Stories that caught our eye: October 3 to 10

ESPERT OUT, SANTILLI IN?

Cornered by revelations of his links with suspected drug-trafficker Federico ‘Fred’ Machado, outgoing deputy José Luis Espert stepped down last Sunday as the top La Libertad Avanza candidate for Buenos Aires Province in the upcoming midterms a fortnight from tomorrow, insisting on his innocence but offering his withdrawal as a sacrifice for the libertarian cause and for Argentina. President Javier Milei continued to profess faith in Espert’s “honour,” also expressing his confidence in electoral triumph, but immediately proceeded to name Pro deputy Diego Santilli as Espert’s replacement – easier said than done with electoral court approval and the reprinting of 14-plus million ballots required beforehand. Milei further said that the “operation” against Espert was Kirchnerism’s revenge against him for being the president who sent former two-term president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner to jail, which he achieved by the simple expedient of allowing justice to take its course. There was early pushback against Santilli last Wednesday from federal judge Alejo Ramos Padilla, who rejected his promotion and insisted on Espert being replaced by the second name on the list, Karen Reichhardt (whose real name was revealed to be Karina Vázquez). Santilli also had to contend with fraudster Leonardo Cositorto of the Generación Zoe Ponzi pyramid scheme stating that he had contributed US$32,500 to Santilli’s 2021 campaign. On Monday Espert followed up his exit from the midterm race by resigning the chairmanship of the Congress Budget Committee, again claiming to be the victim of an operation orchestrated by Kirchnerism and fanned by the media. On the same day Espert was formally indicted for taking money from Machado (whose extradition to Texas was upheld by the Supreme Court the following day). On Wednesday Espert took leave of absence from Congress altogether for the rest of his term without renouncing his salary while 215 of the 257 deputies voted to lift his parliamentary immunity to the extent of permitting court raids on his property. On the same day police found the torn fragments of a contract for US$1 million between Espert and Machado in the house of the latter’s mother. Thursday saw raids beginning at Espert’s properties as a full investigation got underway.

AUTHOR IN SEARCH OF A ROCKSTAR

President Javier Milei last Monday presented his latest book with a rock show in Movistar Arena in Villa Crespo, Buenos Aires, and a pep talk to his supporters in the month of the midterms. Milei used the assassination attempts on former and current presidents Jair Bolsonaro (Brazil) and Donald Trump (United States), as well as the recent slaying of Charlie Kirk, to argue that the left is inherently violent. He further claimed that his tax cuts for Argentines so far totalled around half a trillion dollars. Milei sang five songs to the accompaniment of a band composed of libertarian deputies and candidates. The pólice managed to keep hostile demonstrators at bay without arrests, incidents or injuries. Thursday found Milei in Mendoza campaigning on behalf of his outgoing Defence Minister Luis Petri.

CAPUTO CLINCHES SWAP

After four days of negotiations in Washington, Economy Minister Luis Caputo managed to agree on the terms and details of a US$20 billion currency swap and purchase of pesos with his US counterpart, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who downplayed Argentina’s financial crisis as “a moment of acute illiquidity” rather than underlying problems. However, a more formal announcement will have to wait until Presidents Javier Milei and Donald Trump meet next Tuesday. The deal to avert the ongoing financial crisis also includes incentives for private US investment in the Argentine economy to displace China in areas like technology, communications, energy and mining. President Javier Milei celebrated the apparent success of Caputo’s misión, calling him the best economy minister in Argentine history. It is expected that this deal will be followed by complex negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) towards a new agreement on floating the currency.

CFK ATTEMPTED MAGNICIDE SENTENCES

The trial for the attempt to assassinate then-vice-president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner on September 1, 2022, finally concluded last Wednesday after over a year and the testimony of 157 witnesses with the TOF(Tribunal Oral Federal)6 court handing out sentences of 10 years to the man unsuccessfully pulling the trigger, Fernando Sabag Montiel (plus a further four years on child porn charges) and eight years for his accomplice and former girl-friend Brenda Uliarte while Nicolás Gabriel Carrizo, the alleged leader of the so-called ‘Los Copitos’ candy floss gang, was acquitted.

SWINGS AND ROUNDABOUTS FOR ALBERTO

Good news and bad news for ex-president Alberto Fernández at the start of the week – the Federal Criminal Cassation Court agreed to take federal judge Julián Ercolini off the case, accepting possible personal animosity, but unanimously knocked back all his objections to being placed on trial for gender violence against former first lady Fabiola Yáñez. The court accepted that Ercolini might lack impartiality in the case after being denounced by Fernández for a trip to the Lago Escondido ranch of British billionaire Joe Lewis considered conspiratorial by the then president. A new judge must now be chosen by lot.

