MAY DAY CAME EARLY
The eve of May Day, Argentina’s Labour Day, saw more protests than the day itself with the CGT umbrella union grouping staging a mass rally down the Avenida Nueve de Julio thoroughfare to reject the "austerity" of the Javier Milei government, held under the motto "Work is sacred" while pensioners held their weekly Wednesday protest outside Congress under the watchful eye of Federal Police and Border Guard officers. The two demonstrations snarled downtown traffic considerably.
MILEI MOURNS POPE
President Javier Milei was one of some 400,000 people bidding a final farewell to Pope Francis at his funeral in Rome last Saturday, accompanied by his sister and Presidential Chief-of-Staff Karina Milei, Cabinet Chief Guillermo Francos, Presidential Spokesperson Manuel Adorni and Ministers Gerardo Werthein (Foreign Affairs), Sandra Pettovello (Human Capital) and Patricia Bullrich (Security) – one of the delegations of 170 countries attending the papal funeral (with United States President Donald Trump perhaps the most prominent guest). The funeral was followed by lunch with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who yielded the front row in Santa María Maggiore basilica to Milei, sitting in the second row herself. Presidential critics highlighted that the presidential delegation was lodged in the exclusive Hotel InterContinental Rome Ambasciatori Palace on the traditional Vía Veneto with a seven-digit nightly bill in peso terms, prompting adverse comment in the social networks in the context of Milei’s austerity policies.
CITY CANDIDATES DEBATE
The candidates heading the 17 lists competing for the 30 City Legislature seats at stake in the May 18 local midterm elections held a three-hour debate on Tuesday night, hosted by the Canal de la Ciudad television channel. Analysts generally did not see it as much of a game-changer due to a rigid format and the multiplicity of voices squeezing out time for concrete proposals – the candidates also made their pitch in national and mayoral terms as much as the municipal and legislative issues which should have been their focus. On the fringe of the event there was a fresh incident with the star presidential spin doctor Santiago Caputo (who had clashed with Radical deputy Facundo Manes at the March 1 inauguration of ordinary Congress sessions) when he objected to freelance photographer Antonio Becerra taking a snapshot of him upon entry, seizing his credential from around his neck in order to identify him.
PASO DUMPED IN BA PROVINCE
After various delays in holding a session, the Buenos Aires Province Legislature rapidly suspended the PASO (Primarias Abiertas Simultáneas y Obligatorias) primaries last Monday without debate and with only four of the 92 deputies voting against (the two FIT leftists and two left-wing Peronists). A success for Buenos Aires Province Governor Axel Kicillof, who nevertheless failed to gain approval of the electoral calender amendments needed to enable the advanced September 7 provincial elections. Previously Kicillof had criticised International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva for her “scandalous” public support for the Javier Milei government, saying that the choice facing this year’s voters was “The IMF or homeland.”
CONGRESS DEADLOCK
Tuesday’s session of Congress to probe the Cryptogate scandal (President Javier Milei’s promotion of the boom-and-bust ‘$LIBRA’ cryptocurrency last February) was frustrating at various levels. Only Cabinet Chief Guillermo Francos showed up when Ministers Luis Caputo (Economy) and Mariano Cúneo Libarona (Justice) had been summoned, giving no clear answers to the questions with an unconvincing denial of Milei’s links with $LIBRA. But nor did Congress succeed in forming an investigative commission to probe the scandal, naming 28 deputies for the commission but deadlocked over its chair – they will be trying again on May 14 when they will also be summoning the two no-show ministers. Deputies Sabrina Selva (Unión por la Patria-Buenos Aires Province) and ruling party caucus chief Gabriel Bornoroni (La Libertad Avanza-Córdoba) drew 14 votes each, respectively representing Peronism along with the left and the libertarian government along with the moderate opposition.
UP AND DOWN
Fuel and petrol prices went down last Thursday in line with lower global oil prices but bus fares (almost six percent) and utility billing (gas, electricity and water) and prepaid health schemes all went up.
PETTOVELLO UNDER FIRE
Just before last weekend Human Capital Minister Sandra Pettovello was placed under investigation by federal judge Ariel Lijo on charges of irregular food purchases last year presented by the lawyer Leonardo Martínez Herrero. The charges of embezzlement, abuse of authority and malfeasance are based on a ministerial resolution transferring 14 billion pesos for food purchases funded by the UNDP (United Nations Development Programme), which were never made, along with a three percent commission for middlemen back in February 2024.
RIVER FLOWING
Playing at home, River Plate defeated Boca Juniors 2-1 in Argentina’s super-derby last Sunday. Franco Mastantuono (aged just 17) opened the scoring for River with a spectacular free kick in the 25th minute, Uruguayan Miguel Merentiel equalised in the 38th minute and the recently returned Sebastián Driussi scored what was to be the winner just before the end of a first half producing all the goals. The defeat cost Boca coach Fernando Gago his job only two days later.
SOUTHERN COMMAND CHECKING UP
Four-star Admiral Alvin Holsey, who heads the Southern Command of the United States (SOUTHCOM) since last November when he replaced General Laura Richardson, arrived here last Monday on a three-day visit, meeting with President Javier Milei on Tuesday morning (few details of their conversation were subsequently released beyond mutual support and cooperation along with US support for the modernisation of Argentina’s defence capacities) with Defence Minister Luis Petri and Armed Forces Joint Chiefs-of-Staff head Air Commodore Xavier Isaac also joining the meeting. Holsey also went down to Ushuaia to inspect the local naval base. The visit is seen within the context of an increasingly close bilateral relationship between Presidents Milei and Donald Trump, coming in the same month as US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, who then proceeded to offer a direct credit line to Argentina in the event of external shock.
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