And that reminds me… 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.
As I see it Going gently into that good night 21-01-2023 05:41 It has been evident for decades that plummeting birth rates would cause major problems in the medium term and that, unless they were reversed, they would eventually lead to the extinction of our species.
AND THAT REMINDS ME… 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
As I see it The intractable migrant problem 14-01-2023 06:17 While a stalwart minority continues to insist that all comers with a legitimate claim should be allowed in and taken care of, in most places doubts about the wisdom of clinging to what in effect is an open-borders policy are now shared by a rapidly growing majority of their compatriots. by James Neilson
As I see it After a brief moment of togetherness 23-12-2022 15:26 Politicians and their associates have yet to make out what the reaction to winning the World Cup means for them. If only they could be fêted with such adulation! by James Neilson
AND THAT REMINDS ME… The Cup runneth over 23-12-2022 15:16 Over and above singling out Messi, Martínez and Di María, this trophy is a triumph of teamwork, not a one-man show. by Michael Soltys
And that reminds me… Dry rot or drought rout 17-12-2022 05:32 Argentina’s numerous crises are invariably a fertile field for extended analysis by pundits and economists but this columnist would argue that in many cases the causes can be reduced to a single word – drought. by Michael Soltys
As I see it A short spell in an alternative universe 17-12-2022 03:00 Whatever else Argentina may be, unlike her football team, she is not a meritocracy. by James Neilson
As I see it Cristina’s reign is almost over 10-12-2022 05:50 It is perfectly feasible that, before too long, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner’s once imposing political capital will dwindle almost to vanishing point, as did Carlos Menem’s 20 years ago. by James Neilson
And that reminds me… The 39 steps 10-12-2022 04:45 Raúl Alfonsín’s election victory and inauguration gave most people every impression of a fresh start even if a Radical party then nearing its centenary could hardly be described as a new force. by Michael Soltys
As I see it The law finally catches up with Cristina 03-12-2022 05:43 Like much of the rest of the country, Cristina takes it for granted that the law is a weapon the powerful are entitled to use to defend their own interests and punish their foes. This makes what is happening even more painful for her than would otherwise be the case. by James Neilson
As I see it The place of progressives in a capitalistic world 26-11-2022 06:47 If Argentina’s experience is anything to go by, fiscal laxity when the going gets tough can have ugly consequences. by James Neilson
AND THAT REMINDS ME… 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
And that reminds me… (World Cup edition) Forecasts are always messy 19-11-2022 06:50 The main barrier facing Qatar, and many others, is the overwhelming Euro-American monopoly of this event – not only all 21 World Cups until now (nine on this side of the Atlantic) but 163 of the 168 quarter-finalists since 1930. by Michael Soltys
As I see it Time is fast running out 12-11-2022 07:04 Argentina’s unhappy plight owes much to the ruling class’s strong adherence to the fixed-term political system which is enshrined in the Constitution. by James Neilson
And that reminds me… Midthermometers 11-11-2022 12:13 There has long been talk of polarised politics but perhaps a new PPP – polarised political parity, not public-private partnership – is the message from the elections of the last few weeks. by Michael Soltys
And that reminds me… A fireworks summit 05-11-2022 06:14 There is a strong case for presenting that Summit of the Americas in Mar del Plata exactly 17 years ago today and the surrounding anniversaries as the true birth of Kirchnerism. by Michael Soltys
As I see it The search for something different 05-11-2022 06:00 For years now, the dissatisfied with this state of affairs have been looking for something different. Their ongoing search for new blood has had some startling results. by James Neilson
As I see it Getting ready for hard times 29-10-2022 06:00 The long-predicted but frequently postponed crack-up seems to have arrived. by James Neilson
And that reminds me… 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
AND THAT REMINDS ME… 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
As I see it Further down the slippery slope 22-10-2022 06:30 The coalition that Cristina assembled in order to beat Mauricio Macri is so fragile that important bits, among them the bellicose faction that answers to her, have swung into opposition. by James Neilson
As I see it A paradigm shift is on the way 15-10-2022 06:29 To handle what is happening, governments make out that, after a period of belt-tightening that can be blamed on Putin, things will return to normal. Will they, or rather, can they? by James Neilson
AND THAT REMINDS ME… Changing horses in midstream 15-10-2022 06:26 With the exits of Gómez Alcorta and Moroni in the first half of this month, President Fernández has now parted company with fully three-quarters of his original 20-strong Cabinet. by Michael Soltys
