EDITORIAL The near in blood, the nearer bloody 21-12-2024 05:07 Time to stop being the snake biting its own tail and return to being the libertarian lion against the caste instead of co-opting it.
POLITICS Milei vs Villarruel: Latest episode in ongoing feud 17-12-2024 13:29 In Victoria Villarruel’s camp, there is surprise at the Executive's attitude. A failed attempt at reconciliation as the Casa Rosada’s satellites launch a full-frontal assault on their own ally. by Giselle Leclercq
POLITICS & CONGRESS Budget clash, extra sessions, Speaker Menem – Milei’s first year in Congress 04-12-2024 17:39 Despite being firmly in the minority, Milei has managed to amend over 100 laws since taking office and advance his programme of fiscal austerity. Nevertheless, tensions with allies and opposition persist, centred on the 2025 Budget, anti-graft laws and electoral reform. by Facundo Maceira
EDITORIAL A little piece of heaven 23-11-2024 06:00 The launch of libertarian shock troops Las Fuerzas de Cielo was but one of various seismic movements in this jacaranda month of November.
POLITICS ‘Closer to the caste’ – Milei slams his own vice-president 20-11-2024 23:33 President Javier Milei opens up on relationship with Vice-President Victoria Villarruel, declaring in an interview that she has “no influence on decision-making” in his government and doesn’t take part in Cabinet meetings.
LOCAL REACTION Argentina’s right celebrates Trump’s victory in US election 06-11-2024 15:39 Figures from Mauricio Macri’s PRO party celebrate Republican leader’s win in US presidential election as Milei government officials revel in news.
Foreign relations & diplomacy VP Villarruel breaks ranks over Argentina-UK agreement 28-09-2024 09:54 Victoria Villarruel, Argentina’s military-loving vice-president, highlights disagreements over new accord and asks if United Kingdom is “playing us for fools”; New agreement between Buenos Aires and London is “contrary to national interest,” supports “occupation” and allows “plundering” of seas, she argues.
BEYOND THE HEADLINES When ugly ducklings are black swans 31-08-2024 05:27 How can the libertarian creed possibly have anything in common with the totalitarian model of a military dictatorship? by Michael Soltys
human rights & judiciary Villarruel vows to reopen criminal cases against anti-junta guerrillas 28-08-2024 11:52 Criticism rains down from human rights groups as Vice-President Victoria Villarruel promises to reopen criminal cases against left-wing guerrillas in speech at Senate ceremony for victims of terrorism.
As I see it Milei’s party a prey to infighting 24-08-2024 05:29 In democratic countries, leaders of a ruling party that has little to fear from an opposition in disarray soon find themselves confronting internal rebellions. In Argentina, Javier Milei’s party finds itself in a similar situation. by James Neilson
POLITICS – ANALYSIS War between Milei and Villarruel escalates 22-08-2024 14:33 Dispute between President Javier Milei and Vice-President Victoria Villarruel has been publicly exposed. The question is no longer why it is happening, but how it can end. by Javier Calvo
Congress & Politics Milei's 'Ley de Bases' bill clears Senate as VP casts decisive vote 12-06-2024 23:24 Senate gives general approval to President Milei's 'Ley de Bases' mega-reform bill after fresh round of amendments.
CONGRESS & POLITICS Milei’s flagship reforms head for Senate vote 30-05-2024 16:50 Vice-President Victoria Villarruel and new Cabinet Chief Guillermo Francos secure signatures, allowing 'Ley de Bases' to clear committee stage in Senate.
CONGRESS & POLITICS Argentina bonds climb as Milei deregulation plan moves forward 30-05-2024 14:02 Members of Senate general, budget and constitutional committees approve sending the so-called 'omnibus' bill to all senators.
CONGRESS & POLITICS Attention turns to upper house as senators await omnibus bill 02-05-2024 18:09 La Libertad Avanza begins plotting path of Javier Milei’s omnibus bill and accompanying fiscal package through upper chamber.
Marcha federal universitaria Milei on education march: ‘Using a noble cause to defend caste interests’ 24-04-2024 17:44 Milei used social media to unload on critics and dismisses universities march, accusing "the caste" of using a “noble cause” like education to “defend their caste interests.”
NO HAY PLATA? Rebellion in Senate: Pay increase passed by show of hands and without debate 18-04-2024 17:40 Milei lashes out via social networks after senators vote to approve pay increase; "2025 will see a historic hiding" for the caste, says President.
