News of opinion and analysis

Messi's epic journey comes to an end – and what a ride it was

Today 00:35 It’s testament to everything Messi achieved with Argentina that even after two decades of dominance, he still leaves us wanting more.

by Dan Edwards

Javier Milei speaks during a midterm election rally in La Plata, Argentina, on September 7, 2025.

ANALYSIS: SHOCK THERAPY

Milei’s social media machine is starting to misfire

02-09-2026 10:25 Javier Milei has described himself as “a product of social media,” but his online support is in decline. The president's online machinery is laying bare the challenges facing his re-election bid next year.

OPINION & ANALYSIS

Thiel bought a house in Argentina – democracy left it empty

31-08-2026 16:40 The answer to Peter Thiel's scepticism about democracy is not to defend liberal democracy more loudly. It is to make it work well enough that citizens have compelling reasons to defend it.

Jarin Sijaya Abdul Hathi is the Chargé d'Affaires of the Embassy of Malaysia In Buenos Aires.

GUEST COLUMN

Malaysia at 69: Celebrating diversity, progress and a shared future with Argentina

31-08-2026 00:01 Diversity is not simply something we celebrate, it is one of the foundations of our national character.

AS I SEE IT

Creator and destroyer

29-08-2026 06:30 Many involved in AI say they want to press the pause button to give governments more time in which to come up with regulations. They must know that nothing like this is going to happen.

by James Neilson

BEYOND THE HEADLINES

Multiplying options

29-08-2026 06:08 Polarisation is far from inevitable when at least half of the 60-plus percent discontented with the current course of events are equally averse to a return to Kirchnerism.

Tech & media

Why Perfil is fighting OpenAI and Microsoft over theft of journalistic content to feed their AI

29-08-2026 06:04 Most of the major AI models have been built on an explicit thief and its perpetuation further weakens one of the beleaguered pillars of democracy: journalism.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

Cerimedo's connections with SIDE and beyond.

CERIMEDO CASE

Cerimedo’s corporate ties to inner circle of SIDE spy agency

28-08-2026 07:42 Shared addresses and interlocking companies. Corporate records reveal a web of businesses linking Fernando Cerimedo, President Milei’s former adviser, to figures historically associated with Argentina’s intelligence agency, as well as a host of businessmen.

Javier Milei speaks during a Council of the Americas conference in Buenos Aires, on August 20.

ANALYSIS – SHOCK THERAPY

Milei’s magic fades on Argentina’s slowing economic recovery

26-08-2026 13:07 President Javier Milei’s Economists and analysts say economic revival is sputtering, with the recovery not only fading but becoming increasingly uneven.

ANALYSIS

Argentina’s ‘lost decade’ – formal private employment still at 2016 levels

25-08-2026 18:15 Companies have cut back on their hiring and the search for staff has fallen to its lowest levels in the past year; Surveys warn about an advance of jobs with less labour law protections.

by Gabriel Zorrilla

ANALYSING ARGENTINA

Underground wealth, above ground worries

22-08-2026 08:26 Milei is comfortable ignoring the day-to-day economic agenda of the public. But his inner circle is increasingly wary that this trajectory will make the 2027 electoral year an uphill race.

by Marcelo J. García

BEYOND THE HEADLINES

ASEAN, as in the zone

22-08-2026 08:21 The creation of ASEAN in 1967 saw the region create unity out of division and harmony out of discord.

by Michael Soltys

The fall of the Cambridge don Jason Arday.

