POLITICS & ECONOMY President Milei hails ‘historic’ approval of his economic reform package 28-06-2024 14:22 President Javier Milei celebrates "historic" and "monumental" approval of his sweeping reform package by Congress.
Congress & Politics Milei celebrates as Congress signs off on ‘Ley de Bases’ reform package 28-06-2024 09:31 Milei secures first legislative victory since taking office more than six months ago; Lawmakers in lower house back revised 'Ley de Bases' package with 147 votes in favour, 107 against and 2 abstentions. Bids to privatise Aerolíneas Argentinas, Correo Argentino and state media outlets left off bill, though income tax will be reinstated.
Congress & Politics Milei wins approval for bold economic reforms in Argentina 28-06-2024 09:22 Argentina’s Congress approves President Javier Milei’s signature pro-business reforms, marking an inflection point for the outsider to govern with a hostile political class he continues to rail against.
CONGRESS & POLITICS Milei’s reforms set to cross finish line in Congress 27-06-2024 19:26 President on the cusp of clinching his biggest political victory since taking office, with lawmakers likely to give final approval to two key proposals.
Congress & Politics Congress set for final showdown on Milei's sweeping reform package 27-06-2024 12:01 Session scheduled to begin at midday and signs indicate the Milei government will secure its first legislative victory since taking office more than six months ago.
CONGRESS & POLITICS Milei vows veto as deputies approve new pension formula 05-06-2024 10:20 Deputies rebel against government, voting 160-72 in favour of new formula to update pensions; President immediately vows to strike down bill should it clear Senate.
OPINION & ANALYSIS Milei finally discovers politics 01-05-2024 22:33 President Milei appealed to dialogue and negotiation and obtained his first parliamentary triumph with the approval of his ‘Ley de Bases’ bill and accompanying fiscal package. The head of state has to persuade people of his ability to govern while in a minority. He is being watched by audiences in Washington and Beijing. by Walter Curia
CONGRESS & POLITICS Milei wins key lower house support for Argentina’s reforms 30-04-2024 13:25 Lawmakers approve expanded executive powers on administrative, financial, economic and energy matters, as well as the ability to dissolve dozens of special-purpose federal government funds.
CONGRESS & POLITICS Senate set for debate as Milei's deregulation decree hangs in balance 13-03-2024 15:48 Vice-President Victoria Villarruel, in her role as head of Senate, accepts opposition's request for debate and calls special session for Thursday to address President Javier Milei's sweeping emergency deregulation decree.
FOREIGN POLICY & DIPLOMACY Blinken says Argentina 'can count' on US support to stabilise economy 23-02-2024 16:29 President Javier Milei and Foreign Minister Diana Mondino received the head of US diplomacy, Antony Blinken, at the Casa Rosada, in a new gesture of rapprochement between Joe Biden's administration and Argentina's new government.
FOREIGN POLICY & DIPLOMACY Blinken highlights Argentina opportunities, but warns Milei over rights 23-02-2024 14:10 US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says Washington wants to help Argentina “feed and fuel” the world, but leaves Buenos Aires with a pointed message to President Javier Milei about importance of human rights. by James Grainger
Abortion rights Lawmakers from Milei’s party send bill to Congress seeking to repeal abortion law 08-02-2024 09:47 Lawmakers from President Javier Milei’s party introduce bill to Congress that would repeal landmark abortion law passed in December 2020.
Congress & Politics Milei's economic reforms stall in Congress, bill returned to committee stage 06-02-2024 21:55 President Milei's ‘omnibus’ mega-reform bill dealt major setback lawmakers in Congress prevented it from advancing; Bill was promptly returned to committee stage for a rewrite.
CONGRESS Key test for Milei as lower house opens debate on ‘Omnibus’ reform bill 31-01-2024 12:24 Ruling party obtains quorum and debate begins on President Milei’s sweeping ‘Omnibus’ mega-reform bill; Session expected to last at least 35 hours as libertarian leader faces first true legislative test in the lower house Chamber of Deputies; Government confident it has the numbers.
Congress & Politics Omnibus bill: Government pushes back lower house debate 24-01-2024 17:44 Government sources in the Chamber of Deputies, speaking on condition of anonymity, say that ruling party wants to push back debate on landmark bill until next Tuesday (January 30).
CAMPAIGN COMMENTS Going to the dogs? 16-12-2023 07:20 This final election 2023 column concludes a series running the length of the campaign – now it’s time to detail the resulting political architecture in the present tense. by Michael Soltys
ANALYSIS New Congress will condition Milei’s bid for reform 08-12-2023 00:37 Javier Milei's radical reforms are likely to be heavily conditioned by Congress, with the libertarian leader's caucus a minority in both houses.