POLITICS & HUMAN RIGHTS Alberto González: ESMA torturer – and vice-president’s mentor 29-03-2024 21:02 He headed the dreaded “underground” of the ESMA Navy Mechanics School concentration camp. Convicted for crimes against humanity, Alberto González was also the first dictatorship-era criminal to be sentenced for rape. He is also the mentor of Argentina’s Vice-President Victoria Villarruel. by Juan Luis González
24 de MARZO Milei government casts doubt over dictatorship crimes 24-03-2024 18:49 Milei administration echoes vice-president's line, demanding justice for "the victims of terrorism" during military dictatorship era and questioning 30,000 disappeared estimate from human rights groups.
HUMAN RIGHTS Argentines send message with march in memory of dictatorship 24-03-2024 17:03 Huge crowds head to Plaza de Mayo to mark the 48th anniversary of the coup d'état that brought Argentina’s brutal 1976-1983 military dictatorship to power, resulting in the disappearance, exile and execution of tens of thousands of people in secret death camps across the country.
POLITICS & ECONOMY Villarruel vies with Karina Milei for influence over president 22-03-2024 18:29 Officially, Victoria Villarruel is Javier Milei’s second-in-command. But the president has left little doubt that there is only one adviser who truly has his ear: his younger sister Karina.
100 days of Milei 100 days of Milei: Constructing political enemies and catharsis online 19-03-2024 13:44 The President marked his style from day one, when he broke with tradition and turned his back on Congress. Whatever the fight, he finds his catharsis on social networks.
POLITICS & CONGRESS Milei’s bold decree suffers major setback after repeal in Senate 14-03-2024 21:18 President's initial dose of shock therapy teeters on the edge of collapse after Senate defeats his sweeping executive decree.
POLITICS & CONGRESS Blow for Milei as Senate rejects sweeping mega-reform decree 14-03-2024 20:31 President's sweeping deregulation DNU rejected by senators in upper house; Emergency deregulation decree now heads to lower house Chamber of Deputies, where it must also be voted down if it is to be repealed; Tensions reported between head of state and Victoria Villarruel, his vice-president.
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.
POLITICS Amid anger at pay hikes, Milei trolls feminists on #8M 08-03-2024 12:42 Following controversy over lawmakers' pay hikes, President Javier Milei’s administration trolls feminist campaigners on International Women’s Day by announcing it will rename the Casa Rosada’s “Salón de las Mujeres.”
HUMAN RIGHTS Milei's human rights secretary on future of ex-ESMA memory site 19-12-2023 17:07 New head of Human Rights Secretariat, Alberto Baños, offers Milei government’s first definitions regarding future of ex-ESMA memory site questioned by Vice-President Victoria Villarruel.
POLITICS & ECONOMY Milei the pragmatist and Toto’s ‘caputazo’ 16-12-2023 06:06 The ‘caputazo’ replaced pure austerity with a mix of higher taxes together with spending cuts and the “dilution” of part of the deficit through high inflation. The next few months will see runaway inflation run even farther away and put intense pressure on the population, as wages and salaries fall even farther behind. by Agustino Fontevecchia
Congress & Politics La Libertad Avanza clinches Senate provisional president: Bartolomé Abdala 14-12-2023 10:13 In the first session presided by Victoria Villarruel, fierce procedural clashes between Unión por la Patria and the other caucuses.
Presidential inauguration Milei's maiden speech to focus on moderating expectations 05-12-2023 16:16 Victorious presidential candidate will speak at his inauguration of the economic chaos left by the Alberto Fernández Presidency and why he will be unable to achieve results in the short term. by Juan Pablo Kavanagh
Election 2023 Congress formally endorses winning Milei-Villarruel ticket 30-11-2023 00:45 Legislative Assembly proclaims formula of Milei and Villarruel at event attended by lawmakers from all parties; Regulatory step before December 10 inauguration.
Human rights Protesters in Buenos Aires admonish incoming government’s ‘denialism’ 24-11-2023 16:53 Activists join weekly Madres de Plaza de Mayo march to admonish Javier Milei and Victoria Villarruel over their “denialism” of state terrorism during 1976-1983 military dictatorship.
VICE-PRESIDENTIAL HANDOVER Fernández de Kirchner, Villarruel hold ‘historic’ transition meeting 23-11-2023 00:48 “Cordial and respectful” meeting held in the outgoing vice-president’s office at Senate, with no photographs taken; Villarruel says she will be "working all summer through."
