International

Milei celebrates 100 days as president, between the controversy and his obstinacy about the course

The president of Argentina, Javier Milei, celebrates 100 days of management this Tuesday, in which he has shown obstinacy in the course to achieve fiscal balance and reduce the weight of the State to lower inflation, despite the setbacks in Congress; the fall in purchasing power and criticism for his confrontational method.

In several publications that Milei replied on his social network account X, a direct media that he appreciates a lot, he celebrated that he “avoided the hyperinflation” that was “activated” by his predecessor, the Peronist Alberto Fernández (2019-2023); he began the “sustained process of disinflation” and the decrease in country risk, today at 1,520 basis points.

In terms of security, he replied messages that say that he “ended the pickets” and “he stood against insecurity and narco-terrorism,” and as for corruption, “the amount of illegalities” that he is discovering.

Milei took advantage of this Tuesday to exhibit the unit with her vice president, Victoria Villarruel, on social networks, where they came to publish a photo hugging, after she participated in the meeting of the Cabinet of ministers in the Casa Rosada: “Those who are fighting…!!!,” the president said ironically.

The relationship between Milei and Villarruel reached a peak of tension last week due to the decision of the vice president – who also chairs the Senate – to convene a session in the Upper House where the megadecree of necessity and urgency (DNU) signed by the president in December was rejected.

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The presidential spokesman, Manuel Adorni, defined the first 100 days as “a case study” and “an atypical case,” in his usual press conference at the Executive headquarters.

Adorni listed that since Milei took office on December 10, Congress rejected the DNU and a fundamental bill for the Executive, the main union center called for a general strike on January 24 and there were train and bus stops.

In addition, the Patagonian province of Chubut threatened to cut off the supply of hydrocarbons and opposition groups “fantasized” that the far-right would fall for these months.

“This was the only Government (…) that in the first days of the Government has meticulously fulfilled each of the points it had promised in the campaign,” Adorni said, because it “attacked from the outset” the fiscal deficit and clung to the balance of public accounts to “end inflation and the destruction of the currency.”

Milei is an ‘outsider’ who, with aggressive speech and disruptive forms against the “political caste,” won the elections in a second round last November, with 56% support.

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“No other government so far had been encouraged to put their hand in politics’s pocket” or “exposed as much to politics” as Milei’s, Adorni said.

Fernández is one of the opposition politicians who criticized the first 100 days of Milei, by showing on his social networks that inflation rose by 71.3%, industrial production fell by 19.4%, retail sales of SMEs fell by 23% and the real salary of registered private workers fell by 27.1%, among other negative indicators.

Amnesty International Argentina warned that the “confrontation” practiced by the Government of Milei is to divert attention from those real conflicts – inflation, poverty, lack of medicines – and violate freedom of expression, and asked for “basic rules of coexistence and non-aggression, especially from the presidential investiture and its collaborators.”

Despite the severe economic adjustment that causes a loss of purchasing power, with inflation that climbed to 276.2% year-on-year last February, Milei maintains a positive image of more than 50%, according to opinion polls.

In that sense, the Government of Milei also boasts of having “changed the concept of governance” because now “it is given by the support of the people,” in a context in which its far-right party, La Libertad Avanza, only has 38 deputies, 7 senators and no provincial governor.

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Adorni acknowledged that “there is still a lot to do,” remembering that seven out of ten minors are still poor in Argentina, but that “this time a new sun comes to impoverished Argentina.”

International

Iran Reports 201 Dead, 747 Injured After U.S. and Israeli Strikes

The Iranian Red Crescent Society reported Sunday night (local time) that at least 201 people were killed and 747 injured following attacks carried out by Israel and the United States against the Islamic Republic.

A spokesperson for the humanitarian organization said more than 220 rescue teams have been deployed across affected areas and that relief operations are continuing without interruption. The official highlighted the difficulty of treating the large number of wounded and the urgent need for additional resources in impacted provinces.

Out of Iran’s 31 provinces, 24 have reported damage, according to a statement carried by the Isna news agency. This marks the first overall casualty toll released by Iranian state-affiliated media since the launch of the offensive.

Among the dead are 85 schoolgirls from a school in the southern city of Minab, according to the country’s judiciary. “The number of martyrs at the Minab girls’ school has risen to 85,” the local prosecutor’s office said, as quoted by the judiciary’s website, Mizan Online.

Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian described the attack as a “savagery” that “constitutes a new black page in the record of countless crimes committed by the aggressors.”

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Meanwhile, the international community continues to monitor the situation closely amid concerns about possible further reprisals and the broader impact on Middle East stability, energy markets, and global security.

AFP noted that it was unable to independently verify the casualty figures or the circumstances surrounding the events.

International

Pope Leo XIV Urges End to ‘Spiral of Violence’ in Middle East

Pope Leo XIV on Sunday called for an end to the “spiral of violence” in the Middle East, following military strikes by the United States and Israel against Iran and subsequent retaliatory bombardments in the region.

“Faced with the possibility of a tragedy of enormous proportions, I urge the parties involved to assume their moral responsibility and stop the spiral of violence before it becomes an irreparable abyss,” the pontiff told the crowd gathered in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican.

Speaking during the Angelus prayer, the U.S.-born pope said stability and peace cannot be achieved through threats or weapons. “Stability and peace are not built with reciprocal threats or with arms that sow destruction, suffering and death, but only through reasonable, sincere and responsible dialogue,” he declared.

The leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics also called for diplomacy to “regain its role” amid escalating tensions.

In addition, the pope urged Afghanistan and Pakistan to urgently resume dialogue after several days of clashes between the two countries.

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International

Security Council to Hold Emergency Meeting on Middle East Crisis

UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Saturday condemned the “military escalation in the Middle East” following attacks by the United States and Israel against Iran and Tehran’s retaliatory strikes, just hours before an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council.

“I call for the immediate cessation of hostilities and de-escalation,” Guterres said in a statement.

The Security Council is scheduled to meet on Saturday at 21:00 GMT (4:00 p.m. in New York) to address “the situation in the Middle East,” the United Nations announced.

The meeting, during which Guterres will deliver remarks, was convened at the request of France, Bahrain, Colombia, Russia and China, according to a diplomatic source.