CITY INFLATION EDGES UP

Last month’s inflation in this capital was 2.2 percent, City Hall statisticians reported last Tuesday, up from 1.6 percent in August to total 22.7 percent for the first three quarters of this year at an annual rate of 35 percent. The main culprits were transport (3.5 percent), recreation and culture (3.1 percent) and housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels (2.4 percent) with the key ítem of food and beverages not too far below average at two percent.

COUNTRY RISK METHODOLOGY SHIFTED

JP Morgan bank will be withdrawing Argentine bonds from its Emerging Markets Bond Index Plus (EMBI+), meaning that its country risk index will be updated on a daily basis rather than in real time, news agencies have reported. From now on Argentine debt moves to the EMBI Global Diversified (EMBIGD) index where the requisites are less strict. The decision comes at a time when Argentina is negotiating a new debt agreement with the United States. Country risk defines the surcharge on interest rates to be paid by countries for their debts with reference to the bonds of the US Treasury.

METAL EXPORT DUTIES SCRAPPED

The government eliminated export duties on steel and aluminium and related products via Decree 726/2025 published last Wednesday in the Official Gazette when destined to countries levying import tariffs of 45 percent or more (without naming the United States, the only case of such countries).

ISRAEL FREES LEFTIST LEGISLATOR

Celeste Fierro, who will be representing the leftist FIT (Frente de Izquierda de los Trabajadores) in the City legislature as from December, returned to the country on Wednesday after being apprehended by “the genocidal army of Israel” for being one of the 473 members of the Sumud Global flotilla bringing humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip but finally released. According to a leftist comrade Alejandro Bodart, she was held on charges of terrorism when “the only terrorists are [Benjamin] Netanyahu, [Donald] and all imperialism.”

REAL-ESTATE AUCTION

Last Monday the developers Consultatio S.A., headed by Eduardo Costantini, purchased 42,000 square metres of Palermo real estate belonging to the Regimiento de Patricios since 1913 and privatised by Defence Minister Luis Petri for US$127 million. Costantini told the newspaper La Nación that he would be investing over US$350 million into constructing office blocks, shops, public spaces, residences, design and sculptures, completing the project by 2030, City Hall approval permitting. The sale went ahead despite the Senate last week approving a bill declaring the Regimiento de Patricios premises to be a “historic, national, strategic and inalienable space” and submitted by Senator Pablo Blanco (Radical-Tierra del Fuego) by a 56-4 majority.

CONICET HUNTS DINOS

Researchers of CONICET (Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas) national research council are following up their widely tracked (by some 18 million viewers) underwater explorations off Mar del Planta with a dino hunt in the Patagonian province of Río Negro. Their aim is to follow up their quest last year when they managed to locate the claw of the Bonapartenykus ultimus dinosaur, searching for further fossils. Their mission, christened “Expedición Cretácica I 2025,” began on September 28 and will continue until October 15. Between last Monday and yesterday, it was transmitted live by YouTube and Instagram. The dinosaur in question dating back some 70 million years is believed to be among the last of the gigantic reptiles. Last year’s find is far from being the only paleontological discovery in the area in the vicinity of General Roca.

MIGUEL ANGEL RUSSO 1956-2025

Boca Juniors trainer Miguel Ángel Russo, 69, died at his home last Wednesday following a long and debilitating illness. Born in Lanús in 1956, Russo’s entire playing career was as a midfielder with Estudiantes de La Plata for 13 years as from 1975, helping them finish top of the league in 1982 and 1983. He later trained them but also his native Lanús, Rosario Central (his other favourite team), San Lorenzo, Vélez Sarsfield, Racing and, most famously, in three stints at Boca, winning the Copa Libertadores in 2007.

VIETNAM CELEBRATES 80TH

The Vietnamese Embassy here hosted a reception last Thursday to mark 80 years since Ho Chi Minh declared the Independence of the Vietnamese Socialist Republic in 1945 (many historians might argue that Vietnamese Independence really dates back 50 years since the expulsion of France and the United States but 50 is still a significant number). Since then, Vietnamese Ambassador Ngo Minh Nguyet told guests, the country (whose current population is 101 million) has progressed from years of war and poverty to become the world’s 32nd economy with its 20th biggest volume of trade and diplomatic relations with 194 countries – it aims to become a middle-income country by 2030 and developed by 2045. The envoy then devoted the rest of her speech to promoting the Vietnamese Gastronomic Festival, inviting guests to enjoy such Vietnamese delicacies as nem ran and ca ri ga.