¡Buenos días from BA! This is the Rorshok Argentina Update from the 28th of August twenty twenty-five. A quick summary of what's going down in Argentina.

We need to start this episode with a longer story: a corruption case shaking the very core of the president’s inner circle. Last week, a series of leaked audio recordings surfaced, allegedly featuring Diego Spagnuolo, who until last week was the head of the National Disability Agency or ANDIS. In the recordings, he accuses Karina Milei, President Milei’s sister and Chief of Staff, and her close advisor, Eduardo Lule Menem, of orchestrating a massive bribery scheme.

The recordings describe a system where medical and pharmaceutical companies paid kickbacks in exchange for state contracts. The scheme allegedly funneled between half a million and 800,000 dollars each month to the president’s sister. Spagnuolo also suggested that President Milei was aware of the situation, and even mentioned having WhatsApp messages from Karina Milei as evidence. The pharmaceutical company Suizo Argentina was named as the alleged collector of the bribes from other companies.

The government fired Spagnuolo, framing the dismissal as a move to counter political manipulation by the opposition during an election year. Top officials, including Lule Menem, have publicly denied all allegations. President Milei has remained largely silent on the specifics, though he alluded to the accusations by saying his opponents are upset because he’s putting a stop to their own corruption.

Meanwhile, the Federal Police conducted about fifteen raids, targeting Spagnuolo’s home, the ANDIS headquarters, and the offices of Suizo Argentina. During one raid, authorities intercepted a shareholder of the pharmaceutical company, who was trying to flee with envelopes containing over 260,000 dollars and seven million pesos in cash (about 5,000 US dollars). A judge has forbidden Spagnuolo and three members of Suizo Argentina from leaving the country.

All of this couldn’t have come at a worse time for the administration, as it’s already clashing with Congress over funding for disability services and a bunch of other topics. This week, the upper house voted to strike down five of his presidential decrees that tried to fold autonomous agencies into ministries, and declared a one-year pediatric health emergency. On top of that, senators updated university budgets.

Milei blasted senators on Twitter, saying the vote endangers his economic plan.

In the midst of these political battles, during a speech at the Council of the Americas, President Milei accused Kirchnerist lawmakers of hijacking Congress with the sole purpose of bankrupting his administration. He also warned that Kirchnerists would attempt all kinds of fraud in the upcoming midterm elections.

On that note about the upcoming elections, with the campaign for the twenty twenty-five legislative midterms officially kicking off, early polls show the alliance between President Milei’s La Libertad Avanza and the PRO party with a substantial lead. National surveys place their support between 39 and 44%, with Peronism trailing as the main opposition. If this trend holds, the ruling coalition could significantly increase its number of seats in Congress, potentially giving the president more power to push his reforms.

On the economic front, Luis Caputo, the Economy Minister, addressed the recent hike in interest rates, attributing it to the electoral climate. He assured the public that the increase is temporary and defended the market’s actions, stating that a prolonged period of high rates could lead to a recession.

While the government deals with political and economic headwinds, Argentines are debating a fundamental aspect of daily life: the time zone. The lower house sparked a fierce debate by approving a winter-only time shift: from April to August the country would move to GMT-4, then return to GMT-3 from September to March, which aligns clocks with New York and widens the gap with Europe.

In Buenos Aires, winter sunrise would come around 6:30 a.m. and sunset as early as 4:30 p.m. Proponents argue that geographically speaking, Argentina belongs in the -4 time zone, and that the switch squeezes more value from morning light, trims energy use and helps students and shops.

However, opponents have raised concerns about the potential disruption to business activities, such as with international collaboration and database records. Also, many Argentines complain about darker evenings, which some find depressing and have effects on safety. Plus, the uneven effects by latitude: in the deep south, there would be even shorter afternoons. The Senate now takes up the bill.

In other news, if you’re planning to travel soon, be aware that air traffic controllers have launched a series of scheduled strikes that will run until Saturday, the 30th of August. The union initiated the protests after wage negotiations with the government fell through. The strikes are happening at different times each day, causing significant disruptions, with Aerolíneas Argentinas, the national carrier, reporting hundreds of canceled and rescheduled flights.

Be sure to check with your airline if you have a flight scheduled during this period.

In public health news, Ariel García Furfaro, the owner of the HLB Pharma laboratory, and several of his executives were arrested this week. The arrests are part of the investigation into the deaths of at least ninety-six people from contaminated fentanyl. Prosecutors believe the company’s laboratories produced and distributed batches of the potent opioid that were contaminated with bacteria, leading to the tragic deaths.

Speaking of tragic, two Chilean fans ended up hospitalized after a violent brawl during a Copa Sudamericana match. This happened after Independiente played against Universidad de Chile on Wednesday the 20th. Independiente has banned twenty-five of its own members and is working with authorities to identify everyone involved.

On a cultural note, a Dutch painting stolen by a Nazi official during World War Two has been spotted in Mar del Plata. The artwork, Portrait of a Lady, was identified after it appeared in a photo in an online real estate listing for a house in the coastal city. The painting originally belonged to a Jewish family in the Netherlands before it was looted.

From stolen art to the silver screen, the Argentine film Belén is set to compete in the prestigious San Sebastián Film Festival. Directed by Dolores Fonzi, the movie tells the real-life story of a young woman from the northern Tucumán province who was wrongly jailed for having an abortion after suffering a miscarriage. Her case became a landmark in the fight for abortion rights in Argentina, which were legalized in twenty twenty.

The president seems to have an eye for cinema, though his latest film recommendation comes with an ironic plot twist. President Milei has been championing Homo Argentum as a shining example of privately funded art. But last week, it was revealed that the movie actually received some financial support from INCAA, the national film institute—the very same institution that has faced severe budget cuts and criticism from the president himself.

Switching to sports, Argentine players had a mixed start at the US Open in New York. In the first round of the year’s final Grand Slam tournament, Tomás Etcheverry and Francisco Comesaña were the only two to advance to the next stage at Flushing Meadows.

For those looking for a new travel destination, a small town is getting some international attention. Barrancas, located in the northern province of Jujuy, is competing to be named one of the world’s most beautiful villages by the UN World Tourism Organization. The town is known for its stunning natural rock formations, ancient petroglyphs, and rich cultural heritage.

Similarly, an article by the BBC profiles Patagonia Azul, a vast new provincial park on Argentina’s South Atlantic coast that blends land-and-sea protection with community-led, low-impact tourism. Spearheaded by Rewilding Argentina, the project stitches together former ranchlands around a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve to safeguard biodiverse kelp forests, sea lion colonies, penguins, dolphins, whales and steppe wildlife, while developing guided hikes, wild swims, horseback rides and two solar-powered eco-lodges serving local, seaweed-forward cuisine.

To learn more, follow the link in the show notes.

Aaand that’s it for this week! Thank you for joining us!

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¡Nos vemos la próxima semana!