As I see it We certainly live in interesting times 08-10-2022 07:00 The way things are shaping up, the Russian Federation could soon find itself consigned alongside them to what Leon Trotsky called “the dustbin of history.” by James Neilson
AND THAT REMINDS ME… “Present, my General” – or the past? 07-10-2022 16:03 In formal and institutional terms there can be no doubt that Peronism is still alive – not only does it account for the current national government but at least 15 of the 23 provincial governors are Peronists of one kind or another. by Michael Soltys
As I see it Giorgia fails the identity test 01-10-2022 07:00 Practitioners of identity politics want all members of a victim group to think the same way. by James Neilson
And that reminds me… The boys from Brazil 30-09-2022 14:43 The press never tires of reminding us of Bolsonaro’s appalling record with the coronavirus pandemic and Amazon deforestation among other disasters, but the rightist runs into terminal problems even accepting his own premises. by Michael Soltys
And that reminds me... 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
As I see it The end game nears for Putin 23-09-2022 13:16 By now, Putin must know that his “special military operation” has been a humiliating failure and that prolonging it would be almost certain to make things even worse for him. by James Neilson
As I see it Rumblings from below 17-09-2022 02:55 The botched attempt to assassinate Vice-President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner has encouraged fears that Argentina could see the return of political violence. by James Neilson
AND THAT REMINDS ME… 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
And that reminds me… Fake news and the real thing 10-09-2022 02:57 Just as the trial of the junta dictators served as a catalyst to unify a newly democratic society, so the shock of the assassination attempt could have been a golden opportunity to consign polarisation to the past. by Michael Soltys
And that reminds me… Thick as BRICS 03-09-2022 15:41 If the question of why Argentina should wish to join BRICS is extremely valid, so is the question of why BRICS should want to have us. by Michael Soltys
AND THAT REMINDS ME… 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
As I see it The Donald and Cristina show 12-08-2022 11:12 While Trump could well benefit from that FBI “raid” on his garish residential complex in Florida, for Cristina the outlook is rather less promising. by James Neilson
AND THAT REMINDS ME… 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
And that reminds me A trail of two (big) chitties 15-07-2022 13:00 Throughout most of this century Argentina has sought to make a virtue out of necessity by demonising debt so that if that was ever a virtue, it has become a deadly vice – the options to an inflationary expansion of the money supply are few and far between. by Michael Soltys
As I see it Devil take the hindmost 15-07-2022 13:00 In an age in which it is assumed that just about everything must change with the times or be thrown on the scrap heap, people who are unable to keep up risk getting swept aside. by James Neilson
As I see it Drifting towards a black hole 09-07-2022 07:30 Hyperinflation looms; Argentina is flat broke, but the people who wield most political power think the only way to solve problems is to throw freshly-printed money at them. by James Neilson
And that reminds me… From Gooseman to Batgirl? 09-07-2022 07:30 Recommended to President Fernández as having “the necessary dose of heterodoxy and the indispensable dose of orthodoxy,” Guzmán was eventually found wanting on both counts with the latter front more fatal. by Michael Soltys
AND THAT REMINDS ME… Crisis, more than a middle name 02-07-2022 07:00 Few keywords have been more constant throughout my 34 years of newsroom experience than “crisis.” by Michael Soltys
As I see it US soft power remains as potent as ever 02-07-2022 07:00 US progressives who support the Democrats wield more influence outside their country than do their conservative foes who tend to vote Republican, but these too have managed to export their attitudes. by James Neilson
As I see it The Supreme Court has Cristina in its sights 25-06-2022 00:01 People are beginning to link the inability of the “political class” to run the country in a reasonably competent manner to the corrupt behaviour of some of its leading members. by James Neilson
AND THAT REMINDS ME… 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
And that reminds me… 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
As I see it Politics in the age of resentment 18-06-2022 08:00 Argentina’s politicians realised they could turn widespread disgruntlement to their own advantage by encouraging it. by James Neilson
As I see it Turning the world upside-down 11-06-2022 00:01 Reports from the culture-wars front certainly make strange reading. by James Neilson
JOURNALISM Three for one and one for all 09-06-2022 01:09 Argentina’s National Press Academy awards Pluma de Honor prizes to Robert Cox, Elisabetta Piqué and Daniel Enz. by Michael Soltys