¡Buenos días from Greenway Parks! This is the Rorshok Argentina Update from the 26th of March twenty twenty-six. A quick summary of what's going down in Argentina.

We have to start with the massive crowds that took over the Plaza de Mayo on Tuesday the 24th. Tens of thousands of people marched to the heart of Buenos Aires to mark fifty years since the March 24th, nineteen seventy-six coup d’état and the last military dictatorship, which lasted until nineteen eighty-three.

While human rights groups like the Madres and Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo demanded to know the whereabouts of the thirty thousand people who disappeared during the dictatorship, the government offered a very different perspective. President Milei’s office released a long video criticizing past human rights policies and arguing that the history of the seventies has been manipulated.

This move follows the government’s recent decision to declassify nearly five hundred pages of intelligence documents from that era, which include everything from surveillance records of universities to mundane office supply lists.

The shadow of that era even reaches into the world of sports. Writing for the Buenos Aires Times, journalist Dan Edwards reflects on how professional football remains tightly linked to this period of history. He notes that the infamous ESMA detention center sat just down the road from the River Plate stadium, where fans cheered for the nineteen seventy-eight World Cup while victims were held nearby. Even fifty years later, clubs across the country continue to honor the disappeared by maintaining their membership numbers and working with journalists to uncover the stories of players and poets who never returned.

You can check out the full piece in English with the link in the show notes.

Now, here’s an update on a story we’ve been following closely. The $LIBRA situation has moved from suspicious to explosive. Leaked documents from the phone of businessman Mauricio Novelli now suggest the total amount involved in this crypto-scheme is closer to ten million dollars. The files include a draft agreement showing a five-million-dollar payment for President Milei to endorse the token on social media.

Perhaps most damaging are the phone records from the day of the launch; they show Novelli and the President spoke seven times, including just minutes before and after the promo went live. While the President says he did nothing wrong and was just making money as a private citizen, the evidence has forced prosecutors to stop sitting on the files.

Speaking of legal trouble for the President’s inner circle, Manuel Adorni, the Cabinet Chief, is trying to laugh off a mountain of new allegations. After the reports we mentioned last week about his private flights to Uruguay and New York, a new complaint from lawmaker Marcela Pagano alleges irregularities in state contracts. The filing suggests a triangular relationship where companies linked to Adorni’s wife benefited from public tenders related to the Tecnópolis exhibition center. Adorni posted a photo alongside the President joking about being replaced, but opposition leaders are already pushing to call him before Congress to explain his family’s finances.

While the government fights these battles in court, it’s also looking to rewrite the rules of the street. Juan Bautista Mahiques, the Minister of Justice, met with the President this week to announce a total overhaul of the Penal Code. The plan aims to toughen punishments for motochorros—thieves on motorcycles—, trapitos—people who demand money to watch your car when you park on the street—and even those who participate in illegal street racing. They also want to include new crimes related to migration and animal cruelty. While they draft the full code, the Executive branch will ask Congress for quick changes to increase sentences for skipping child support and for viudas negras or black widows—women who drug and rob their victims after a date.

On the economic front, the numbers tell two very different stories. INDEC, the national statistics bureau, reported that the economy grew 4.4% in twenty twenty-five, beating many expectations.

Mining and financial services led the charge, but the celebration was muted for many workers. For the first time in twenty years, the economy is growing while unemployment is also rising, hitting 7.5% percent. Experts say people are rushing into the job market because their current income isn’t enough to live on, but the economy isn’t creating enough formal positions to soak them up.

In fact, the labor market is looking increasingly informal. A new report from the University of Buenos Aires found that over four in ten workers in Argentina don’t have a registered job.

This lack of stability is a major concern as the government prepares to cut another 10% of the state workforce this year, aiming to remove over 27,000 positions from the public payroll.

Since we mentioned the struggle to make ends meet, inflation for March looks like it will land around 3%. This is slightly higher than the previous two months and pushes back the President’s hope of reaching zero inflation anytime soon. Seasonal costs like school fees and new autumn clothing lines are driving the numbers up this month.

On that note about rising costs, filling up your tank just got more expensive. Petrol prices jumped between 13 and 16% this week. This hike follows the surge in global oil prices, which topped 110 dollars a barrel because of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

But there is some big news for those involved in international trade. The long-awaited free-trade deal between the European Union and Mercosur will finally begin on the 1st of May. This provisional start means tariffs will vanish for many products right away. It’s a massive shift that will make it easier to send Argentine beef and soy to Europe while bringing in cheaper European cars and machinery.

Speaking of international deals, the government just opened the door for more foreign medicines. By scraping a twenty-twelve rule, Argentina will now allow foreign companies to patent their pharmaceutical products here more easily. The United States pushed for this change for years, arguing the old rules protected copycat generics. In exchange, the US promised to open its own market to Argentine pharma companies.

While the government eyes the US market, the courts are eyeing the Argentine Football Association, or AFA. This week, the Coast Guard raided the AFA headquarters on Viamonte street in Buenos Aires City. They are looking for evidence of offshore money laundering linked to a seventeen-million-dollar mansion in Pilar, in Greater Bonus Aires. Investigators suspect Pablo Toviggino, the federation’s treasurer, is the real owner of the luxury estate, which features high-end cars that his declared salary couldn’t possibly buy.

On a much brighter note for the University of Buenos Aires, five of its subjects just ranked among the top fifty in the entire world. The QS World University Rankings gave top marks to Modern Languages, Art History, Petroleum Engineering, Law, and Anthropology. The university’s rector noted that this success happens despite the ongoing funding battles with the national government.

In other news for sports fans, the National Team is coming home. Since the match against Spain was cancelled, the world champions will play Mauritania on the 27th of March and Zambia on the 31st. Both games will take place at La Bombonera in Buenos Aires City. This might be one of the last chances to see Lionel Messi play on Argentine soil before the next World Cup.

If you prefer racing to football, mark the 26th of April on your calendar. Franco Colapinto, Argentina’s F1 star, will bring his Alpine car to the streets of Buenos Aires City for a special exhibition. They are planning a temporary circuit around the Bosques de Palermo so fans can see the twenty-two-year-old in action for free.

And to close this edition, the legendary rock band Soda Stereo is planning a massive comeback, but with a high-tech twist. Since singer Gustavo Cerati passed away over a decade ago, his bandmates will use advanced video projections and original recordings to bring him back to the stage for a thirty-date tour. The show, called Ecos, has already sold out ten nights at the Movistar Arena in Buenos Aires.

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

Anything you want to tell us? info@rorshok.com.

¡Nos vemos la próxima semana!