The Latin American Report # 625

In an interview with journalist Pablo Rossi, one of the most "objective" among those inclined to favor Argentine leader Javier Milei, the latter was clearer than ever about his economic model, more explicit, at least based on what I have recorded on this matter. Milei's statements to Rossi constitute the latest snapshot of where the liberal president currently positions himself regarding what he believes is his mandate as president, or how far the contract he signed with the Argentines goes. I have always noted here that Milei understands that his mission begins and ends by tackling one issue, or one figure: inflation.

Everything stems from his zeal to maintain a zero fiscal deficit and the substantial, liberal-style reform of regulations; that is, his field of work is macroeconomics. One could say that the head of Balcarce 50 is not interested in the fate of the common Argentine or businessperson. He just doesn't see them from the Pink House. Their fate is defined in open competition: in the competition for (private) employment, and in the competition between businesses, with the consequent division that such a conception implies between winners and losers in a market that "is never wrong".

In this sense, for example, the father of La Libertad Avanza, as a good "orthodox liberal", does not make value judgments about the price of the dollar or interest rates. Thus, Milei implicitly asked not to be questioned further about microeconomics, because anyone who talks a lot about it is a "chorro", a populist, a demagogue. Extraordinarily supported by Washington, appealing to very well-designed and better-executed propaganda, and thanks to the lack of a coherent and proactive opposition, the owner of the chair of Rivadavia obtained a resounding and somewhat surprising legislative victory this past Sunday, which offers him a much more comfortable political cushion to advance his agenda, integrating like-minded political groups—such as Mauricio Macri's PRO—and other less "organic" forces for the sake of gaining stability and governability.

Melissa: the long road to recovery in the Caribbean

A senior Cuban foreign ministry official told the AP correspondent in Havana that the United States has not responded to a communication requesting details on how a promise of aid following the passage of Hurricane Melissa would be implemented. While the hurricane caused no deaths on the Island—unlike the more than 50 reported between Haiti and Jamaica—it did cause major material damages that are difficult even to quantify. The historic bilateral dispute means Washington does not see the Cuban government as a valid intermediary for channeling potential aid to the victims, conditioning its delivery on the Cuban Government meeting certain requirements. Although I do not agree with ceding a millimeter of sovereignty, never, including now, I think the Island's authorities are obliged to find a way for this aid—if it is a real possibility—to materialize, showing more maturity than the Trump administration and being a paragon of transparency as well.

_Source

Heartbreaking 👇

Regional news brief

• According to the government of Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil, the majority of the 117 alleged drug traffickers killed in a mega police operation this past Tuesday targeting the so-called Red Command in two favelas had criminal records. The event has scandalized a good part of public opinion, and so, I am surprised by how unsteady or unclear President Lula da Silva's position has been regarding the raid, approved by a governor from Bolsonaro's party. The event places the country in the debate about whether the so-called Bukelization of the fight against gangs—although I don't actually recall a raid this deadly happening in El Salvador—is the appropriate way to confront the problem.
  

• In neighboring Paraguay, the penitentiary system remains a very tense scenario for the authorities, who have faced incipient rebellions and other serious events in prisons in recent months. This Friday, prison agents thwarted the escape of six inmates from the Regional Penitentiary in the southern city of Encarnación. The inmates, in Prison Break mode, used a rope to descend towards the front part of the prison, where they were captured after suspicious movement was detected.
  

This is all for today’s report.