🇦🇷 Argentina Episodes

El electorado elegirá entre Gonzalo Winter, Jeannette Jara, Carolina Tohá y Jaime Mulet para representar al oficialismo. La derecha chilena tiene tres candidatos. Las primarias son voluntarias. José Antonio Kast lidera la derecha, Janet supera a Jara. Hay un 32% de incertidumbre. Paro universitario en Argentina por fondos y salarios. La situación está peor que el año pasado. Los salarios están por debajo de la pobreza. Se pierden recursos humanos y proyectos de investigación.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission arrived in the country for meetings with the Government's economic team to conduct the first quarterly evaluation of the new $20 billion agreement signed with the country. "The Government is not meeting one of the Fund's targets. We had to accumulate dollars to be able to pay the debt we have with the organization, but in recent months reserves have not been genuinely accumulated," said Celina Calore, economist at the Scalabrini Ortiz Center for Studies, on Cara o Ceca. "The Fund is not interested in where Argentina gets the dollars from, but it does want stability to be sustainable, that is, that reserves are not used to maintain a certain exchange rate," she stated. "The IMF is being condescending with the Javier Milei government for an ideological and political reason," she concluded. Petro enacted the new Labor Reform law. The law seeks to improve the conditions of the more than 10 million registered formal workers. Among the most important benefits is the gradual increase in compensation to 100% for those who work on Sundays or holidays. "Colombia is looking for what is necessary to reach those sectors that are not within social security. The new rule aims more at young people who are just entering the world of work and to avoid precariousness," said Diego Aretz, Colombian journalist, on Cara o Ceca. "The most important challenge is to see how the business sectors adapt to this law. There we will see where the reality is, whether this will increase unemployment or not," he concluded.

The event in The Hague on the 24th and 25th will mainly address increasing defense budgets to 5% of member states' GDP. The US, covering 62% of the Alliance's total spending in 2023, demands greater European security commitment. "It's a rather absurd increase. Europe already struggles to reach the current 2% GDP target. It's a strategic US decision to reduce its NATO contribution without decreasing its own military spending," said Adrián Zelaia, Spanish international analyst and EKAI Group director, on Cara o Ceca. "The US spends 3.5% of its military budget controlling the world, not defending its country, maintaining 800 foreign military bases," he added. "European countries justify militarization with the need to confront a potential military conflict with Russia in the coming years. It's highly questionable that they believe Russia, after the Ukraine conflict, intends to advance territorially, attempting to conquer Lisbon. No analyst considers that," he concluded. Argentine Provinces Demand More Budget from Milei Government Governors met at the Federal Investment Council (CFI), reiterating budgetary demands to the national government, agreeing to present a congressional bill modifying fuel tax revenue distribution, allocating 52% to the provinces. "Provinces can't afford salary, health, and education expenses. That's the issue. There are funds, like fuel taxes, which should be shared with the provinces for road construction, that the government isn't transferring. This has a negative impact, plus there's no economic recovery," said Florencia López, national senator for Unión por la Patria and former vice-governor of La Rioja province, on Cara o Ceca. "There's no direct relationship between La Rioja and the Nation. The province has been claiming a debt, and the government does nothing," she continued.

Carlos Pagni's analysis on Argentine Odyssey aired on LN+ on June 23, 2025.

