News of and that reminds me

State of the nation

04-03-2023 05:59 The state-of-the nation speech to open Congress tradition long predates that experience, going all the way back to 1864 and then-president Bartolomé Mitre.

by Michael Soltys

Lupín and the Liberator

25-02-2023 08:08 This is not just about José de San Martín but also the other birthday boy Néstor Kirchner. The question arises whether the two men had anything in common beyond their date of birth…

by Michael Soltys

Court between a rock and a hard place

21-01-2023 06:56 Both the 1947 and the 2002-2003 purges accomplished their missions but we may well be taking current events too seriously if we expect a similar outcome now.

Grande irmão

14-01-2023 06:58 Lula might have rallied a hostile Congress, the Supreme Court and most people behind him in outrage against last Sunday’s barbarous assault but nobody wins.

by Michael Soltys

'Argentina, 1985' revisited

03-12-2022 05:49

by Michael Soltys

Hebe de Bonafini, 1928-2022

26-11-2022 06:44 The traumas of 1977, when Hebe de Bonafini lost both her sons, were the turning-point in her life, taking her from complete obscurity to a place in Argentine history and even the world spotlight.

by Michael Soltys

Ah, but Macri…

29-10-2022 06:00 My first interaction with Mauricio Macri started off on the wrong foot but, far more importantly, I would argue that he started off on the wrong foot.

by Michael Soltys

1985, the year behind the film

22-10-2022 06:33 Since a moving picture can also be worth a thousand words, this week's column will leave the trial to the film and instead try to fill out the context of that year 1985.

by Michael Soltys

Another UN (General Assembly) bites the dust

24-09-2022 07:26 President Alberto Fernández's maiden live performance at the UN General Assembly caused more of a splash here than in New York and on the basis of a domestic rather than international issue.

by Michael Soltys

The King and I

16-09-2022 02:50 With seven decades of preparation, Charles knows his way around the world and its leaders and stands to be as professional as mother – green only in his environmental passions.

by Michael Soltys

Far away and long ago

19-08-2022 17:34 William Henry Hudson should not only be seen as a chronicler of the past or even a man of his times – he should also be considered a prophetic pioneer of ecology and the environmental concerns which have become so dominant in these times of climate change.

by Michael Soltys

From Batgirl to Superman?

12-08-2022 10:54 Massa’s rise has relegated President Alberto Fernández to a distant third in the ruling troika where Cristina Fernández de Kirchner retains full veto powers even when abstaining from calling the shots.

by Michael Soltys

Stick it to the pickets?

25-06-2022 00:01 The standard critique of the picket movement as a public nuisance is wholly valid but it is also incomplete.

by Michael Soltys

Economic questions

18-06-2022 08:15 There is a massive sale of risk financial assets on a global scale, not just Argentine bonds (even if more unattractive than most).

by Michael Soltys

The maybes of May

14-05-2022 00:01 Today’s anniversary is nowhere in the current agenda with plenty of issues to absorb our attention, yet stopping to recall the Menem years would not go amiss.

by Michael Soltys

Javier Milei: Might right make right?

07-05-2022 00:01 Some local pollsters and overseas media already tip Javier Milei as a presidential dark horse, but does his support extend beyond an echo chamber for anti-system politics?

by Michael Soltys

A demonised demon

08-04-2022 23:25 Vaccines against the coronavirus pandemic were discovered within a year but antibodies against inflation are still being sought after almost eight decades.

by Michael Soltys

A small war you do not miss

01-04-2022 19:31 Strictly speaking, the 1982 war does not warrant inclusion in this series of columns relating current topics to newsroom memories but hopefully today’s special anniversary allows me to cheat.

by Michael Soltys

An epic victory, or mythical?

20-11-2021 00:00 To my mind, last Sunday’s midterms have a historic significance for reasons other than those usually given – as heralding the end of Kirchnerism (although not necessarily Peronism) and that truly impressive Senate breakthrough, doubling opposition numbers in just six years.

by Michael Soltys

Black swan song

12-11-2021 21:57 Not only does murder most foul occur elsewhere in the world but also in this country – the murder rate in Buenos Aires Province has averaged a couple every day for some years now while Rosario has become a byword for ferocity.

by Michael Soltys