When the world gets closer.

We help you see farther.

Sign up to our expressly international daily newsletter.

Argentina

Geopolitics

Javier Milei, Revolt Of The Global Disaffected Is Far From Over

Argentina has elected a "paleolibertarian" outsider with little experience, and by a wide margin. What does this say about the existing structures of power around the democratic world?

-Analysis-

PARIS — If it were only a matter of far-right politics, the election of Javier Milei as Argentina's next president would fit into a relatively classic electoral pattern. But this winner, with a very comfortable 56% of votes, is much more than that: this is what makes his case intriguing and raises troubling questions.

He is first and foremost a "radical libertarian," according to the Financial Times, which generally does not engage in hyperbole. Or "paleolibertarian," a doctrine that advocates "anarcho-capitalism," according to the French websiteLe Grand Continent.

For the latest news & views from every corner of the world, Worldcrunch Today is the only truly international newsletter. Sign up here.

Libertarianism is a political philosophy born in the United States that advocates for total individual freedom in the face of state power. Javier Milei, who has a way with words, summarizes it as follows: "Between the mafia and the state, I prefer the mafia. The mafia has codes, it keeps its commitments, it does not lie, it is competitive."

Watch VideoShow less

Milei Elected: Argentina Bets It All On "Anything Is Better Than This"

The radical libertarian Javier Milei confounded the polls to decisively win the second round of Argentina's presidential elections; now he must win over a nation that has voiced its disgust with the country's brand of politics as usual.

-Analysis-

BUENOS AIRES — Two very clear messages were delivered by Argentine society with its second-round election of the libertarian politician Javier Milei as its next president.

The first was to say it was putting a definitive end to the Kirchner era, which began in 2003 with the presidency of the late Néstor Kirchner and lasted, in different forms, until last night.

For the latest news & views from every corner of the world, Worldcrunch Today is the only truly international newsletter. Sign up here.

The second was to choose the possibility, if nothing else, of a future that allows Argentina to emerge from its longstanding state of prostration. It's a complicated bet, because the election of the candidate of Libertad Avanza (Liberty Advances) is so radical and may entail changes to the political system so big as to defy predictions right now.

This latter is the bigger of the two key consequences of the election, but the voters turning their back on the government of Cristina and Alberto Fernández and its putative successor, (the Economy minister) Sergio Massa, also carries historical significance. They could not have said a clearer No to that entrenched political clan. So much so that they decided to trust instead a man who emerged in 2021 as a member of parliament, with a weak party structure behind him and a territorial base no bigger than three mayors in the Argentine hinterland.

Keep reading...Show less

Milei's Victory In Argentina: The Cult Of Personal Freedom At All Costs

Javier Milei has scored a stunning victory on a populist far-right platform promising maximum personal liberties and a shrunken state. But the deep rifts and economic hardship in Argentinian society present huge risks for the nation and its incoming president.

Updated Nov. 20, 2023 at 12:55 p.m.

-Analysis-

BUENOS AIRES – Riding the cult of unfettered personal liberty, Javier Milei, the far-right populist Libertarian candidate, has scored a stunning victory to become Argentina's next president. The rival to Milei in Sunday's second-round runoff, Economy Minister Sergio Massa, called him to concede, trailing by a 10-point margin after nearly 90% of the vote was counted.

It's another populist victory in a major country (Indeed, former U.S .President Donald Trump was quick to congratulate Milei whom he said would "Make Argentina Great Again!"), and defied pollsters and the political establishment that questioned whether voters would elect someone who'd vowed to "blow up" the central bank and carry out major changes to the economy and politics.

For the latest news & views from every corner of the world, Worldcrunch Today is the only truly international newsletter. Sign up here.

Milei had seemingly swayed a significant enough portion of public opinion by promising to unleash a new era where personal freedom would be supreme. Regularly exercising his freedom to shout at viewers, he had declared that, if elected, he would maximize liberties at the expense of state powers. But after October’s first-round results showed Miei trailing Massa, the runoff realized the worst fears of many that a society based almost solely around individualism was here to stay in Argentina

Keep reading...Show less

The Demagogue's Biggest Lie: That We Don't Need Politics

Trashing politics and politicians is a classic tool of populists to seduce angry voters, and take countries into quagmires far worse than the worst years of democracy. It's a dynamic Argentina appears particularly vulnerable to.

-OpEd-

BUENOS AIRES — I was 45 years old when I became a politician in Argentina, and abandoned politics a while back now. In 1987, Raúl Alfonsín, the civilian president who succeeded the Argentine military junta in 1983, named me cabinet minister though I wasn't a member of his party, the Radicals, or any party for that matter. I was a historian, had worked as a lawyer, wrote newspapers articles and a book in 1985 on science and technology with chapters on cybernetics, artificial intelligence and genetic engineering.

