As we were about to publish the latest editorial of the Argentine section of the IMT, concerning the first budget announcements of the new government of far-right demagogue president Milei, he doubled down: announcing by decree the abolition of over 300 pieces of legislation, which regulate economic activity in a wide range of fields. This is an unprecedented, ultra-liberal assault on the rights and living conditions of the working masses, introduced using undemocratic emergency decree powers. The announcement provoked a spontaneous movement of protest, with thousands coming out into the streets of Buenos Aires, as Alejandro Spezia describes in this special update (the original article follows after).
Argentina: the movement against Milei has begun
Tag: 2018–present Argentine monetary crisis
Milei Couples ‘Total Crackdown’ on Protest With Economic Shocks in Argentina
“Protest is elemental to Argentine social and political life, so it’s not difficult to imagine how this ends,” said one journalist.
Milei Couples ‘Total Crackdown’ on Protest With Economic Shocks in Argentina
Sri Lanka’s debt trap and the vultures
Last week a US district court granted Sri Lanka’s request for a six-month pause on a creditor lawsuit against the country. Hamilton Reserve Bank holds a big chunk of one of Sri Lanka’s now-defaulted bonds and had been suing it for immediate repayment.
Sri Lanka’s debt trap and the vultures
Argentinians protest against IMF-imposed austerity measures
Argentinians have taken to the streets of the capital, Buenos Aires, to protest against austerity measures imposed by the government following a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Argentinians protest against IMF-imposed austerity measures
AP ‘conveniently’ leaves out the IMF deal! It’s almost as if they want Javier Milei to win (of course, they do)!
Previously:
Is the West’s influence waning in South America?
Against a long-standing absence of interstate conflicts, South American armed forces largely focus on domestic operations, including fighting organized crime. However, the region’s defense and security capabilities are undermined by aging equipment amid reduced fiscal space.
Is the West’s influence waning in South America?
The Atlas Network and the Building of Argentina’s Donald Trump
Yves here. We’re featuring a post from openDemocracy on Argentina’s primary results that had far-right candidate Javier Milei beating the candidates of the two parties that have been in power for two decades. The post is telling, and not in a good way. Milei does advocate extreme views (not that he can go as far as he likes since even if he won a plurality again, he would still be leading a coalition government). And too many commentators forget that voters regularly move to the right in bad economic times, which Argentina is certainly suffering. It’s that the piece depicts him as a Trumpian outsider/madman, when Nick Corbishley’s post right after the primary results were in describes Milei’s considerable, if sometimes seamy, establishment connections…including to the Kochs:
How Javier Milei Upset Argentina’s Political Status Quo
Previously:
Is Argentina’s presidential frontrunner Javier Milei US’ “boy?” Rejects China+Mercosur, embraces $$
Orinoco Tribune Editor: There Was a Coup Against Pedro Castillo in Peru + Some Notes
Ms. Cat’s Chronicles 