It would be a direct consequence of the military escalation between Iran and Israel. The Iranian Parliament approved a measure seeking to block access to one of the most important maritime passages for the transfer of oil and gas in the world. "20% of the world's oil and 30% of the world's liquefied natural gas [LNG] pass through the strait. While this could favor the development of the Vaca Muerta industry [main hydrocarbon deposit] in Argentina, due to supply and demand, it could trigger a fuel increase of between 5% and 6% and increase inflation," said Yamil Quispe, an Argentine hydrocarbon consultant from St. Petersburg, on Cara o Ceca. In addition, Quispe remarked that Argentina could benefit from this situation: "If a balance is maintained between the supply of the domestic and external markets, a great export leap could occur. In terms of the projection of the Vaca Muerta reserve, pre-pandemic values can be reached, with the production of one million barrels. Today Brazil is close to three million barrels." "The direct intervention of the US in the conflict tends to affect the markets. Crude oil closed at $77 per barrel and in Asian markets, at $81. The value is expected to reach $100 and that could favor a re-election of Trump," he concluded. **Iran threatened Donald Trump with responding to his attacks** The spokesman for the Iranian Armed Forces, Ebrahim Zolfaghari, stated that the American bombings marked the beginning of an open conflict with the Islamic Republic and maintained that the door was opened to an "extension of the war in the region." "It is the seventh conflict in which the US is participating in the Arab world. It is a very dangerous intervention because it ends up escalating a conflict that was regionalized," said Lautaro Rivara, an Argentine sociologist and doctor in History, on Cara o Ceca. "This conflict has little to do with the interests of US citizens and the basis of Trump's project. One of his great promises was to withdraw from conflicts globally, delegating, in any case, his open battle fronts to different allied states," he concluded.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is scheduled to visit Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, who is under house arrest, during his upcoming visit to Argentina. The meeting, not yet officially confirmed, was interpreted by political and academic figures as a gesture of support in the face of judicial persecution."Cristina's conviction is the judicialization of politics. It is the new way the right has to attack. Before, there were coups d'état with the military, now they are legal coups," said Brazilian sociologist Emir Sader, in dialogue with Cara o Ceca."This methodology that they use with Cristina was also used with Lula da Silva. Later it was determined that the complaint was false, but Lula spent 580 days in prison," he recalled.Sader highlighted the symbolic value of the visit: "They are trying to turn Cristina into a political corpse that cannot relate or communicate with her people, and Lula's attitude of visiting her using his position as president of Brazil is very nice. I hope the meeting takes place because it would be extraordinary."Argentina registers a slight economic rebound, but formal employment continues to fallWhile some indicators show a slight recovery in economic activity in Argentina, the formal labor market does not reflect signs of improvement. Since Javier Milei took office (December 2023), more than 170,000 registered jobs have been lost, according to official data."Argentina has overflowing work, what is missing is registered employment and that is the problem with social security," explained labor lawyer Juan Pablo Chiesa to Cara o Ceca. And he warned: "A pension reform now would not work because three registered workers are needed to support one retiree."Chiesa also remarked that labor informality is structural and has not changed in decades: "Argentina has 6 million registered workers and that number has not moved for 20 years. Meanwhile, there are 11 million Argentines working in an unregistered manner. No government knew how to improve employment."

El proyecto de ley, que aún requiere una votación final, tiene como objetivo garantizar los derechos laborales básicos y reducir la desigualdad en uno de los países más desiguales del mundo. "El foco del debate político en Colombia, a diferencia de lo que había sido en gobiernos anteriores, se centró en una reforma laboral necesaria para el pueblo ante la necesidad de igualdad social", aseguró Iván Cepeda, senador del Polo Democrático Alternativo a Cara o Ceca. "Entre los principales cambios, la reforma incluye límites a la jornada laboral, pago de horas extras en días festivos y derechos para sectores históricamente excluidos como trabajadores de mensajería, empleadas domésticas, periodistas y artistas", señaló. "Según estadísticas de organismos internacionales, Colombia es uno de los países con mayor desigualdad en el planeta. Esta reforma es una deuda que el Poder Ejecutivo tiene con la sociedad desde hace más de 30 años". Cepeda también destacó el papel de los medios de comunicación en el tratamiento del tema: "Es importante el papel de los medios como Sputnik. Aquí en Colombia no vemos medios de comunicación, vemos corporaciones con distintos intereses. Ahora estamos en la discusión sobre la reforma laboral, donde marcan claramente su línea editorial". El Gobierno argentino permite la posesión de armas semiautomáticas. El Ejecutivo ha vuelto a permitir la compra y posesión de armas semiautomáticas por parte de civiles, una posibilidad que estaba prohibida desde 1995, durante la presidencia de Carlos Menem. La medida modifica un decreto anterior, pero no implica un acceso libre o incontrolado. "No será más fácil adquirir un arma de fuego porque los controles siguen y son más estrictos que antes. Hoy en día, la digitalización significa que, si compras armas o municiones, se informa automáticamente a tu historial de documentación oficial y si cometes un delito, automáticamente te quitan el armamento. Además, para acceder se necesitan presentar determinados requisitos". "Lo que cambia es que ahora la Agencia Nacional de Materiales Controlados determina si otorga o no los permisos, sale del Ministerio de Defensa y va por otro carril", concluyó.