CAMPAIGN COMMENTS Crouching tiger, hidden lion 28-10-2023 04:18 Fear of the unknown is such a conservative emotion that instead people ended up clinging to the status quo, inflation and scandals included. by Michael Soltys
ELECTION 2023 – RESULTS Peronists to be first minority in Congress as libertarians boost legislative numbers 25-10-2023 15:19 La Libertad Avanza has had only three deputies since the 2021 midterms, including the candidate himself, but that is all set to change. The libertarians have boosted representation dramatically in the lower house and its number of senators in the upper chamber.
Campaign comments Expecting every voter to do their duty 21-10-2023 05:51 While tomorrow’s election is widely seen as a three-cornered affair (like the hats in the times of Trafalgar), all three of its fleets tend to believe that there are only two sides. Could tomorrow’s election echo the battle by ultimately leading to a breakdown of existing alliances with a new Argentina eventually resulting? by Michael Soltys
'Ganancias' bill in Congress Income tax bill clears lower house with support from Milei, left-wingers 20-09-2023 16:38 Bill to raise ‘ganancias’ threshold to 1.77 million pesos approved by lower house; 135 Frente de Todos, provincial party, leftist and libertarian deputies, among others, back it; 103 votes against, mostly Juntos por el Cambio.
CAMPAIGN COMMENTS Santa Fe not so holy or faithful 15-07-2023 06:56 Turning to tomorrow’s PASO primary in Santa Fe, the mutual backstabbing within Juntos por el Cambio mentioned above is far from absent there – indeed nowhere else is the internal warfare more open. by Michael Soltys
EDITORIAL A parlous parliament 15-07-2023 06:53 Congress might be virtually ignored in this election campaign and yet its pivotal role should not be underestimated by any of the presidential candidates.
CAMPAIGN COMMENTS The elections according to Saint John 08-07-2023 06:59 San Juan is not an especially attractive city for tourists but it does have an uncanny knack for being a venue for key turning-points in Argentine political history. by Michael Soltys
CAMPAIGN COMMENTS The men in the middle 01-07-2023 08:46 Hard not to read this as an unmitigated defeat for Cristina Fernández de Kirchner but those who see her as the ultimate political genius view this as a cunning move to leave Massa holding the baby for an inevitable national defeat while tightening her own grip on pivotal Buenos Aires Province. by Michael Soltys
CAMPAIGN COMMENTS Northwest by northeast 24-06-2023 01:22 We will have to await Chaco’s final provincial elections on September 17 to see how many degrees last Sunday’s political earthquake rated on the Richter scale. by Michael Soltys
CAMPAIGN COMMENTS Toward zero 17-06-2023 06:10 This is an election in which anything could happen – and also nothing, as is occurring in province after province. Pseudo-change in San Luis and a rock-solid majority in Tucumán attest to an underlying provincial continuity at all odds with a volatile national scenario. by Michael Soltys
AND THAT REMINDS ME… Of infighting and inland voting 10-06-2023 06:27 The deadline for defining electoral alliances nationwide expires in only four days’ time but tomorrow’s provincial elections are even more immediate … Tucumán is looking safe for the Frente de Todos government while San Luis could be close. by Michael Soltys
Campaign comments Umpteen candidates in search of an author 03-06-2023 06:08 If Horacio Rodríguez Larreta had again thwarted Mauricio Macri plans by imposing Fernán Quirós over Jorge Macri, this would have been three strikes and out in the PRO founder’s esteem – a hostility potentially fatal to the outgoing City mayor’s presidential ambitions.
CAMPAIGN COMMENTS A no-win election 27-05-2023 06:45 The fact remains that the last three people to run Argentina have all opted to sit this election out. The only question here is what lies behind their “fear to tread.” by Michael Soltys
CAMPAIGN COMMENTS Under the volcano 20-05-2023 07:00 If three-quarters of the disenchanted in Tierra del Fuego preferred to vote blank than for an explicitly libertarian candidate, who is to say this might not be replicated nationwide? by Michael Soltys
CAMPAIGN COMMENTS Three’s a crowd 06-05-2023 06:47 Tomorrow is Jujuy’s turn to go to the polls together with La Rioja and Misiones – can lightning strike twice? by Michael Soltys
CAMPAIGN COMMENTS Out of the pink (house) and into the blue 29-04-2023 06:55 In a country where the urgent almost invariably displaces the important, Alberto Fernández’s premature entry into “lame duck” status has had immediate consequences. by Michael Soltys
US ELECTIONS 2024 Joe Biden: racing against time to 'heal' a broken nation 25-04-2023 12:20 Biden, despite making strides towards economic recovery post-Covid and a strong Ukraine-Russia war response, has not yet fulfilled his pledge to "heal" the divided nation.
