ARGENTINA: Espert Resigns & more – 9th Oct 2025

¡Buenos días from Louse Point! This is the Rorshok Argentina Update from the 9th of October twenty twenty-five. A quick summary of what's going down in Argentina.

First up, an update on a story we covered last week. The political controversy surrounding José Luis Espert, President Milei’s top candidate for the upcoming midterm elections in the Buenos Aires Province, has reached its breaking point. On Sunday the 5th, Espert announced he was withdrawing his candidacy following mounting pressure over his links to Federico Machado, an Argentine businessman under investigation in the United States for drug trafficking and money laundering.

The story escalated when Machado himself broke his silence, admitting he provided financial support to Espert’s twenty nineteen presidential campaign and hired him for consulting work. Following the withdrawal, President Milei’s inner circle reportedly pushed him to cut ties, and the government has now ordered officials to move forward with Machado’s extradition to the US. Espert will be replaced on the ballot by Diego Santilli, a former Buenos Aires City Deputy Mayor.

From a political storm to an economic one, the government continues its daily battle to prop up the peso. The Treasury is burning through its dollar deposits, selling over one-and-a-half billion in just six sessions to keep the currency stable. Traders estimate the Treasury now has as little as 700 million dollars left in its accounts.

To curb the outflow, the Central Bank also banned a maneuver known as the rulo. Previously, a person could buy dollars at the cheap official rate, transfer them to a brokerage account, and sell them for a higher price by trading bonds in the financial market, known as the MEP dollar. Now, anyone who buys official-rate dollars will be unable to operate in the financial dollar markets for the next ninety days.

While the government juggles the economy, it’s also making a major change to obtaining Argentine citizenship. Starting this week, the process for foreigners moves from the courts to the National Directorate of Migrations. The application is now entirely digital through the Migraciones website, a move designed to streamline what was often a lengthy process. To start, foreign residents over eighteen will need their DNI, a police background check and proof of income.

Check out the Migraciones website with the link in the show notes.

In other news, Luis Caputo, the Economy Minister, and Santiago Bausili, the Central Bank chief, held high-stakes meetings in Washington this week with US Treasury officials and Kristalina Georgieva, the head of the International Monetary Fund. Both sides said the talks were productive, and Georgieva publicly offered her support.

While there’s been no official announcement on the timing or size of a potential aid package, the talks signal that help could be on the way.

Speaking of international perspectives, the World Bank released its latest economic forecast, trimming its growth projection for Argentina in twenty twenty-five by almost a percentage point to 4.6%. While a slight downgrade, the figure is still more optimistic than most local estimates. The bank’s report praised a remarkable economic rebound and highlighted the Milei administration’s significant strides towards fiscal consolidation.

While economists pore over those numbers, President Milei was busy rekindling his rock-star persona at a launch event for his new book at the Movistar Arena in Buenos Aires City. He took the stage with a live band, singing rock anthems to a crowd of nearly fifteen thousand. The event felt more like a campaign rally than a book launch, with Milei leading chants against his political rival, former president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, creating a spectacle that contrasted sharply with the country’s current economic turbulence.

From the stage to the streets, the government is also taking a harder line on crime. President Milei and Security Minister Patricia Bullrich unveiled a zero-tolerance penal code reform package. The proposal, which will be sent to Congress, would toughen sentences for crimes like manslaughter and theft. One of the most significant changes would be lowering the age of criminal responsibility from sixteen to thirteen.

In other government news, a temporary pause on crop export tariffs last week sparked a record-breaking seven billion dollars in export bookings. The forty-eight-hour tax holiday was designed to bring in much-needed dollars, but it left many farmers feeling that the big commodity trading houses were the main beneficiaries. Now, with the tariffs back in place, those traders are scrambling to find enough soybeans to fulfill their massive commitments, creating tension across the agricultural sector.

Shifting to a darker topic, forensic experts have made a landmark discovery in the Córdoba province, north-central Argentina. After a twenty-year search at La Perla, one of the largest clandestine detention centers during the nineteen seventy-six–nineteen eighty-three dictatorship, investigators from the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team found scattered human bone fragments. The discovery is the first physical evidence to support witness testimonies that the military buried victims in mass graves on the property and later used bulldozers to remove them.

Still on crime, Patricia Bullrich, the Security Minister, launched a new National Anti-Terrorism Center. The initiative aims to improve coordination between government agencies to prevent and respond to threats from extremist groups. The announcement was deliberately made on the second anniversary of the Hamas attacks in Israel, with Bullrich stating the center will close a historic gap in Argentina’s security strategy.

Shifting back to finances, a new government initiative to encourage Argentines to declare their savings is gaining some traction. So far, more than 12,000 people have signed up for a new simplified income tax regime. The voluntary system allows taxpayers to join without having to report their total assets, a move intended to bring undeclared dollars into the formal economy.

If you’re in the market for a new car, you might see more green options on the roads soon. The government has authorized the tariff-free import of 50,000 electric and hybrid vehicles for twenty twenty-six. The goal is to expand the availability of cars with new technologies, increase competition, and ultimately lower prices for consumers.

In a move that’s stirring up a cultural debate, the government has decided to change the name of the 12th of October public holiday back to Día de la Raza, or Day of the Race. Since twenty ten, the date has been known as the Day of Respect for Cultural Diversity, a name intended to honor the country’s Indigenous peoples. Some sectors, like human rights and Indigenous organizations, criticized the reversion to the original name as a step backward for cultural recognition.

Now, travelers, take note: if you’re flying in or out of Aeroparque Jorge Newbery in the coming weeks, you may face disruptions. The airline pilots’ union, APLA, has announced protests over stalled salary negotiations, which will affect operations on Friday, the 24th of October, from 6 to 10 AM.

It’s not just pilots protesting. Students at the prestigious National Film School, the ENERC, have taken over the school's building in Buenos Aires. They are protesting a new plan that would change the workload for teachers, which they say was drafted without proper consultation. The students are demanding that the new regime be withdrawn..

On a more positive note, some good news from the world of sports. Juan Martín del Potro, the Argentine tennis legend, has been nominated for induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. He famously won the two thousand nine US Open and led Argentina to its first Davis Cup title. If selected, he would become the third Argentine player to be inducted, after Guillermo Vilas and Gabriela Sabatini.

And finally, the Patagonia region is gaining global recognition as a dream destination for paleontologists. Discovery Wild Science published an article over at Newsbreak about how the region’s unique landscape has perfectly preserved a rich tapestry of fossils, from colossal dinosaurs to ancient mammals. Major discoveries in the area continue to offer new insights into Earth’s prehistoric past, making Argentina a true hotspot for uncovering ancient secrets.

Check out the full article with the link in the show notes!

Aaand that’s it for this week! Thank you for joining us!

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¡Nos vemos la próxima semana!