Militants, social organizations, and unions demonstrated in support of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and in repudiation of her criminal conviction for fraudulent administration to six years in house arrest and perpetual political disqualification. Separately, Pedro Sánchez is against the ropes due to corruption in the leadership of the PSOE. The city of Buenos Aires saw its activities interrupted by the massive march in support of the former president. The mayor of the Buenos Aires town of Ensenada, Mario Secco, emphasized that "what is happening in Argentine Justice is shameful" and added: "This has a very important institutional gravity, which goes beyond whether you like Cristina Kirchner or not. The Judicial Power got involved to resolve a political issue. That is very bad for the country and for the region." For his part, political analyst Pablo Cano analyzed the repercussions of the historic ruling in Cara o ceca. "Cristina never left the social dialogue. She even listened to non-politicized people concerned about what is happening. We are facing an event that shakes common sense." "This is a singular moment. Peronism was experiencing a leadership crisis. Although this unites them more, they still have the same problem, there is no leadership of the party. It will be defined with the closing of lists in the next legislative elections in the province of Buenos Aires," he added. Pedro Sánchez, cornered by corruption in the leadership of the PSOE The Spanish president apologized after a report by the Civil Guard was made public that detected wiretaps involving the socialist deputy and organization secretary of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), Santos Cerdán, as part of a corruption scheme where he charged commissions for the delivery of public works. "What is happening in Spain is something habitual. A similar case made the previous Government jump and that is why Pedro Sánchez assumed. Now a case like this appears, but in the hands of two people who are part of the ruling party. Sánchez had no choice but to ask them to resign and show, in a sad way, how his advisors betrayed him," said Germa Capdevila, a journalist from Spain, in Cara o ceca. "The investigation is in the hands of Justice. If the heavyweights of the Socialist Party begin to fall, the electoral pressure will become unsustainable for Sánchez," he continued.

El presidente Javier Milei y la ministra de Seguridad Patricia Bullrich presentaron cambios en la Policía Federal dando más libertad de acción para investigar y detener sospechosos. Estos controles poblacionales masivos dirigidos a un sector particular con sesgo discriminatorio ya se han realizado sin éxito porque no modifican dinámicas delictivas, dijo Victoria Darraidou del CELS. Cristina Kirchner es una de las personas más influyentes del país. Tras el dictamen del Tribunal aceptando la prisión domiciliaria a Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, condenada a seis años e inhabilitación perpetua, el Partido Justicialista convocó a una marcha en Plaza de Mayo. No hubo persecución política y se realizaron las instancias suficientes para juzgarla, sostuvo Hernán Reyes de la Coalición Cívica. Reyes destacó que la expresidenta es una de las personas más influyentes del país aunque eso no la exime de haber cometido un delito y que la condena sea justa.

The court decision on granting house arrest to the former Argentine president is awaited, while social and trade union organizations are preparing a support march. In other news, Evo Morales' supporters suspended road blockades in Bolivia after the death of six people. The former Argentine president awaits notification before appearing in court, but Peronist leaders are preparing a mobilization for Wednesday the 18th. "It will be a demonstration of the people's resistance to what is happening in our country. We have an unbalanced Justice system," said Ricardo Peidró, deputy secretary general of the Central de Trabajadores de la Argentina Autónoma (CTA-A), in Cara o ceca. "There are unions in our central that have called a strike to facilitate access for colleagues, so that all the people can go to stop the power of the Justice system and the Executive, which constantly violate the Constitution," he added. Evo Morales' supporters suspended road blockades in Bolivia after the death of six people. The protesters supporting the former president of Bolivia, Evo Morales, who have been demanding the resignation of the current president, Luis Arce, for two weeks, announced a "humanitarian pause" in their road blockades, demanding an international investigation into the violent clashes with the police that left six dead. "The blockades have two motivations: one is economic, which has to do with the supply of fuel and food, and the other is a political-electoral demand. Concentrated in some municipalities of the country, they seek to enable Morales as a candidate for the next elections," said Bolivian political analyst Marcelo Arequipa in Cara o ceca.