US ELECTIONS 2024 Biden makes it official: he’s running again in 2024 25-04-2023 11:45 President Joe Biden formally announced that he would seek reelection in 2024, readying a historic campaign against a Republican field dominated by his predecessor, Donald Trump.
CAMPAIGN COMMENTS PRO or provincial? 21-04-2023 09:56 Does the end of six decades of one-party rule in Neuquén mark a new era for the province now and for the nation later this year? by Michael Soltys
Bilateral relations Biden's envoy arrives with messages of support for Argentina 15-04-2023 13:48 IMF support, macroeconomic support and planes – US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman’s visit to Argentina came with clear messages. "There is a programme between Argentina and the IMF and what they are negotiating is something that the United States supports," she told reporters.
Campaign comments April is the cruellest month 08-04-2023 06:02 The results of the local elections so far are puzzling – incumbents winning in often heavy turnouts when opinion poll after opinion poll is telling us that there are masses of angry and alienated voters out there. by Michael Soltys
Bilateral relations Biden, Fernández call for 'economic integration' in White House meet 29-03-2023 23:26 US President Joe Biden hails an "enormous opportunity" to increase "economic integration" with Argentina as he hosts President Alberto Fernández at White House.
BILATERAL MEET ‘Satisfied’ Fernández flies home with Biden's vow of support 29-03-2023 23:23 A long-awaited meeting between Argentina’s Peronist leader and US President Joe Biden finally took place this week, with both sides emerging subsequently to talk up bilateral relations and opportunities in the coming years.
ALBERTO IN WASHINGTON Inside the bilateral: What did Alberto and Joe say to each other? 29-03-2023 21:54 President Alberto Fernández’s delegation spent more than an hour and a half in the White House; Seeking support in its discussions with the IMF, US President Joe Biden remarked on the heavy economic inheritance both leaders received upon taking office. by Rosario Ayerdi, from Washington
BILATERAL MEETING Fernández asks Biden for IMF support in White House meeting 29-03-2023 17:28 Argentina's president hosted by United States leader at the West Wing in Washington; Alberto Fernández asks for US support with the International Monetary Fund and condemns war in Ukraine. by Rosario Ayerdi, from Washington
BILATERAL MEET Alberto Fernández lands in New York ahead of Biden bilateral 27-03-2023 10:59 President Alberto Fernández lands in New York ahead of bilateral meeting with US President Joe Biden; Economy Minister Sergio Massa travelling to Washington on Tuesday to join delegation. by Rosario Ayerdi, from New York
BILATERAL MEET Biden to meet with Alberto Fernández during democracy summit 26-03-2023 13:09 US President Joe Biden will host President Alberto Fernández in Washington next week after a planned meeting was postponed last year, White House confirms.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE Venezuela, China, Biden and extraterrestrials – the disinformation of AI 17-03-2023 15:38 Avatars generated by artificial intelligence are becoming ever more common in global disinformation. Experts warn of the threat of deep fakes and AI-generated audio-visuals.
POLITICS & CONGRESS Alberto and Cristina set for forced reunion at Congress 27-02-2023 13:18 Nine months after they last shared the stage at a public event, Argentina’s president and vice-president will be sat side-by-side on Wednesday at Congress as the legislative year gets underway. by Rosario Ayerdi
Politics Frente de Todos split in Senate: Four senators form new caucus 23-02-2023 00:53 Setback for Cristina Fernández de Kirchner in the Senate with the fragmentation of the ruling coalition’s caucus. New Unidad Federal bloc formed by Edgardo Kueider, Carlos Espínola, Guillermo Snopek, Eugenia Catalfamo and Alejandra Vigo.
BOOKS & LITERATURE Publisher brings LatAm's best lit to English-speaking audiences 04-02-2023 06:30 Only around three percent of books published each year in the English-speaking world are translations, but some are attempting to rewrite that wrong. Charco Press, a small Argentine-led Edinburgh-based publishing house, wants to make Latin American literature more accessible, and it’s bringing big hitters like Claudia Piñero to shelves in the United States and the United Kingdom. by Erica Davis
Congress & Politics Lawmakers head for early recess, leaving a host of pending bills 29-12-2022 00:10 With little chance of congressional activity resuming in the immediate future, Argentina's lawmakers are heading off for recess, leaving a host of bills pending.
US ELECTIONS 2022 Republicans make gains in US midterms but no 'red wave' 09-11-2022 17:11 Disappointing night for Donald Trump, who was counting on a powerful Republican showing to boost his expected 2024 run to return to White House.