ALPINE MILEI
President Javier Milei’s third address to the World Economic Forum in Davos was also his most moderate, toning down his previous anti-woke harangues to defend the values of Western capitalism and deplore state intervention by saying: “Regulation kills growth.” Prior to his Wednesday speech he met some of the world’s top CEOs and international bankers, who praised his free market policies. On Thursday, he attended the ceremony to formalise the Board of Peace, created and headed by US President Donald Trump (widely seen as an incipient bid to replace the United Nations), signing up before heading home that evening. Apart from his sister, Presidential Chief-of-Staff Karina Milei, Milei was accompanied by ministers Luis Caputo (Economy), Federico Sturzenegger (Deregulation & State Transformation) and Pablo Quirno (Foreign Affairs) – Caputo met up with International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, who praised Argentina’s “strong economic performance” and especially “progress in accumulating reserves.” Last weekend Milei signed Mercosur’s historic free-trade agreement with the European Union in the Paraguayan capital of Asunción, preceded by a Friday night appearance at the Folklore Festival in the Córdoba town of Jesús María where he sang ‘Amor Salvaje’ together with Chaqueño Palavecino. The day before signing the agreement, the government officially appointed Fernando Iglesias as the Argentine representative to the EU headquarters in Brussels, following his earlier confirmation as ambassador to Belgium.
MORE DEPARTURES
Transport Secretary Luis Pierrini resigned Wednesday after only eight months on the job, alleging “personal reasons” (amid a backdrop of rumours of suspected corruption). Economy Minister Luis Caputo was quick to name architect Fernando Herrmann as his successor. The next day Paul Starc, who heads the UIF (Unidad de Información Financiera) unit against money-laundering, resigned, also alleging “personal reasons,” although it was confirmed that a new post will be found for him. Starc will be replaced by Ernesto Gaspari, a Foreign Ministry technocrat.
NISMAN REMEMBERED
The 11th anniversary of the death of special AMIA prosecutor Alberto Nisman was marked last Sunday by a series of tributes with the main event near the scene of his mysterious end in Puerto Madero. While the cause of death continues to trigger controversy, there were no doubts in the minds of those marching under the slogan: “It was not suicide, it was magnicide.” Nisman’s mother Sara Garfunkel and his ex-wife, federal judge Sandra Arroyo Salgado, were prominent in the march, alongside City PRO legislator Waldo Wolff and journalist Daniel Santoro who both delivered speeches. The tributes came the week after the Javier Milei administration declared Iran’s Quds Force a terrorist organisation, prompting Tehran to warn that Argentina would be receiving “a suitable response” for this “unacceptable” move.
BIG MAC DEARER HERE
The latest edition of the so-called ‘Big Mac Index’ shows that the Argentine version of the hamburger ranks only behind Switzerland as the most expensive in the world with its price measured in dollars significantly higher than in countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy or the Scandinavian nations where the average wage is far superior. In the eyes of some economists, this reflects an overvalued currency leading to dollar inflation, as well as a disarray of relative prices.
ARGENTINA IN ORBIT
Just before last weekend the government announced that Argentina will be participating directly in the Artemis II mission of NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) via its microsatellite Atenea. The first crewed mission since Apollo 17 in 1972, Artemis II is scheduled to take off next month from Cape Canaveral with the astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian Jeremy Hansen aboard, travelling as far as the dark side of the Moon.
WORLD CUP ON PUBLIC TV
“Televisión Pública and Radio Nacional will be transmitting all the matches of the Argentine team during the 2026 World Cup. Thanks to a commercial agreement, the cost of the rights of transmission will not be met with tax money. For everybody without using everybody’s money,” read a message on the X social network account of Cabinet Chief Manuel Adorni last Monday. It’s a positive result for the government, which had been under pressure amid reports that the games would be broadcast on private channels. Seeds in Group J, Argentina – the current champions lest we forget – will be kicking off their defence of the title against Algeria at the Kansas City Stadium on June 16, followed by matches against Austria and Jordan in Dallas.
GUGLIELMINETTI DIES
Raúl Antonio Guglielminetti, aka ‘El Mayor Guastavino,’ a notorious intelligence agent during and after the 1976-1983 dictatorship, died in his bed last Thursday at the age of 84 at his Mercedes home where he had been serving his life sentence under house arrest since last September due to ill health. Guglielminetti was unique as the one known case of a former military officer suspected of crimes against humanity continuing in his post under the democratic presidency of Raúl Alfonsín until exposed in 1987, even forming part of the presidential bodyguard. Working for military intelligence since 1970, Guglielminetti formed part of both the Triple A far-right parapolice terrorist organisation and the notorious Aníbal Gordon gang, as well as being recognised by several concentration camp survivors. He was finally arrested in 2006 during the Néstor Kirchner Presidency and sentenced to life imprisonment for crimes against humanity.
NO BAR AT FORMER TORTURE CENTRE
A local Federal Appeals Court has suspended the installation of a bar in the former Naval Academy for Marine Non-commissioned Officers in Mar del Plata, which functioned as a clandestine centre for detention, torture and extermination during the 1976-1983 dictatorship. Bullbarrel SA had obtained approval for opening its “Restinga” bar at the Punta Mogotes premises from the municipal council under PRO Mayor Guillermo Montenegro (on leave of absence as a provincial senator since November with Agustín Neme as acting mayor), who is close to the government. The lawsuit to suspend the bar was lodged by the human rights organisation Asociación de Familiares de Detenidos Desaparecidos por Razones Políticas, who were given 60 days by the judges to present more evidence of human rights violations at that site. Irma Piñeiro, who belongs to the Association, remarked that the naval academy is listed in the CONADEP report Nunca Más while concentration camp survivor Pablo Mancini reported witnessing a rape there.
PAINTING SEEKS OWNER
After the painting Portrait of a Lady, stolen by the Nazis during World War II, was found to be the work of the Italian baroque painter Il Pitocchetto and not his contemporary Giuseppe Ghislandi as originally thought (but still worth over 250.000 euros), it has a new claimant – Marei von Saher, daughter-in-law of the Dutch Jewish art dealer Jacques Goudstikker whose Amsterdam gallery was looted after the German invasion in 1940. The painting turned up last August in the Mar del Plata home of the daughter of late Nazi financier Friedrich Kadgien.
TOKYO’S NEW ENVOY
Yoshitaka Hoshino, who arrived here last November 18, is now formally the new Japanese Ambassador after presenting his credentials to Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno. This is his second experience of heading a diplomatic mission, preceded by El Salvador (2023-25), after entering the foreign service in 1989. Hoshino highlights that this year marks the 140th anniversary of Japanese immigration to Argentina.
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