Argentina

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Argentine peso plunges after shaggy-haired rightist who admires Trump comes first in primary vote

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — The Argentine peso plunged Monday after a shaggy-haired 52-year—old anti-establishment candidate who admires former President Donald Trump came first in primary elections that will help determine the country’s next president.

https://apnews.com/article/argentina-primaries-primary-paso-elections-a4fdbe888b7f561c3833ba4eca7e5d72?

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A man, a plan, a chainsaw: How a power tool took center stage in Argentina’s presidential race

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Politicians usually talk about belt tightening, or trimming wasteful spending with scissors. Argentine presidential candidate Javier Milei is ready to attack the system with a chainsaw.

https://apnews.com/article/milei-argentina-chainsaw-fed35a37c6137b951e4adada3d866436?

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Economy minister surprises by beating populist in first round of Argentina’s presidential election

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Economy Minister Sergio Massa surprised Sunday night by finishing on top in the first round of Argentina’s presidential election, reflecting voters’ wariness about handing the presidency to his chief rival, a right-wing populist who upended national politics and pledged to drastically diminish the state.

https://apnews.com/article/argentina-election-milei-massa-vote-bullrich-cead0d423f2e51444b48770af618940b?

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Argentina faces nail-biter election as economy crumbles

Buenos Aires (AFP) – Argentines head to the polls Sunday in a down-to-the-wire race between two wildly different presidential candidates, with many frozen by indecision over which choice will rescue them from triple-digit inflation.

https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20231117-argentina-faces-nail-biter-election-as-economy-crumbles

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Fiery right-wing populist Javier Milei wins Argentina’s presidency  Populist Javier Milei resoundingly won Argentina’s presidential election Sunday, swinging the country to the right following a fiercely polarized campaign in which he promised a dramatic shake-up to the state to deal with soaring inflation and rising poverty. Milei won the highest percentage that a presidential candidate has received since the South American country’s return to democracy in 1983. Read more

Why this matters: The country will take an abrupt shift right and a freshman lawmaker who got his start as a television pundit and condemned what he called the “political caste” will assume the presidency.   The self-described anarcho-capitalist has been compared to former U.S. President Donald Trump. The vote took place amid Milei’s allegations of possible electoral fraud, reminiscent of those from the former U.S. president.   Milei’s campaign resonated widely with Argentines angered by their struggle to make ends meet, particularly young men.

Related coverage ➤ Who is Javier Milei, Argentina’s president-elect? Right-wing populist Milei set to take Argentina down uncharted path: ‘No room for lukewarm measures’ Populist Javier Milei is rallying for the Argentine presidency with chainsaws and Comic-Con costumes

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Argentina’s president-elect wants public companies in private hands, with media first to go

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentina’s right-wing president-elect gave the first indications Monday of how he plans to start shaking up South America’s second-largest economy: with a slew of privatizations.

https://apnews.com/article/milei-argentina-president-privatization-1a87d02035511982ab620104b9feb255?

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Trump has long praised autocrats and populists. He’s now embracing Argentina’s new president

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump has long praised a particular type of foreign leader — men he describes as “tough” and “strong,” even if they have chipped away at their countries’ democratic norms.

https://apnews.com/article/trump-javier-milei-democracy-populism-orban-450fed8348769975506d1da5e61da184?

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Argentina sharply devalues its currency and cuts subsidies as part of shock economic measures

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentina on Tuesday announced a sharp devaluation of its currency and cuts to energy and transportation subsidies as part of shock measures new President Javier Milei says are needed to deal with an economic emergency.

https://apnews.com/article/argentina-economy-dollar-devaluation-economy-cuts-28089d64ae72bde12d53be59b5bc5a85?

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Thousands take to the streets to protest austerity measures of Argentina’s new president

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Protests against austerity and deregulation measures announced by newly elected President Javier Milei went off relatively peacefully in Argentina’s capital Wednesday, after a government warning against blocking streets.

https://apnews.com/article/argentina-javier-milei-protests-economy-social-groups-c1b7d6506769f1331c37db6e16fe29a1?

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Native groups sit on a treasure trove of lithium. Now mines threaten their water, culture and wealth

TUSAQUILLAS, Argentina (AP) — Irene Leonor Flores de Callata, 68, treks along a bone-dry riverbed, guiding a herd of llamas and sheep through stretching desert.

https://apnews.com/article/lithium-water-mining-indigenous-cb2f5b1580c12f8ba1b19223648069b7?

