¡Buenos días from Greenway Parks! This is the Rorshok Argentina Update from the 5th of February twenty twenty-six. A quick summary of what's going down in Argentina.

Congress kicked off extraordinary sessions on Monday the 2nd with a packed schedule. Lawmakers are debating lowering the age of criminal responsibility, new mining rules near glaciers, and the trade deal between the EU and Mercosur. The biggest ticket item is President Milei’s ambitious labor reform, known as the Labor Modernization Act which the Senate plans to vote on by the 11th of February.

While the government says the bill will make hiring easier, business groups like the Argentine Confederation of Medium-Sized Enterprises are raising red flags. They worry that certain articles—like the one making contributions to business chambers voluntarily—will create anarchy in a system that currently works well. Unions are already planning protests, warning that the new rules limit the right to strike and weaken worker protections.

Speaking of government plans, the national statistics bureau, Indec, is in the middle of a major shake-up. Marco Lavagna, who led the agency for over six years, resigned unexpectedly on Monday the 2nd. His exit happened just eight days before the agency was supposed to launch a new way to measure inflation.

Luis Caputo, the Economy Minister, quickly announced that the government is shelving the new formula for now. He says implementing a change while inflation is still high could make people think the numbers are being manipulated. Taking over for Lavagna is Pedro Lines, a long-time technical director at the agency. Workers’ unions expressed concern that the move is purely political.

In other news, President Milei is pushing back against reports that Argentina might become a destination for migrants deported from the United States. A story in the New York Times suggested that Buenos Aires and Washington were in advanced talks for a safe third-country agreement. Milei addressed this on Friday the 30th by calling the information completely false.

While that deal may be off the table, security forces are already getting tougher on undocumented immigrants at home. Last week, the Federal Police used biometric devices to conduct surprise identification raids in Villa Celina, a neighborhood in Buenos Aires with a large Bolivian community. Witnesses described the scene as intimidating, with over one hundred officers stopping people to check fingerprints.

The government is also moving to replace the current migration office with a new National Migration Agency. Alejandra Monteoliva, the Security Minister, recently boasted that the country saw a record number of expulsions and entry denials between December and January, totaling nearly 5,000 people.

On the topic of documentation, President Milei launched a new electronic ID card and an updated passport on Tuesday the 3rd. The new DNI is made of polycarbonate and includes a secure chip that makes it nearly impossible to fake. The passport also got a security upgrade to meet the highest international standards. If you have the old version, don’t worry—it’s still valid until it expires.

Since we mentioned high-level deals, Argentina paid over 800 million dollars in interest to the International Monetary Fund on Monday the 2nd. The Treasury didn’t have enough cash on hand, so the United States Treasury stepped in to help. Scott Bessent, the US Secretary, provided the necessary special drawing rights to ensure the country met its obligation.

Not all government business is running so smoothly, as two managers at Nucleoeléctrica, the state-owned nuclear power company, were suspended last week over corruption claims. An internal investigation found the company paid 1,000% more than budgeted for software and way over market price for cleaning services. Workers say these “shady deals” are happening while their own salaries are being cut.

As if political drama wasn’t enough, the government declared a state of emergency in Patagonia on Friday the 30th. Wildfires have already scorched over 45,000 hectares across four provinces: Chubut and Río Negro in the southern Andes, Neuquén in the west, and La Pampa in the central-southern plains. The drought in the region is making it incredibly hard for firefighters to control the flames, especially in Los Alerces National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site located in the western mountains of Chubut.

On a more positive note for the economy, investors are flocking back to the Argentine peso. With interest rates hitting 38%, many are playing the carry trade—borrowing in dollars to buy pesos and reap the high returns. This trend, combined with a period of calm in the exchange rate, has pushed the country’s risk premium to its lowest level in seven years.

While investors are happy, local e-commerce giant Mercado Libre is not. The company filed a legal complaint against its Chinese competitor, Temu, accusing it of using misleading advertising and psychological pressure to get sales. The dispute has now reached the Supreme Court as Chinese platforms like Temu and Shein see their sales in Argentina skyrocket.

On that note about shopping, Argentines are buying foreign goods at record levels. The Financial Times reported that consumer imports jumped 55% in twenty twenty-five as President Milei cut tariffs and eased restrictions. Lego sets, Apple computers, and Stanley thermoses were among the top sellers last year, with many items costing nearly 45% less when ordered from abroad compared to local stores.

Check out the article by the Financial Times with the link in the show notes.

In a serious security update, the Federal Police and the FBI worked together to stop two planned school shootings. Two teenagers, aged fifteen and sixteen, were caught making racial supremacy posts and threatening massacres online. Police raided their homes in Miramar, a coastal city in Buenos Aires province, and La Quiaca, a border town at the northern tip of Jujuy, where they found ammunition and Nazi symbols.

Speaking of the deep reaches of the country, scientists recently discovered deep-sea wonders off Argentina’s continental shelf. During an expedition from Buenos Aires to the country 's southernmost tip in Tierra del Fuego, they filmed a rare phantom jellyfish as long as a school bus at 250 meters (820 feet) deep. The team also found the world’s largest known cold-water coral reef, which is nearly the size of Vatican City.

On a much darker note, the newly released documents from the United States related to the Jeffrey Epstein case have mentioned a familiar Argentine name. The files suggest that stylist Roberto Giordano, who passed away in late twenty twenty-four, received money transfers from Epstein. While the documents mention travel to the Uruguayan resort of Punta del Este, there is no evidence Epstein actually visited the area.

In entertainment news, Netflix announced a new political thriller by Oscar nominee Santiago Mitre. The film stars Peter Lanzani and centers on the real-life infiltration of an officer into human rights groups during the last military dictatorship. This project marks a departure from Mitre’s last project, El Eternauta, the massive sci-fi series that premiered last April. While El Eternauta dealt with an alien invasion, Mitre’s new film focuses on the gritty reality of nineteen seventies political violence. Shooting begins in Buenos Aires this March.

Meanwhile, the Argentine duo Ca7riel and Paco Amoroso made history at the 68th Grammy Awards on Sunday the 1st. They won Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album for their record Papota. This win marks a huge milestone for the pair, who we last saw performing on Jimmy Fallon’s show. They recently took a break to focus on their mental health after a whirlwind world tour.

And to close this edition, a recommended read. La Nación recently published an op-ed in Spanish by Fernando Tomeo titled Artificial Intelligence Will Overpower the Law, a timely reflection as global powers struggle to implement the first wave of AI regulations. Tomeo draws a sharp contrast between the jet-speed of algorithmic deployment and the arithmetic patches of legal systems, warning that unless international governance gains the technical muscle to act in real-time, people risk ceding democratic control to the invisible gears of the tech giants.

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

But wait, we have an important thing to tell you. We've decided to bring some Rorshok Updates to an end. As much as we loved doing them, we couldn't get listeners to connect and form small communities. Besides, updates are not cheap to make. But THIS update, the Rorshok Argentina, will stay, so fear not, we'll be here now and in the future.

¡Nos vemos la próxima semana!