BOOK REVIEW The English (non-indicted) witness Yesterdat 06:00 El Testigo Inglés, Luces y sombras del Buenos Aires Herald (1876-2017), by Sebastián Lacunza; Paidós, 2021, 632 pages. by Michael Soltys
As I see it What a Russian defeat could mean Yesterdat 00:01 The Ukrainians are not the only ones who think Russia is heading for a historic defeat. Their opinion is shared by many in London and Washington. by James Neilson
As I see it Who has the mandate of heaven? 14-05-2022 00:01 As well as objecting stridently to Alberto’s willingness to come to terms with the International Monetary Fund, Cristina and her supporters are trying to undermine what authority he has by insidiously questioning his government’s right to exist at all. by James Neilson
AND THAT REMINDS ME… The maybes of May 14-05-2022 00:01 Today’s anniversary is nowhere in the current agenda with plenty of issues to absorb our attention, yet stopping to recall the Menem years would not go amiss. by Michael Soltys
As I see it A culture of irresponsibility 07-05-2022 00:02 Much as many dislike the idea, elected politicians have to take full responsibility for managing the country’s economy. by James Neilson
And that reminds me Javier Milei: Might right make right? 07-05-2022 00:01 Some local pollsters and overseas media already tip Javier Milei as a presidential dark horse, but does his support extend beyond an echo chamber for anti-system politics? by Michael Soltys
As I see it The crystal balls are getting cloudier 30-04-2022 01:21 Not only Argentina but most other countries have to decide if it would be better for them to cultivate their relations with what could soon be the top superpower, or to assume that the US will recover from its self-inflicted internal woes. by James Neilson
And that reminds me Supreme Courts are caught, not tort 29-04-2022 17:03 Phobias against independent justice are far from being a uniquely Kirchnerite vice. by Michael Soltys
As I see it Argentina still hostage to a psychodrama 23-04-2022 00:02 Cristina’s legal difficulties have dominated Argentine politics for many years. No doubt they will continue to do so for some time to come. by James Neilson
AND THAT REMINDS ME… Windfalls or smokescreens? 23-04-2022 00:01 In proposing to milk any commodity price bonanza arising from the Ukraine war without offering anything to recoup losses, the government is blatantly applying a “heads I win, tails you lose” logic. by Michael Soltys
As I see it The West receives a wake-up call 15-04-2022 00:07 Attitudes towards the war being fought in Ukraine have excited those who, not that long ago, were on the defensive because they feared that the West really was a busted flush. by James Neilson
As I see it Stumbling into the dark 08-04-2022 23:27 Unless the politicians who are currently in opposition come up with a realistic recovery plan and acquire the power and authority to carry it through, the future could be far worse than even the most pessimistic dare to imagine. by James Neilson
And that reminds me… A demonised demon 08-04-2022 23:25 Vaccines against the coronavirus pandemic were discovered within a year but antibodies against inflation are still being sought after almost eight decades. by Michael Soltys
AND THAT REMINDS ME… A small war you do not miss 01-04-2022 19:31 Strictly speaking, the 1982 war does not warrant inclusion in this series of columns relating current topics to newsroom memories but hopefully today’s special anniversary allows me to cheat. by Michael Soltys
As I see it Lingering outside the cemetery 01-04-2022 19:24 For a politician like Sergio Massa, the government is merely a vehicle he boarded because he thought it would take him towards his chosen destination. by James Neilson
AND THAT REMINDS ME… Foreign to the Ministry 25-03-2022 11:48 Caf is to international relations what decaf is to coffee. by Michael Soltys
And that reminds me… We remember thee, Zion 18-03-2022 21:04 The phrase “shock horror” might belong to the cheapest style of tabloid headline writing, yet 30 years on from the 1992 bombing of the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires, I find no better way of describing my reaction. by Michael Soltys