AS I SEE IT

The death of a self-made professor

22-08-2026 08:06 It was only to be expected that the fall of the Cambridge don Jason Arday would attract the attention of the media on both sides of the Atlantic.

by James Neilson

POLITICS – ANALYSIS

The ‘uncanny valley’ theory meets Milei and Cerimedo

22-08-2026 06:28 The reality of the Milei administration’s near three years in office is even more bizarre than expected.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

INTERVIEW / PERIODISMO PURO

Óscar Martínez: ‘Bukele has neither principles nor ideology – he was after power, any which way’

22-08-2026 06:24 A look at the dictator’s playbook – investigative journalist Óscar Martínez on the rise of Nayib Bukele, the dismantling of democracy in El Salvador and the fight for truth from exile.

by Jorge Fontevecchia

STRATEGIC INFRASTRUCTURE

USA and China at war over Vaca Muerta, Hidrovía and Patagonia

21-08-2026 11:16 Dispute between Washington and Beijing for global technological influence is alive in Argentina. Huawei lies at the centre of the controversy due to its participation in CALF projects in Neuquén, while the United States demands “networks of confidence” to protect data linked to Vaca Muerta. The Hidrovía waterway and the future AI projects in Bariloche complete a map where US investments co-exist with technology of Chinese origin.

by Carlos Burgueño

A Galicia bank branch in the financial district of Buenos Aires.

ANALYSIS: SHOCK THERAPY

Impatient savers are hindering Milei’s lending push

20-08-2026 13:09 Certificate deposits in pesos from the private sector – including individuals and companies – are growing. Yet the maturity of those savings is shrinking.

Brazil election 2026

Lula wages his final campaign as Brazil’s presidential frontrunner

20-08-2026 12:31 Incumbent is broadly considered the favourite to beat right-wing challenger Flávio Bolsonaro, whose campaign has been marred by feuds with his stepmother and links to a banker at the centre of a massive financial fraud probe.

Construction workers in the financial district of Buenos Aires.

JOBS & EMPLOYMENT

Surging unemployment is Milei’s biggest political threat

19-08-2026 09:56 For a second straight year, the economy is growing yet employment is falling in the formal sector. Only one province, Neuquén, has added businesses during Milei’s tenure.

Commuters ride past a State Bank of India (SBI) branch in Bengaluru on August 11, 2026.

GUEST COLUMN

Viksit Bharat 2047: A road map for India to become a developed nation

18-08-2026 10:55 India should become Viksit Bharat by 2047, which would be the 100th year anniversary of India’s independence.

An Indian rocket launched the record-breaking BlueBird 6 satellite to orbit.

GUEST COLUMN

India's space sector: A launchpad for global partnerships

18-08-2026 10:41 India's space sector offers a powerful reminder that the greatest achievements in space are those that bring nations together.

OPINION & ANALYSIS

The New Right redraws Latin America’s map

16-08-2026 07:23 Latin America has become fertile ground for outsiders who know how to turn resentment into votes.

Perfil's Jorge Fontevecchia interviews former Brazil president José Sarney.

INTERVIEW WITH EX-BRAZIL PRESIDENT

José Sarney: ‘President Milei is hostile to Brazil’

15-08-2026 13:28 Former Brazil president criticises disparaging remarks delivered by Argentina’s Javier Milei towards Lula and Brazil, describing them as inappropriate and a breach of diplomatic dignity. Calling on both nations to prioritise regional unity and resist external pressures, he declares that the bond between the Brazilian and Argentine people remains strong.

by Jorge Fontevecchia

POLITICS – ANALYSIS

Scenarios: Three possible paths to Argentina’s 2027 election

15-08-2026 10:22 Three scenarios, but one decisive factor: the economy.

by Jorge Fontevecchia

AS I SEE IT

Life in the age of empathy

15-08-2026 07:43 The ongoing drive to subordinate just about everything else to empathy has already had far-reaching geopolitical consequences.

by James Neilson

Editorial

Economic conundrums

15-08-2026 07:00 The Milei administration has yet to square the circle of taming inflation without recession.

BEYOND THE HEADLINES

And if the divided rule?

15-08-2026 06:15 Should the wheels come off for Trump, this would be another question-mark over Milei’s re-election chances.

by Michael Soltys

POLITICS – ANALYSIS

Campaign battle royale as outsiders and professionals face Milei

15-08-2026 05:33 Political campaigns in Argentina have been governed by fragmentation, negative voting and thin results in the last few presidential bouts. There’s also been big surprises.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

CENTRAL BANK

Argentina eases post-2001 dollar loan curbs to boost economy

14-08-2026 09:18 President Javier Milei’s government seeks to boost credit and economic activity by easing longstanding restrictions on dollar lending.