Carlos Pagni's analysis on Argentine Odyssey aired on LN+ on June 16, 2025.

Israel attacked Iran amid negotiations between Washington and Tehran over the nuclear program: "Benjamin Netanyahu's [Israeli Prime Minister] intention was to sabotage Iran and he did it regardless of what the US wants. Now he will receive a response from Iran that he will not be able to control, even if Donald Trump intervenes," said Marcelo Ramirez, Argentine geopolitical analyst and director of Asia TV, on Heads or Tails.

Following the conviction of former Argentinian President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and her perpetual political disqualification, Jorge Liotti, chief editor of the Politics section of the newspaper La Nación, analyzed the political and social repercussions on Cara o Ceca: "Peronism faces a lack of doctrine. It must update the party's historical struggles in the context of the 21st century. They have to propose new projects. The 'present State' flag no longer exists."

The Supreme Court rejected hearing the case that found the former Argentine president guilty of corruption in public works. A massive mobilization is expected, concentrating everyone from retirees to doctors. Separately, the People's Party of Spain is pushing for early elections and gathering discontent with Pedro Sánchez's government. "I have absolute sadness for the state of Argentine democracy and annoyance at the injustice being committed. The judiciary has been subordinate to economic power for many years," said Jorge Taiana, former Argentine Foreign Minister and Minister of Defense, on Cara o Ceca. "A person was convicted who had no involvement in the events imputed to her and who had no obligation to know about them, this is a mess from a legal point of view. It is a rigged and political trial with a Supreme Court that denied the appeal filed by the defense to uphold the conviction," he added. On the other hand, we spoke with the national senator of the Radical Civic Union for Tierra del Fuego, Pablo Blanco, who endorsed the decision made by the highest Argentine court: "Bitterness is always felt when an official, especially a former president, is convicted of corruption. However, it was a judicial process that went through all the stages and the accused had the opportunity to defend themselves. Now each one must take responsibility for their actions." The People's Party of Spain calls for early elections and gathers discontent with Pedro Sánchez's government The party led by Alberto Nuñez Feijóo gathered a crowd in the center of Madrid to protest against the government of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party headed by Sánchez, over an alleged new case of corruption. In that demonstration, opposition leaders demanded early elections. "The People's Party, when it governed, had convictions for corruption. Now they demand that the same be done with Sánchez. They seek to demonstrate that the ruling party is as bad or worse than them," said Jaime Ferri, Doctor of Political Science and professor at the Complutense University of Madrid, on Cara o Ceca. "There will be no early elections, it would be twisting the arm in the face of the opposition," he added.

Former Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner met with Unión por la Patria representatives in the Senate, before the Supreme Court's decision in the Vialidad case that condemns her to prison for irregularities in the public works bidding process. If the conviction materializes, the leader will not be able to participate in the next elections. Leopoldo Moreau, national deputy of the bloc, pointed in Cara o Ceca against the honorability of Justice: "For a long time this fake trial has sought to ban Cristina. They want the most powerful voice of Peronism to disappear. The Justice system should annul the trial. The president of the court that judged her and the prosecutor were teammates on the same soccer team and played at the country house of Muricio Macri [former president]."

Carlos Pagni's analysis on Argentine Odyssey aired on LN+ on June 9, 2025.