As I see it The country needs a proper government 18-03-2022 08:08 President Alberto Fernández needs the votes of opposition legislators because he can no longer rely on those who obey the whims of Vice-President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. by James Neilson
as i see it The savage beasts that dreams engender 04-03-2022 12:38 If he still imagines he can turn those Ukrainians who survive his ferocious onslaught into patriotic Russians, Vladimir Putin is surely mistaken. by James Neilson
As I see it Putin’s great gamble 25-02-2022 13:30 Over the centuries some very important things have hardly changed at all. As in ancient times, the strong continue to prey on the weak when they think they can get away with it. by James Neilson
As I see it Things are looking bleaker for Cristina 18-02-2022 22:00 Cristina evidently fears that the austerity programme the government will have to press on with no matter what happens in the coming weeks will cost her the support of the millions of men and women who still kid themselves that she is on their side. by James Neilson
And that reminds me… Chronicles of a horror retold 12-02-2022 09:47 Never attempting to share the fame won by her husband Robert Cox as the Buenos Aires Herald editor defending human rights against the 1976-1983 military dictatorship, Maud Daverio de Cox has forged her own career as an author. by Michael Soltys
As I see it An innocent abroad: Alberto in Russia and China 12-02-2022 09:32 Alberto’s willingness to kowtow to Xi and heap praise on the Chinese Communist regime was by no means as ridiculous as some seem to think, but he could hardly have chosen a worse time in which to cold-shoulder the United States. by James Neilson
As I see it All the time in the world 04-02-2022 23:07 The ill-tempered conflict between those who still hope Alberto will succeed in taming the Kirchnerites and their rivals who want him to remain under Cristina’s thumb confronts the opposition alliance with an awkward dilemma.
As I see it Make or break for Argentina 28-01-2022 18:24 Most serious economists think that what Cristina and her supporters want is utter folly, that telling the IMF where to get off would have a devastating effect on the country. by James Neilson
As I see it Adrift in a world out of kilter 21-01-2022 22:00 Imperfect as the order installed by the United States in the late 1940s may have been, it, or what remains of it, is surely preferable to what seems likely to come next. by James Neilson
As I see it With friends like these… 15-01-2022 00:01 Cristina’s decision, backed dutifully by Alberto, to move Argentina closer to the Latin American dictatorships that are challenging the international status quo has come at an awkward moment. by James Neilson
As I see it Going it alone in limbo 07-01-2022 22:43 It is widely assumed that unless President Alberto Fernández’s government reaches an agreement with the International Monetary Fund very soon, Argentina will sink far deeper into the mire. We could be about to learn if the many who think this way have it right or if they are merely scare-mongering. by James Neilson
As I see it The pros and cons of belonging 31-12-2021 11:19 The willingness of a small but significant minority of opposition politicians to let the Kirchnerite government have its way is driving the leaders of Juntos por el Cambio coalition up the wall. by James Neilson
As I see it A puzzle nobody wants 24-12-2021 08:35 While it is easy for opposition leaders to criticise the Kirchnerites for their handling of the economy and a great many other things, coming clean about what they themselves would do is far more difficult. by James Neilson
As I see it The virus horde strikes back 18-12-2021 08:26 Like it or not, human beings will simply have to learn to live with Covid just as they have with countless other threats, whether natural or man-made.
As I see it Alberto caught between Biden and Xi 10-12-2021 22:23 The Kirchnerite administration does not want to be forced to choose between the United States and China. by James Neilson
BooKS & LITERATURE Ex-editor presents book detailing 140-year history of Buenos Aires Herald 04-12-2021 00:40 Sebastián Lacunza presents 'El testigo inglés: Luces y sombras del Buenos Aires Herald (1876-2017),' a new book charting the course of the newspaper’s history, from its founding to to its 2017 closure.