COPA LIBERTADORES

Argentina’s Libertadores candidates look to break Brazil’s hold on Copa

14-08-2026 07:17 Almost eight years have passed since an Argentina side lifted the Copa Libertadores and this season, for the first time since 2014, neither Boca or River are contenders for the continental title.

by Dan Edwards

ANALYSIS

Inflation edged up last month on winter holidays

13-08-2026 17:00 Economy Minister Luis Caputo announces companies without earnings in dollars will now be able to borrow greenbacks.

Javier Milei at the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange, on July 16.

ANALYSIS: SHOCK THERAPY

Milei eases cash crunch to reignite economic growth

12-08-2026 14:02 Milei administration starting to shift its focus from solely crushing inflation to a more balanced approach.

GUEST COLUMN

Is Argentina a racist country? My testimony as a Muslim foreigner

10-08-2026 07:01 Argentina is a fine example of interfaith coexistence and a melting pot of different communities and waves of migration.

by Marwan Gill

Analysing Argentina

Quintela and the Peronists; Weird scarecrow strategy

08-08-2026 19:31 Most Argentines are telling pollsters that they would like something to change next year. But polls measuring voting intention still have Milei either in the lead or neck-and-neck with his main opponent.

by Marcelo J. García

As I see it

The world’s most unlikely professor

08-08-2026 19:23 After leading to the creation of unabashedly politicised departments in prestigious universities and making big inroads in the humanities, the publishing industry and threatening even the hard sciences, those behind it are fast becoming the target of ridicule

by James Neilson

BEYOND THE HEADLINES

Tears for fears and arrears

08-08-2026 19:18 A country historically living beyond its means is now a question of some of its families living beyond their means. Or so President Milei would like to see it.

by Michael Soltys

POLITICS – ANALYSIS

Milei’s weeks of fury

08-08-2026 19:16 Milei is following Trump’s lead, trying to erode Lula’s position ahead of the consequential vote scheduled for October 4.

ANALYSIS

Milei’s money man shuns foreign markets after failed bond binge

03-08-2026 18:27 Luis Caputo previously tapped foreign bond markets again and again, earning the moniker “serial borrower” from his critics. But nowadays, he's not selling bonds overseas.

BEYOND THE HEADLINES

Racism as its own worst enemy

01-08-2026 19:20 No country is racist and no country is free of racism – this is not a black-and-white issue (perhaps not the best way of putting it) but numerous shades of grey.

by Michael Soltys

POLITICS – ANALYSIS

Total (culture) war

01-08-2026 19:17 The “culture wars” Milei is so fond of are the cornerstone of his political construction.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

As I see it

Education everywhere is due for an overhaul

01-08-2026 11:40 Throughout the world there are millions of people, many of whom are now middle-aged or on the verge of retirement, with university degrees of one kind or another who, to their despair, have found out that they do not guarantee them a well-paying job.

by James Neilson

International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva looks on as Argentina's Economy Minister Luis Caputo waves upon her arrival for a meeting at the Economy Ministry in Buenos Aires on July 27, 2026.

Analysis

IMF chief visits Milei as Argentina’s US$57-billion bill comes due

28-07-2026 04:17 Eight years, three deals and US$57 billion since the last IMF leader came to Argentina, Kristalina Georgieva arrived Monday in Buenos Aires.

Young workers at a factory in Buenos Aires Province.

EMPLOYMENT & JOBS

Over nine million workers now informally employed in Argentina

27-07-2026 14:58 Even though unemployment levels remain almost unchanged, the wear is beginning to show in job quality. Specialists warn involvement of young women is growing, but mostly in informal employment.

by María Lorena Rodríguez

Lionel Messi cries after losing the 2026 World Cup final.

