiers are not the only people who suspect that bad times are in the offing. The “rules-based order” underpinned by the US is falling apart.

by James Neilson

FEATURE

Cartoneros face an uncertain future in Buenos Aires

04-09-2026 13:45 The cartoneros emerged from Argentina’s 2001 crisis and became a key part of Buenos Aires waste management network. But City Hall looks to private contractors, tighter enforcement and technology, thousands of informal recyclers fear they are being pushed out.

by David Sorbaro in Buenos Aires

FOOTBALL

Messi's epic journey comes to an end – and what a ride it was

04-09-2026 00:35 It’s testament to everything Messi achieved with Argentina that even after two decades of dominance, he still leaves us wanting more.

by Dan Edwards

Javier Milei speaks during a midterm election rally in La Plata, Argentina, on September 7, 2025.

ANALYSIS: SHOCK THERAPY

Milei’s social media machine is starting to misfire

02-09-2026 10:25 Javier Milei has described himself as “a product of social media,” but his online support is in decline. The president's online machinery is laying bare the challenges facing his re-election bid next year.

OPINION & ANALYSIS

Thiel bought a house in Argentina – democracy left it empty

31-08-2026 16:40 The answer to Peter Thiel's scepticism about democracy is not to defend liberal democracy more loudly. It is to make it work well enough that citizens have compelling reasons to defend it.

Jarin Sijaya Abdul Hathi is the Chargé d'Affaires of the Embassy of Malaysia In Buenos Aires.

GUEST COLUMN

Malaysia at 69: Celebrating diversity, progress and a shared future with Argentina

31-08-2026 00:01 Diversity is not simply something we celebrate, it is one of the foundations of our national character.

AS I SEE IT

Creator and destroyer

29-08-2026 06:30 Many involved in AI say they want to press the pause button to give governments more time in which to come up with regulations. They must know that nothing like this is going to happen.

by James Neilson

BEYOND THE HEADLINES

Multiplying options

29-08-2026 06:08 Polarisation is far from inevitable when at least half of the 60-plus percent discontented with the current course of events are equally averse to a return to Kirchnerism.

Tech & media

Why Perfil is fighting OpenAI and Microsoft over theft of journalistic content to feed their AI

29-08-2026 06:04 Most of the major AI models have been built on an explicit thief and its perpetuation further weakens one of the beleaguered pillars of democracy: journalism.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

Cerimedo's connections with SIDE and beyond.

CERIMEDO CASE

Cerimedo’s corporate ties to inner circle of SIDE spy agency

28-08-2026 07:42 Shared addresses and interlocking companies. Corporate records reveal a web of businesses linking Fernando Cerimedo, President Milei’s former adviser, to figures historically associated with Argentina’s intelligence agency, as well as a host of businessmen.

Javier Milei speaks during a Council of the Americas conference in Buenos Aires, on August 20.

ANALYSIS – SHOCK THERAPY

Milei’s magic fades on Argentina’s slowing economic recovery

26-08-2026 13:07 President Javier Milei’s Economists and analysts say economic revival is sputtering, with the recovery not only fading but becoming increasingly uneven.

ANALYSIS

Argentina’s ‘lost decade’ – formal private employment still at 2016 levels

25-08-2026 18:15 Companies have cut back on their hiring and the search for staff has fallen to its lowest levels in the past year; Surveys warn about an advance of jobs with less labour law protections.

by Gabriel Zorrilla

ANALYSING ARGENTINA

Underground wealth, above ground worries

22-08-2026 08:26 Milei is comfortable ignoring the day-to-day economic agenda of the public. But his inner circle is increasingly wary that this trajectory will make the 2027 electoral year an uphill race.

by Marcelo J. García

BEYOND THE HEADLINES

ASEAN, as in the zone

22-08-2026 08:21 The creation of ASEAN in 1967 saw the region create unity out of division and harmony out of discord.

by Michael Soltys

The fall of the Cambridge don Jason Arday.

AS I SEE IT

The death of a self-made professor

22-08-2026 08:06 It was only to be expected that the fall of the Cambridge don Jason Arday would attract the attention of the media on both sides of the Atlantic.

by James Neilson

POLITICS – ANALYSIS

The ‘uncanny valley’ theory meets Milei and Cerimedo

22-08-2026 06:28 The reality of the Milei administration’s near three years in office is even more bizarre than expected.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

INTERVIEW / PERIODISMO PURO

Óscar Martínez: ‘Bukele has neither principles nor ideology – he was after power, any which way’

22-08-2026 06:24 A look at the dictator’s playbook – investigative journalist Óscar Martínez on the rise of Nayib Bukele, the dismantling of democracy in El Salvador and the fight for truth from exile.

by Jorge Fontevecchia