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Abducted as babies in the 1970s, these Argentines found a way toward their true identity

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Claudia Poblete can’t help it. On certain days, as she passes in front of a church, she automatically crosses herself while her children gaze at her with confusion.

https://apnews.com/article/argentina-dictatorship-recovered-grandchildren-identity-7728799573b82db62b1f20d0b7142046?

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An Argentine judge recognizes gender abuse suffered for years by 20 nuns in a breakthrough ruling

BUNEOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — An Argentine judge on Friday ruled that 20 cloistered nuns had suffered abuse for more than two decades at the hands of high-ranking clergy in the country’s conservative north, and ordered the accused archbishop and church officials to undergo psychological treatment and training in gender discrimination.

https://apnews.com/article/argentina-nuns-abuse-vatican-pope-metoo-79273d907d2f75e2ade6feae10ec3d81?

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An unprecedented wave of narco-violence is stunning an Argentina city

The river port city Rosario, once well-known as the birthplace of soccer star Lionel Messi and revolutionary Eduardo “Che” Guevara, has grown notorious in recent years as a drug-trafficking hub with an escalating homicide rate. The dangers reached new heights last month when narco-gangs targeted civilians in a deadly rampage to retaliate against the government’s efforts to crack down on incarcerated kingpins. Read more.

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Argentina’s president promises to quash corruption then shocks with his Supreme Court pick

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Campaigning last year as a libertarian outsider, Javier Milei electrified rallies with his vows to destroy Argentina’s corrupt political elite. But the eccentric economist-turned-president now faces accusations of hypocrisy over his Supreme Court nomination.

https://apnews.com/article/argentina-supreme-court-appointment-president-corruption-920b3ff0a501e7072ef00f17c95e24f3?

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Under President Milei, the worst economic crisis in decades puts Argentine ingenuity to the test

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — In the crush of anti-government protests paralyzing downtown Buenos Aires in the last months, some Argentines saw a traffic-induced headache. Others saw a reaction to President Javier Milei’s brutal austerity measures.

https://apnews.com/article/argentina-economy-crisis-javier-milei-president-peronist-crisis-8a8ac450fa5f7942f61ab092fdd4ed15?

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A court in Argentina orders the arrest of Venezuela’s president and his right-hand man

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — A federal court in Argentina on Monday ordered the “immediate” arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello for alleged crimes against humanity committed against dissidents.

https://apnews.com/article/argentina-court-maduro-arrest-c9eb994d71c4f58744e7c74137ac5768?

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Argentine prosecutors charge 3 people linked to the death of former One Direction star Liam Payne

BUENOS AIRES (AP) — Three people have been charged in connection with the death of Liam Payne, a former member of musical group One Direction who died after falling from the balcony of his hotel room in Buenos Aires last month, Argentine prosecutors said Thursday.

https://apnews.com/article/argentina-payne-death-charged-e73f589a37a4a8f0e80e0b0e71d0f0f4?

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Argentina’s Milei marks one year in office. Here’s how his shock measures are reshaping the economy

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — When libertarian President Javier Milei assumed office one year ago, Argentine supermarkets were marking price increases on an almost daily basis. Middle-class families tried to spend their rapidly depreciating pesos as quickly as they got them, and economists warned the country was teetering on the brink of hyperinflation.

https://apnews.com/article/argentina-milei-trump-musk-default-economy-inflation-libertarian-18efe55d81df459792a038ea9e321800?

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Argentine judge charges 5 people over death of former One Direction star Liam Payne

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — An Argentine judge confirmed charges against five people in connection with the death of Liam Payne, a former member of musical group One Direction, and ordered preventive prison for two of them for having supplied him with drugs.

https://apnews.com/article/argentina-payne-death-charged-preventive-prison-1f93bf0c9e23e2e3cd520df54d74fde0?

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Argentina puts 7 of Maradona’s healthcare professionals on trial

BUENOS AIRES (AP) — An Argentine court on Tuesday started its trial of seven healthcare professionals accused of negligence in the death of soccer great Diego Maradona, at age 60.

https://apnews.com/article/maradona-trial-medical-team-argentina-546c099c02f577fc71d0bd9fd9c30e9c?

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Argentina orders immigration crackdown with new decree to ‘make Argentina great again’

Argentina’s right-wing President Javier Milei issued a decree on Wednesday curbing immigration to the South American nation, a move coinciding with the immigration restrictions put in place by the Trump administration. Read More.