BEYOND THE HEADLINES

More pain or gain with Spain?

27-07-2026 05:10 If one swallow does not make a summer, one substandard final does not make a winter either, obliterating the glorious run-up with seven consecutive victories.

by Michael Soltys

Javier Milei and Jair Bolsonaro at CPAC Brazil in 2024.

LATIN AMERICA

Milei tests his right-wing magic on Flavio Bolsonaro’s shaky campaign in Brazil

25-07-2026 13:05 Javier Milei is flying straight into an uproar in Brazil, seeking to help topple his arch-rival and Latin America’s most prominent leftist.

Analysis: Disinformation

In defence of Argentine culture and football

25-07-2026 04:54 z

by Agustino Fontevecchia

As I see it

The return of the ugly Argentine

25-07-2026 04:34 Does the abuse being hurled against the country’s footballers by aggrieved foreigners whose national teams got knocked out early matter very much? It clearly does.

by James Neilson

Analysing Argentina

The ‘Scaloni moment’ Milei needs to get re-elected

25-07-2026 03:56 Scaloni’s secret formula is simple and public: professionalism, humility, respect, and results. In more than three years in office and almost 10 years in the public limelight, Milei has never cooled down a controversy; on the contrary, he has been the one creating them.

by Marcelo J. García

Karina Milei and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.

POLITICS – ANALYSIS

Cristina and Karina – the two most powerful women in Argentina

24-07-2026 00:06 The fact that Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and Karina Milei are the two most influential women in the country speaks as much to their own qualities as to the shortcomings of a country still wedded to polarisation.

by Gustavo González

ANALYSIS

Bad loans threaten Argentina’s next engine of economic growth

22-07-2026 13:13 Government was counting on a revival in consumer credit to help broaden an export-led recovery through stronger household spending,

Javier Milei and Elon Musk, pictured at Tesla's headquarters in April 2024.

economy

Milei opens door to electric cars as Musk's Tesla firms up arrival plans

20-07-2026 14:10 Argentina’s car market is undergoing a silent but fast-moving revolution. While the world's most eccentric mobility brand, Elon Musk’s Telsa, prepares for its arrival in the national market, the landscape has already been transformed by new Asian giants.

by Eugenia Muzio

WORLD CUP 2026

What's next for the Albiceleste after World Cup final defeat?

20-07-2026 09:29 Argentina fell agonisingly short of winning a second consecutive World Cup title. As the team reaches the end of an era, speculation begins over what comes next.

AS I SEE IT

Consumer prices trump geopolitics

18-07-2026 07:26 Like its counterparts in most other countries, the US electorate is more interested in consumer goods than in geopolitical questions that, sooner or later, could have devastating consequences.

by James Neilson

BEYOND THE HEADLINES

Finally Finalissima

18-07-2026 07:21 Not even the full fury of Middle East conflict could avert the Finalissima between Argentina and Spain…

by Michael Soltys

Politics – Analysis

Hiding behind the World Cup, Milei siblings restructure their government

18-07-2026 06:50 The World Cup provided the Milei administration a much-needed breather after three months under siege. Javier and Karina Milei are learning by doing, but by doing so they are slowly but surely resembling what they initially promised to battle.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

A building of Argentina's CONICET scientific research council.

CHAINSAW AUSTERITY

Milei almost halved education and science spending, reports finds

17-07-2026 23:44 University of Buenos Aires researchers say education investment has almost halved in two years since President Javier Milei took office, while second Grupo EPC analysis says funding for science has fallen by more than 46%.

by Ezequiel Orlando

This combination of file photos created on July 12, 2026, shows Argentina's forward Lionel Messi in Arlington on June 27, 2026, and England's forward Harry Kane in Arlington on June 17, 2026.

sports

Argentina v England: Battles all over the pitch

14-07-2026 09:17 Wednesday's World Cup semi-final between Argentina and England in Atlanta promises to follow in the footsteps of the fiery encounters that have defined this rivalry, with compelling individual and tactical battles across the pitch.