FILM & CINEMA Oscar winner Armando Bó to direct film based on ex-Herald editor Robert Cox 04-12-2021 00:30 Scribe behind Oscar-winning feature 'Birdman' to bring the Buenos Aires Herald newspaper to the silver screen. Film will look at former editor Robert Cox’s struggle to confront the military dictatorship about its crimes through the eyes of him and his family. by James Grainger
As I see it Does corruption matter? 03-12-2021 22:16 The blatant politicisation of the Judiciary does nothing to make Argentina look like a good place in which to do business. by James Neilson
As I see it When the centre cannot hold 26-11-2021 22:52 The old order is in deep trouble. In its way, it has been far too successful, but it has also raised expectations so much that few are able to reach what they think are reasonable goals. by James Neilson
As I see it Alberto in Wonderland 20-11-2021 00:00 If Alice had a world of her own, “nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn’t.” In the world of Alice’s spiritual descendant, the Peronist coalition own a resounding victory in Sunday’s elections after losing in Buenos Aires Province. No doubt Alice would have approved. by James Neilson
AND THAT REMINDS ME… An epic victory, or mythical? 20-11-2021 00:00 To my mind, last Sunday’s midterms have a historic significance for reasons other than those usually given – as heralding the end of Kirchnerism (although not necessarily Peronism) and that truly impressive Senate breakthrough, doubling opposition numbers in just six years. by Michael Soltys
As I see it Is a change of course possible? 12-11-2021 21:58 Despite all the unpleasant things that have happened to the country since a pro-Axis military dictatorship gave birth to Peronism, millions still see belief in what they regard as its virtues as part of their personal identity. by James Neilson
And that reminds me… Black swan song 12-11-2021 21:57 Not only does murder most foul occur elsewhere in the world but also in this country – the murder rate in Buenos Aires Province has averaged a couple every day for some years now while Rosario has become a byword for ferocity. by Michael Soltys
And that reminds me Veep on the beep 05-11-2021 18:01 Vice-President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner has repeatedly said over the years in the course of lengthy speeches that she does not believe that there is any such thing as coincidence. by Michael Soltys
As I see it The moment of truth is fast approaching 05-11-2021 18:00 In just over a week, we shall know how much support Alberto’s quarrelsome and ramshackle administration has managed to retain. by James Neilson
As I see it The Tom and Jerry show takes an ugly turn 29-10-2021 22:09 For well over half a century, the International Monetary Fund and Argentina’s populist establishment have been playing cat and mouse with each other. Though the IMF comes equipped with very sharp teeth and claws, all its attempts to corner Argentina have failed. by James Neilson
As I see it In the land of the magic money tree 22-10-2021 22:11 Capitalism is the only system that really works. Fighting it, as social justice warriors and politicians who seek to outbid them say is the duty of every decent person, is tantamount to waging war on prosperity. by James Neilson
And that reminds me Keeping up with the Jones Hualas 22-10-2021 22:09 Jones Huala is the wrong poster boy for the indigenous cause but that should not disqualify this extremely fundamental and sensitive issue. by Michael Soltys
AND THAT REMINDS ME… Price controls without IDEA(s) 16-10-2021 00:01 The holes in price controls are an all too familiar story in Argentina. All sorts of routes for bypassing them, but the ultimate problem confounding price controls is that even their success against all the odds also contains the seeds of failure. by Michael Soltys
As I see it Peronism has its back against the wall 16-10-2021 00:01 In the eyes of a growing proportion of the country, Cristina, Alberto, Aníbal and the rest of them represent the very worst of a self-serving political elite whose members are more interested in their own personal welfare than anything else. by James Neilson
And that reminds me... Importing no less important 09-10-2021 12:12 Everybody hails the importance of exports. Imports have no such luck. by Michael Soltys
As I see it Argentina now in the danger zone 02-10-2021 00:33 In a country in which parliament calls all the shots, the fall of an unpopular government would not present any constitutional difficulties, but here things are done differently. by James Neilson
And that reminds me… Interval or interregnum? 01-10-2021 23:00 With multiple scenarios lurking in an uncertain future, what can the past tell us as to what to expect? by Michael Soltys