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Argentine Supreme Court upholds 6-year prison sentence for ex-President Fernández

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentina’s highest court upheld a six-year prison sentence for former President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner in a ruling Tuesday that permanently banned her from public office over the corruption conviction that found she had directed state contracts to a friend while she was the first lady and president.

https://apnews.com/article/argentina-de-kirchner-supreme-court-sentence-ef593f1f06cdc98ca084dad45d9e54e4?

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Argentine police raided a home yesterday in search of an Italian Baroque painting looted by Nazis during World War II. After being spotted in a real estate listing this week, the painting has gone missing again.

 

The 17th-century painting, “Portrait of a Lady” by Giuseppe Ghislandi (see here), belonged to Jewish Dutch art dealer Jacques Goudstikker. After Germany invaded the Netherlands, hundreds of his artworks were sold illegally to Adolf Hitler’s right-hand man, Hermann Göring. The painting was ultimately believed to have been transferred to Göring's aide, Friedrich Kadgien, who fled to Argentina after the war. 

 

A Dutch journalist recently spotted the portrait in a 3D tour for a seaside property owned by one of Kadgien’s daughters. The painting hung above a green sofa in the living room, but when police arrived yesterday, it appeared to have been replaced by a tapestry. Authorities are working to keep the painting in the country.

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Trump Ally Pelted With Rocks in Campaign Stunt Disaster

Bodyguards whisked away Argentina’s president as things turned nasty on the campaign trail.

Argentina’s Trump-loving president was whisked away from a rally by his security goons when protesters started lobbing rocks and bottles at him.

Javier Milei, who ingratiated himself in MAGA circles when he presented Elon Musk with a chainsaw in Washington, D.C. in February, is embroiled in a corruption scandal.

“Milei came to provoke. And well, he had to leave, as was fitting,” one protester said, after Milei, seen as Argentina’s own mini Trump, was forced into a hasty exit as bottles, rocks, and even plant pots were launched.

Tempers boiled over as the 54-year-old, vying for success in the country’s October midterm elections, was passing through a neighborhood in the city of Lomas de Zamora, 12.5 miles south of Buenos Aires, on Wednesday.

Minutes earlier, Milei had spoken about the scandal engulfing Argentina. The former head of the country’s disability agency, Diego Spagnuolo, has leaked audio recordings that accuse Milei’s influential sister, Karina Milei, of receiving kickbacks from pharmaceutical sales to Argentina’s disability services agency.

She was made General Secretary of the Presidency of the Argentine Nation by her brother in December 2023.

He broke his silence on the scandal minutes before the skirmish around his vehicle, which then led to clashes between protestors and supporters. “Everything [Spagnuolo] says is a lie,” he told reporters. He added, “We are going to bring him to justice and prove he lied.”

The president and his sister, who was also in the convoy, were unhurt in the ensuing crowd trouble, according to presidential spokesperson Manuel Adorni. He wrote on X, “Militants of the old politics, pure Kirchnerism, and a model of violence that only the cavemen of the past want: they attacked with stones the caravan where the President of the Nation was located.

“There are no injuries. The only thing there is, is many who are heading toward the most absolute of oblivions: Kirchnerism never again.”

Sharing an image of a huge rock zipping by Milei’s head, he added, “They could have killed anyone. They don’t care about human life, much less are they going to care about the country. End.”

Milei, who has dramatically slashed public services in Argentina, including decreasing disability services funding, has a close relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump.

Trump hailed him as “a great gentleman” and “one of the few people in politics who is actually getting things done” backstage at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C., in February 2024.

“He’s MAGA, Make Argentina Great Again,” Trump added. The friendliness between the two has continued since, with POTUS saying in March this year that Milei is “great.”

At CPAC in February of this year, Milei gifted then-Department of Government Efficiency chief Elon Musk a chainsaw, representing the brutal approach both men took when cutting state spending. Musk told attendees it was “the chainsaw for bureaucracy.”

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Argentina recovers long-lost Italian painting looted by Nazis during WWII

MAR DEL PLATA, Argentina (AP) — An Argentine federal court announced Wednesday that authorities had recovered the long-lost “Portrait of a Lady,” an 18th-century work by the Italian painter Giuseppe Ghislandi that was looted by the Nazis in World War II.

https://apnews.com/article/argentina-nazi-giuseppe-ghislandi-friedrich-kadgien-jacques-goudstikker-7d7d6a9c95631fbe04d5de3beb26b2ca?