That book led Alfonsín to ask me to join his government. My belated political career began in fact after I left the ministry and while it proved to be surprisingly lengthy, it is now over. I am currently writing a biography of a molecular biologist and developing a university course on technological perspectives (futurology).

Talking about myself is risky in a piece against 'anti-politics,' or the rejection of party politics. I do so only to make clear that I am writing without a personal interest. I am out of politics, and have never been a member of what Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni calls la casta, "the caste" — i.e., the political establishment.

Keep reading...Show less
Society
Guadalupe Rivero

Freedom From Social Norms Is Generation Z's Gift, And Its Burden

While many young people have shaken off the social and emotional shackles of their parents' years, they must now resist the pressures of their own peers to constantly experiment, and never settle for anything or anyone.

BUENOS AIRES — The "crystal generation," or young people born since 2000, is often described as fragile and intolerant of setbacks. Also termed Generation Z or Gen Z, the group is also perceived, more positively, as sensitive, reflective and spiritual, in its own way.

Argentine psychologist Sofía Calvo (born 1993) believes young people of this generation share traits beyond their age. She is the author of a book on modern relations, La generación de cristal: Sociedad, familia y otros vínculos del siglo XXI (The Crystal Generation: Society, Family and Other Ties in the 21st Century).

"We understood as a generation that enjoying our sexuality, building a free identity, separating from a partner, leaving a job or doing what we love or going to therapy were not failures, but in fact a great win," she says.

She believes this generation must hold onto the gains of people who struggled for rights in preceding centuries, "When the world was a place that was still much more hostile to the individual's social, sexual and ideological freedoms. We must ... keep looking for whatever is uncomfortable," or what "nobody would ask," she tells Clarín.

This is a generation conscious of "aspects that seemed irrelevant before but certainly were not," she says, referring to traits like sensitivity or personal pain.

Watch VideoShow less
Society
Flavio Calvo

Therapy-Speak Seeps Into The Land Where Everyone Seems To Have A Shrink

Argentines readily discuss their moods and states of mind — and that's a good thing, as long as we don't pretend to actually diagnose each other, writes a psychologist.

-Essay-

BUENOS AIRES — Here are a few typical moments in Argentina: a girl is unwell, but her friend tells her it's all "psychosomatic." Another calls her partner "a narcissist." Your mood changes; you conclude you must be bipolar. You forget something and call it a "memory lapse."

I heard someone tell a friend they were doing things "unconsciously," while in debates ahead of Argentina's presidential elections on Oct. 22, viewers are looking out for a "Freudian slip" from one of the candidates.

Every day we keep hearing people use terms meant, essentially, for the world of psychology and therapy. And that is due to psychology's increasing popularity in modern society — and especially in Argentina.

Watch VideoShow less
Ideas
Ignacio Pereyra

The Truth About Men's Health — And Why We Don't Talk About It

There are obvious and not-so-obvious reasons that adult men tend to do a bad job in taking care of their health and well-being.

Updated Oct. 19, 2023 at 7:50 p.m.

When the doctor asked a friend of mine what he was doing at the clinic that day, the answer was a jovial: “I don’t know. Well, I do — so my wife, who told me to come, can stop busting my balls!”

My friend, an almost 50-year-old father of three, is telling me about his health check a few days ago. His wife smiles a smile which sits somewhere between relief for her insistent win, and resignation at the narrative. I feel a bit uncomfortable: Am I a sour grape if I don’t smile along with him? Should I say something? I haven’t been asked anything, so I stay quiet, not wanting to be a bore.

It did however feel like a great opportunity to bring up this issue. It reminded me of a diploma in masculinities and social change which I took last year, led by Argentine psychoanalyst Débora Tajer. She spoke of how men come to health care late, and when they do it, it’s at a woman’s suggestion, or because we simply can’t ignore it anymore.

Of course, some men do get basic health checks, irrespective of it being on their own initiative or at someone else's (be it a medical certificate needed for work or sports). But it’s not the norm, nor is it the only way we can describe our relationship to our health, or how we look after ourselves.

Watch VideoShow less
food / travel
María Florencia Pérez

Argentine Chefs Dream Up A Luxury Kobe Sausage

Hot dog-loving Argentines even have a high-class sausage made entirely of tender Kobe beef, to be enjoyed without a thought for its price.

BUENOS AIRES — Argentines love sausage. They love them in a bun, as in the classic choripán, the local hot dog, or grilled at barbecues alongside its "other half," the blood sausage, or morcilla. And while the sausage is part of the day-to-day fare in this haven of carnivores, fancy sausages containing prime beef are also available, at up to five times the price.

