Milei's Government never lets you down
Every day, the liberal-run Pink House delivers a new controversy, a gaffe, whatever. The Argentine president has continued at the center of the discussion these days, between his attacks against journalists, the presence of the Israeli ambassador in a cabinet meeting, and certain measures that seem to disavow the liberal theory he defends so much. Yesterday, Thursday, we learned that Buenos Aires has formally requested to become a "global partner" of NATO. The Minister of Defense delivered the letter of intent in Brussels, where he was received at NATO headquarters.
The Milei administration intends to mark even more strongly that its promised alignment with the West is not mere rhetoric. "Closer political and practical cooperation could benefit us both," said the alliance's deputy secretary general. With the status of "global partner," the Argentine government could "raise [its] military and defensive capabilities through multinational and advanced technology exercises, as well as participate in strategic debates and decisions". In Latin America, only Colombia "enjoys" this status, obtained during the administration of Juan Manuel Santos.
The Argentine Minister of Defense met with the NATO Deputy Secretary General in Brussels (source).In another example of the political directionality to which the government of La Libertad Avanza tends, the purchase of 24 F-16s located in Denmark was finalized. Argentina had other alternatives, including from China—in this case, new fighter jets—, but Washington had been pushing hard for some time before the Casa Rosada to promote the Danish option. "Argentina's purchase of 24 F-16s from Denmark brings [the country] into alignment with a group of 26 nations and allies who operate the platform, increasing interoperability," declared the U.S. embassy in Buenos Aires.
Foggy Bottom approved supporting the purchase of the supersonic fighter jets with $40 million, channeled through the Foreign Military Financing Program. Later on, the weapons system for the F-16s will be negotiated with the United States, valued at 310 million dollars, in addition to the 340 million dollars that Rivadavia must transfer for the fighter jets. The information provided by the embassy talks about the U.S. financing as if it was a grant—that is, non-reimbursable—, but this article published by an Argentine media refers that it is a credit with a 2% interest rate. Since there is talk of austerity and "spending responsibly", and in the face of such a dramatic social situation, I wonder if this is the right time to invest in fighter jets. Is Argentina so threatened militarily?
The busy Argentine defense minister aboard one of the F-16s purchased from Denmark. The Biden administration had veto power over the purchase (source).
SourceAnd there is more…
The Defense Security Cooperation Agency of the #UnitedStates (🇺🇸) has officially released the details of the Foreign Military Sale of a Basler BT-67 to #Argentina (🇦🇷) for $143m.
— SA Defensa (@SA_Defensa) April 18, 2024
The aircraft has been procured for #Antarctica transport runs to help alleviate pressure on C-130s. pic.twitter.com/dYG6BIQIDI
A social vignette
Meanwhile, a peaceful protest took place at a university hospital in the capital, whose activity levels are at a minimum because of Milei's budget cuts in the sector. The Minister of the Interior of the Pink House appealed to the already hackneyed libertarian argument that many of the problems denounced by civil society are old, and so inherited. But, as Luis Novaresio said in LN+—the only I see criticizing Milei sometimes there—, it is no longer important who is to blame for the current situation, but how and when the current government will solve it.
"There are no syringes, no alcohol, no gauze... The hospital needs supplies because it is running out of anything. We cannot respond correctly to the patients," denounced to the newspaper La Nación an employee of the Hospital de Clínicas. "Psychiatric medication has stopped being given, the patients have to buy it," said a nurse. "[When] patients are going to be hospitalized we ask them to bring [sheets] and they get indignant", she asserts. Meat has been off the menu since last January. "Today, only those [surgeries] with priority for malignant pathology, i.e. cancer, are being done. We used to operate every day, today it is two or three times a week. To all the others we tell them to come back in three or six months and the truth is that it is not clear what will happen there either," says a resident female doctor in surgery. Below are two more shots from the protests, source here.
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Elon and the GOP vs. De Moraes
🚨 BOMBSHELL: Brazilian Government Forced Censorship on X, @elonmusk
— House Judiciary GOP (@JudiciaryGOP) April 17, 2024
Read about it here: https://t.co/YAnQesOiXV
We’ve got questions for the Biden administration: https://t.co/9PHhxIWiJz pic.twitter.com/nGG0g0shZb
— House Judiciary GOP (@JudiciaryGOP) April 17, 2024
Your quick regional roundup
After the murder in March of a young mayoress, last Wednesday night another mayor of the province of Manabi, Ecuador, was shot and killed in the middle of the street. Citizens will decide next Sunday on certain reforms—some of them of constitutional rank—which the Executive advances concerning the security crisis the country is going through.
Also in Ecuador, blackouts of up to 8 hours are reported as a consequence of a drought that compromises the main source of energy in the country, which is hydroelectricity. In addition, Colombia has stopped selling energy while it wages its own war with the same phenomenon. President Noboa denounces that in addition to the climatic factor, he has been the victim of "sabotage" by sectors that wish to hinder his referred security consultation.
Please, don't forget this 👇 drama
Irapuato, MX: “3 days straight! The train has stopped 3 days straight.”
— Auden B. Cabello (@CabelloAuden) April 18, 2024
Migrants who have been waiting months in central Mexico were able to once again get on freight trains headed to northern Mexico.
Previously, this is how they arrived by the thousands to Eagle Pass and… pic.twitter.com/inVjO14kAA
This happened in Juárez - El Paso late last Friday. National Guard and state police could do nothing to prevent over a hundred migrants crossed after tearing town part of the concertina wire. pic.twitter.com/pRGhHj2XvQ
— Pedro Ultreras (@pedroultreras) April 17, 2024
And this is all for our report today. I have referenced the sources dynamically in the text, and remember you can learn how and where to follow the LATAM trail news by reading my work here. Have a nice day.