Miguel Uribe was shot three times, one in the head, while participating in a public event in the Modelia neighborhood of Bogotá. Separately, tension continues at the Argentine fair La Salada, one of the largest in Latin America, due to a new seizure of merchandise. The stallholders are demanding a return to activity. He is the pre-candidate for the Centro Democrático party, who remains in critical condition and has had little response to medical interventions. The perpetrator would be a minor, 14 years old, who was arrested by the Police and was carrying the weapon used in the attack. "This situation has been very painful. It stirs up old wounds in the country. 30 years ago, four presidential candidates were killed in the middle of the campaign. We are in shock," said María del Mar Pizarro, representative to the Chamber in Colombia for the Historical Pact and daughter of Carlos Pizarro Leongómez, the leader of the M-19 movement and presidential candidate assassinated in 1990. "The country is going through a very great polarization. This attack, which is political, has been used by both the left and the right to foment hatred. Several sectors pointed against Gustavo Petro for his speeches, but we have seen how people on the left have said that it was a self-attack by the right to win the elections," she added. "The sad thing is that the perpetrator of the attack is a minor. The same thing happened with the murders of 30 years ago, although it was never determined who the intellectual authors were. I fear that the same thing will happen with this case," she concluded. Tension continues in Argentina with the stallholders of La Salada, one of the largest popular markets in South America. The intervention of the Argentine security forces responds to the raids ordered by the justice system, within the framework of the seizure of products that are illegally marketed. The fair closed its doors at the end of May, after the arrest of Jorge Castillo, known as El Rey de La Salada, for tax evasion, smuggling and money laundering. This closure left the workers without access to their jobs, who are protesting at the doors of the establishment demanding that it be reopened while they continue to sell products on the street. "They took all the merchandise. We are working on the street. It is illegal. We want our workplace back," said Lorena Samana, a fairground worker from La Salada, in Cara o Ceca. "I depend on the money I earn at the Fair and no one gives us an answer as to how to continue," she added.

The Argentine government sent Congress a bill with tax changes and in the penal regime to achieve an injection of savings in the market. Separately, Russia celebrates the international day of its language and vindicates the figure of Aleksandr Pushkin. If this initiative prospers, the thresholds that define when there are crimes of evasion will rise. Javier Milei's project formally adopted the name "law of principle of fiscal innocence", and was already sent to the Chamber of Deputies. "I think it's good that everyone can make transactions in the currency they want, but I have my doubts that people will take out the dollars they have saved because, in general, they are emergency savings. Argentines are afraid that the State will confiscate their money and that is why they keep it outside the banking system," said Roberto Cachanosky, an Argentine economist, in Cara o Ceca. "The economic plan that Milei is carrying out is not sustainable. At some point, this will end due to some exchange rate jump or the bankruptcy of companies," he added. Russia celebrates the international day of its language. Like every June 6, the Day of the Russian Language is commemorated. This date coincides with the birth of Alexandr Pushkin (June 6, 1799), whose work has become a symbol of Russian literature. The festival was established in 2010 to highlight the importance of language as the basis of cultural heritage and the unity of a multinational country. "Pushkin merged colloquial language with classical literary forms. He had a prodigious memory, he wrote poems from memory. He also wrote stories and essays for adults and children. He is the father of modern Russian literature," commented Dina Oyun, director of the Russian House in Argentina, in Cara o Ceca. At that time, the French language was widespread among the nobility, until Pushkin elevated the local language. "It gives me great pain that they destroy his statues in Ukraine. There they try to cancel the Russian language. Pushkin is great and contributed to the development of Russian culture in the world," she concluded.

The Javier Milei government harshly criticized the attitude of legislators who supported the increase in pensions. In other news, Ecuador approved a reform allowing foreign military bases on its territory.

Argentine ex-president Cristina Kirchner stirred up Peronism's internal affairs by confirming her candidacy for deputy for the main section of Buenos Aires province for the local elections on September 7, but unity with Governor Axel Kicillof is not yet guaranteed. In Heads or Tails we spoke with Gaston Granados, mayor of the Buenos Aires municipality of Ezeiza, who supported the former president's decision: "Cristina Kirchner and Axel Kicillof had a telephone conversation, regardless of what some other colleague may say to the contrary. We have to be together because a difficult election is coming. While unity does not guarantee us victory, going separately will lead us to defeat.”