ARGENTINA: The Human Capital Ministry & more – 6th Jun 2024

¡Buenos días from BA! This is the Rorshok Argentina Update from the 6th of June twenty twenty-four. A quick summary of what's going down in Argentina.

The issues within the Human Capital Ministry have escalated since last week. Following a federal court order to distribute five tons of withheld food aid, Minister Sandra Pettovello dismissed Pablo de la Torre, the former Childhood, Adolescence, and Family Secretary, along with four of his aligned officials. Pettovello also filed a complaint against de la Torre for an alleged embezzlement scheme involving fraudulent ministry contracts with an international organization to pay non-existent employees.

However, this complaint has backfired, as Pettovello now faces allegations of participating in the same corruption scheme she exposed. The civil association Arco Social has accused her of being involved in a billion-peso embezzlement plan. Despite this, Manuel Adorni, the presidential spokesman, stated that Pettovello has the full support of President Javier Milei and his administration.

At least the Human Capital Ministry announced a plan to distribute the previously withheld food supplies. On Tuesday the 4th, in collaboration with the Argentine Army and Ministry of Defense, they began a two-week operation to distribute over 465,000 kilos of powdered milk and other goods stored in Buenos Aires and Tucumán. This initiative, coordinated with the CONIN Foundation, aims to support vulnerable communities through sixty-four distribution centers and their associated soup kitchens.

Amidst these developments, the president was on his US tour, meeting with Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, in San Francisco. Milei expressed optimism about the meeting on social media, which revolved around the potential of artificial intelligence in a libertarian Argentina. He also spoke with Justin Trudeau, the Canadian Prime Minister, discussing trade, Ukraine, and the Gaza conflict, with plans to meet at the G7 summit in Italy next month.

Milei is seeking to leverage international recognition to bolster his political and economic agenda at home, even amidst recent domestic challenges, including the firing of his Cabinet chief and delays in passing key legislation. Speaking of which, the new Cabinet Chief Guillermo Francos has indicated that Milei’s significant reform bill and fiscal package may not be passed until July. After extensive revisions, the omnibus bill has been narrowed from more than 600 to about 230 articles. The Senate is expected to approve the bill in mid-June, which would then return to the lower house for final approval in July.

Despite all the setbacks, the government remains optimistic. Manuel Adorni said that the president believes that the recession has bottomed out, with signs of economic recovery emerging in March and April. Adorni cited positive indicators such as wage increases slightly outpacing inflation and certain sectors showing early signs of improvement.

At the same time, the latest report from Universidad Católica Argentina, or UCA, indicates a grim reality, with poverty levels soaring to fifty-five percent in the first quarter of this year, up from forty-five percent in the third quarter of twenty twenty-three. These figures equal nearly twenty-five million urban dwellers now living below the poverty line. The economic downturn, exacerbated by widespread deregulation and currency devaluation, has hit hard, with basic living costs skyrocketing and essential services becoming increasingly unaffordable.

In more positive news, the Misiones province protesters, the union representatives, and the provincial government finally reached an agreement. After two weeks of demonstrations by police officers and penitentiary staff demanding higher wages to cope with inflation, they accepted a new salary proposal resulting in an increase of 15,000 pesos (about twelve dollars at the parallel exchange rate) across all positions.

Talking about demonstrations, thousands across Argentina participated in the ninth annual Ni Una Menos march on Monday the 3rd. Each year, the march serves as a reminder of the pervasive nature of gender violence in society and a rallying cry for justice, equality, and solidarity. This time around, participants denounced the government’s austerity measures, anti-LGBTQIA+ hate speech, and setbacks in policies combating gender-based violence.

In Buenos Aires, protesters gathered at Congress, highlighting the grim statistics of 127 misogynist murders recorded between January and May, including lesbicides and a transfemicide.

During the march, tributes were paid to Nora Morales de Cortiñas, the revered human rights advocate who passed away on Thursday the 30th of May. As the president of the Madres de Plaza de Mayo–Línea Fundadora rights group, Cortiñas played a crucial role in advocating for accountability and justice in the face of state-sponsored violence during the country’s military dictatorship from nineteen seventy-six to nineteen eighty-three.

Moving on, as of this week, President Milei has yet to extend his congratulations to Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico’s newly elected president. Former Argentine President Alberto Fernández was present at the victory celebration of the new president-elect, while neither Milei nor any libertarian officials expressed their congratulations. However, the Foreign Ministry did issue a statement applauding Mexico’s electoral process.

On that note about head-of-state tension, Milei may have to engage with Lula da Silva, Brazil’s President, during this year’s G7 summit in Italy. The organizers aim to leverage the presence of leaders from the Global South to broker significant agreements.

In some great news on education, the University of Buenos Aires has made significant strides in global rankings, climbing twenty-four spots to claim the seventy-first position in the QS Global Ranking. This makes it the top-ranked university in Argentina and Ibero-America.

Breitbart, the American far-right news website, published a piece titled Ukraine’s Zelensky Says He Is Working on Joint Weapons Production with Argentina. The article focuses on the Ukrainian President’s announcement of a joint weapons production project led by President Milei. Despite Argentina’s lack of an extensive military industry, Zelensky sees potential for collaborating on manufacturing arms parts, drones, and gunpowder.

To read the full piece, head over to the link in the show notes.

Meanwhile, another top-ranking athlete is retiring. Vanina Correa, the iconic goalkeeper for Argentina’s women’s national football team, has retired after twenty-one years. Announcing her departure ahead of the team’s friendlies against Costa Rica, Correa reminisced about her debut in two thousand three and her pride in wearing Argentina’s colors. She is celebrated for her standout performance in the twenty nineteen World Cup against England, where her crucial saves, including a penalty stop, earned her player of the match.

The Wallpaper news outlet published an article on the architecture of the Chacarita Cemetery. The article discusses the book Chacarita Moderna: The Brutalist Necropolis of Buenos Aires by Léa Namer, which explores the Sexto Panteón, a brutalist necropolis in the Buenos Aires City neighborhood of Chacarita. Ítala Fulvia Villa, one of Argentina’s first female architects, designed the site. The book delves into the architectural significance of the Sexto Panteón, its construction in nineteen forty-nine, and its place in modernist architecture.

Wanna read the full article? Follow the link in the show notes!

Let’s not forget to highlight a couple of important national holidays happening this month. The 17th of June honors the Day of the Passing to Immortality of General Martín Miguel de Güemes. He played a crucial role in Argentina’s fight for independence from Spanish colonial rule, particularly in defending the country’s northern borders. Güemes tragically lost his life on the 17th of June in eighteen twenty-one after being mortally wounded in an ambush.

The 20th of June is Flag Day, which observes the legacy of Manuel Belgrano, the national hero who created the Argentine flag. Both the 20th and 21st will be bank holidays to commemorate the date.

And to wrap up this edition, if you are planning to travel during the long weekends, keep in mind that the Association of Aeronautical Technicians and Employees in Argentina has announced intermittent strikes throughout June, impacting flights with daily work stoppages lasting three to six hours. These strikes aim to address wage disputes and will disrupt both domestic and international departures. Their schedule details specific days and times for the strikes, starting on the 9th of June and continuing through the end of the month, with varying times each day.

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

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