POLITICS – ANALYSIS

As Milei’s aura fades, Argentina starts to look for a third way

13-07-2026 10:43 With President Milei’s popularity at its lowest level in more than two years, talk of the 2027 election has taken over investor trips and political circles. The question being asked is whether it might be the moment for a third way.

FOOTBALL & POLITICS

World Cup culture wars and the legend of Messi

11-07-2026 09:32 World Cups don’t occur in a vacuum. Rather, they are an integral part of the construction of cultural subjectivity across the globe given the prevalence and capillarity of football. Argentina’s central role in global football and its obsessed population add complexity and intensity.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

BEYOND THE HEADLINES

Mundial trumps Trump

11-07-2026 00:07 ‘The Donald’ had bullied obsequious FIFA president Gianni Infantino into nixing a red card for the home team’s top scorer – an obscene subordination of the beautiful game to power politics.

by Michael Soltys

As I see it

The breaking of nations

11-07-2026 00:02 From ancient times, periods of relative stability in which one big power was strong enough to maintain a semblance of order in the region it dominated have alternated with others marked by strife like the one we appear to be sliding into right now.

by James Neilson

ATLANTA, GEORGIA - JULY 07: Alexis Mac Allister and Leandro Paredes of Argentina celebrate the team's third goal scored by Enzo Fernandez #24 (not pictured) during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16 match between Argentina and Egypt at Atlanta Stadium on July 07, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia.

WORLD CUP 2026

Argentina: Not for the faint of heart

09-07-2026 15:44 If we have learned anything by now, though, it is that you simply cannot write this team off.

by Dan Edwards

WORLD CUP 2026

Unbreakable Albiceleste propel Messi's final mission

09-07-2026 09:10 No team had ever recovered from a 2-0 deficit with so little time remaining in a World Cup match, but Argentina refused to let Messi's tournament story come to an end.

Newspapers showing midterm election results on display in Buenos Aires, on October 27, 2025.

ANALYSIS: SHOCK THERAPY

Nation's political parties look for ways to avoid extremes

08-07-2026 18:25 With next year’s election set to offer a referendum on President Javier Milei’s reformist agenda, some influential business leaders and opposition figures are discussing the possibility that violent shifts of policy are coming to an end – regardless of who prevails in the 2027 vote.

Economy

Argentina to repay US$4 billion, defying critics who doubted tack

08-07-2026 16:50 Argentina is set to make a major payment on its dollar bonds this week, pulling off a feat few investors thought possible.

INTERVIEW / MODO FONTEVECCHIA

Andrés Gil Domínguez: ‘Eliminating the PASO primaries would strip opposition of tool to unify’

07-07-2026 05:15 Constitutional lawyer analyses the possible elimination or suspension of the PASO primaries in Argentina, arguing that its possible reform or repeal responds more to political strategy than institutional improvement.

by Jorge Fontevecchia

BEYOND THE HEADLINES

More stars or stripes?

04-07-2026 00:41 Within a decade of the Civil War, the US economy had overtaken Great Britain and the entire British Empire by around 1895 – from that point onward, it was more a question of the US impact on world history than the reverse.

by Michael Soltys

As I see it

The United States turns 250

04-07-2026 00:40 Much of the population thinks the United States is heading in the wrong direction, but there is no agreement at all on what would be the right one.

by James Neilson

Analysing Argentina

Milei leans on the caste to seek re-election

04-07-2026 00:32 The arrival of Diego Santilli as Cabinet Chief signals a pragmatism that is both the result of a lack of trustworthy people in the ranks and Milei’s acknowledgment that he needs yet another dose of “caste” to align the means with the goals of his administration.

by Marcelo J. García

POLLING & SURVEYS

Argentines slam Milei over his handling of Cabinet chief crisis

03-07-2026 09:57 Argentines overwhelmingly disapprove of how President Milei handled corruption scandal involving his former Cabinet chief, according to a new poll.