IN FOCUS: VICE-PRESIDENT-ELECT Victoria Villarruel: First vice-president to play down dictatorship’s crimes 22-11-2023 11:37 By presenting herself as a militant of "complete memory," the La Libertad Avanza vice-president-elect has constructed her political figure around the controversial “theory of two demons,” equating left-wing killings with state terrorism.
ELECTIONS 2023 – ANALYSIS Macri has a Plan A and a Plan B 16-11-2023 11:41 Former president's bet on Javier Milei, outlined during campaigning and quickly confirmed after the first round vote, has put Mauricio Macri back in the spotlight. by Javier Calvo
HUMAN RIGHTS Victoria Villarruel criticises ESMA dictatorship world heritage site 14-11-2023 13:55 Far-right vice-presidential candidate Victoria Villarruel suggests ESMA memory site, once home to detention and extermination camp, should be turned into a school; Javier Milei’s running-mate alleges widespread corruption in government’s human rights policies.
election 2023: VP DEBATE Vice-presidential candidates clash over poverty and human rights 09-11-2023 20:05 Exchanges over crime, state terrorism and economy and accusations of lying dominate high-voltage debate between Agustín Rossi and Victoria Villarruel.
HUMAN RIGHTS The imperious need to penalise denialism 27-09-2023 13:12 There are issues, like crimes against humanity, which should be beyond electoral speculation. With the same speed with which the government secured approval for amending the income tax threshold, it should also now approve a law to condemn denialism with the support of Juntos por el Cambio and a united opposition. by Jorge Fontevecchia
GUEST VOICE Victoria Villarruel, human rights, and truth 22-09-2023 05:19 Many victims and relatives of victims of armed organisations neither feel represented by, nor do they endorse, Victoria Villarruel’s claims and views on human rights. by Gustavo Llarull**
ELECTION 2023 Vice-presidential candidates clash in heated television debate 21-09-2023 00:46 Victoria Villarruel, Agustín Rossi, Luis Petri, Nicolás del Caño and Florencio Randazzo fired rhetorical darts at each other in an often bad-tempered vice-presidential debate.
Human rights Ex-Trial of the Juntas judge: ‘Argentina should punish denialism by law’ 20-09-2023 16:32 One of the judges who sat on the court that convicted Argentina’s military junta of crimes against humanity declares that “denialism tends to undermine the validity of the democratic rule of law.”
Politics The make-up of Victoria Villarruel’s inner circle 07-09-2023 15:04 Javier Milei’s vice-presidential candidate has close group taken from her teams from the Fundación Oíd Mortales and the Partido Demócrata of Buenos Aires Province. Trajectories and thoughts of a hermetic group on the rise. by Giselle Leclercq
Human rights Outcry at event puts Villarruel's dictatorship beliefs in spotlight 05-09-2023 16:23 Demonstrators protest against Victoria Villarruel's event paying tribute to "the victims of terrorism" held at the City Legislature.
HUMAN RIGHTS Victoria Villarruel on the military dictatorship and era of state terrorism 05-09-2023 11:58 Javier Milei’s running-mate leapt into politics from her militancy in organisations for "a complete memory" of the 1976-1983 era of state terrorism. Her statements on the military dictatorship, response to those who accuse her of denialism and the national deputy’s links with dictators.
ELECTION 2023 Milei draws up plans to ‘free’ Argentina’s Judiciary 31-08-2023 13:46 Libertarian presidential hopeful believes that Argentina’s “political caste” has “taken the Judiciary hostage.” Claiming that he wants to remove political pressures and fill judicial vacancies, Javier Milei could make Guillermo Montenegro, a candidate for national deputy and a figure close to Victoria Villarruel, his judicial operator, should he reach the Casa Rosada. by Juan Pablo Kavanagh
ELECTION 2023 Rumours and confirmations: Milei assesses potential cabinet options 26-08-2023 00:27 Propelled by his PASO primary victory, the libertarian lawmaker’s team is hurriedly assessing its options. The presidential hopeful has already said who will be heading Ministries of Foreign and ‘Human Capital,’ the latter pooling sensitive areas under the leadership of a woman with an unknown background. Who might join a Javier Milei cabinet if he is elected as president: confirmed names and rumours. by Giselle Leclercq
Election 2023 Electoral platform: Dollarisation, privatisations, guns, no sexual ed 18-05-2023 15:33 Leaked electoral platform presented by libertarian lawmaker to Judge María Servini features more than 60 proposals he aims to put into practice if he becomes president.