✉️ You can receive our Bon Vivant selection of fresh reads on international culture, food & travel directly in your inbox. Subscribe here.

The standard chorizo criollo — or typical sausage mix of the southernmost part of South America — has beef and pork with a good 25-30% fat content, and is flavored with white wine and spice, and sometimes with red pepper and crushed chiles. Its upmarket cousin is all beef — and not just any kind, but Kobe beef, one of the most expensive in the world.

Kobe beef, made from the Wagyu cow breed, is Japanese and loved for its juicy tenderness and marbled texture. It arrived in Argentina 25 years ago, thanks to Luis Barcos, a vet and beef production specialist. That is when Argentines came to know of such exquisite cuts as the Wagyu ribeye steak, a prized item at any high-level barbecue.

Watch VideoShow less
In The News
Emma Albright, Anne-Sophie Goninet and Jakob Mieszkowski-Lapping

U.S. Bullets To Ukraine, Another Hottest Month, Literature Nobel

👋 নমস্কাৰ*

Welcome to Thursday, where Washington sends Kyiv 1.1 million bullets it seized last from Iran, 2023 is on track to be the hottest year on record, and the Nobel Prize in Literature goes to a Norwegian. Meanwhile, Nadia Ferrigo in Turin-based daily La Stampa looks at how “parenting influencers” are even spreading doubts among the ever solid tradition of the Italian mamma.

[*Nomoskar - Assamese, India]

Watch VideoShow less
In The News
Worldcrunch

Worldcrunch Magazine #51 — A Tech Shift To The Right?

September 25 - October 1, 2023

Here's the latest edition of Worldcrunch Magazine, a selection of our best articles of the week from top international journalists, produced exclusively in English for Worldcrunch readers.

>> DISCOVER IT HERE <<

Watch VideoShow less
Society
Guillermo Tella

In The Shantytowns Of Buenos Aires, Proof That Neighbors Function Better Than Cities

Residents of the most disadvantaged peripheries of the Argentine capital are pushed to collaborate in the absence of municipal support. They build homes and create services that should be public. It is both admirable, and deplorable.

-Analysis-

BUENOS AIRES – In Argentina, the increasing urgency of the urban poor's housing and public services needs has starkly revealed an absence of municipal policies, which may even be deliberate.

With urban development, local administrations seem dazzled, or blinded, by the city center's lights. Thus they select and strengthen mechanisms that heighten zonal and social inequalities, forcing the less-well-off to live "on the edge" and "behind" in all senses of these words. Likewise, territorial interventions by social actors have both a symbolic and material impact, particularly on marginal or "frontier" zones that are the focus of viewpoints about living "inside," "outside" or "behind."

The center and the periphery produce very different social perceptions. Living on the periphery is to live "behind," in an inevitable state of marginality. The periphery is a complex system of inequalities in terms of housing provision, infrastructures, facilities and transport.

Watch VideoShow less
Green
Carmen Contreras Tellez

Lithium Mining: How The Clean Energy Rush Repeats Old Cycles Of Global Exploitation

The search for clean energy is essential in an age of alarming climate change. Lithium extraction represents a great opportunity, but the maltreatment of communities affected by this extraction must be considered if we want to interrupt the vicious cycle of wealthy countries exploiting resource-rich countries.

COPIAPO — The scientific community continues to warn that burning fuels to obtain energy is simply not sustainable for the planet. Among all the alternatives that currently exist, perhaps the most popular one for the transportation sector is electric energy. At first glance, it sounds tempting: electric trains, cars and buses capable of transporting people over long distances, equipped with almost limitless batteries, and charging stations distributed throughout the territory.

But to make electric batteries, which are also found in mobile and portable devices, lithium is needed. This mineral is currently experiencing high demand precisely because of its large energy storage capacity. Extracting it requires large amounts of water and chemicals. This is where some people are already asking: can we justify everything, in the name of energy transition?

The largest sources of lithium in the world are found in brine deposits in Argentina, Bolivia and Chile, making them the focus of attention for investors. But indigenous communities that depend on these territories and the resources found there demand prior dialogue and informed consultation before allowing the extraction of the mineral.

"To us, the salt flat represents our entire life," explains Lesley Muñoz Rivera, a representative of the Colla community in Copiapo, Chile. "The salt flat is a water reservoir. When they propose to extract large quantities and tons of water to dry them in the sun and obtain this lithium carbonate, they are harming the water. I define the Colla people as a water-based community, and if we don't have water to live and provide for our animals or crops, how are we going to survive?"

Watch VideoShow less
EXPLORE OTHER TOPICS
chinaitalyusafrancegermany