International
Despite ‘Pinocchio’ success, del Toro fears for Mexican cinema

| By AFP | Samir Tounsi |
Despite his international success, including a new adaptation of the classic puppet tale “Pinocchio,” Oscar-winning Mexican director Guillermo del Toro fears that his country’s cinema industry is facing “systematic destruction.”
Del Toro’s animated version of “Pinocchio,” in which an elderly woodcarver and his living puppet find themselves in 1930s fascist Italy, was the most watched film on streaming platform Netflix in the week of December 12-18.
Its debut on December 9 came a week before the release of “Bardo,” an autobiographical tale of a journalist-filmmaker returning home after years in Los Angeles, by fellow Mexican Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu.
Mexican actors have also enjoyed recent success in Hollywood, including Tenoch Huerta, the rising star of the sequel to “Black Panther,” the first major Black superhero movie.
Del Toro, Inarritu and Alfonso Cuaron represent a golden generation of Mexican filmmakers who have won the best director trophy at the Oscars five times since 2013.
Del Toro’s fantasy romance “The Shape of Water” earned best picture and best director at the 2018 Oscars.
The following year Cuaron scooped three golden statuettes for “Roma” — an intimate black-and-white movie about a family in turmoil in 1970s Mexico City.
‘Brutal’ destruction
But in stark contrast to the international acclaim for the trio, dubbed “The Three Amigos,” del Toro has now warned that the country’s film industry is facing “unprecedented” challenges.
“The systematic destruction of Mexican cinema and its institutions — which took decades to build — has been brutal,” he tweeted recently.
Del Toro highlighted an announcement by the Mexican Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences that next year’s Ariel Awards — the country’s equivalent of the Oscars — were postponed until further notice due to a “serious financial crisis.”
The organization said it regretted that “the support of public resources has decreased considerably in recent years.
“The state, which was the motor and support of the academy for a long time, has renounced its responsibility as the main promoter and disseminator of culture in general and of cinema in particular,” it added.
Del Toro even offered to pay for the Ariel statuettes out of his own pocket.
“He’s a generous colleague, an artist who is always aware of what is happening not only with Mexican cinematography but with the arts in general in the country,” said Academy president Leticia Huijara.
She would, however, prefer an agreement with the state.
In the meantime, the Ariels have been postponed, Huijara confirmed to AFP.
Promoting Indigenous film
Maria Novaro, the general manager of the Mexican Film Institute (Imcine), a government agency, thinks the warnings are exaggerated.
“Del Toro says that there is no more Mexican cinema in the year when there have never been so many productions,” she said, hailing a “record” 256 films in 2021.
“And 56 percent received support from public money. Imcine devotes 900 million pesos ($45 million) a year to financing Mexican cinema,” said Novaro.
“It’s good that Netflix produces a lot of content in Mexico. But it does not replace what Imcine does,” she added.
Mexican cinema enjoyed a golden age between the 1930s and 1950s, featuring movie stars such as Dolores del Rio and Pedro Armendariz.
But the industry went through a quiet period before enjoying a revival, helped in recent years by the success of “The Three Amigos.”
Mexican cinema has now become decentralized and diversified, according to Novaro, mirroring President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s priorities to help impoverished and Indigenous Mexicans.
Since 2019, there has been a program to encourage Indigenous and Afro-descendant cinema, with 56 such films in production, Novaro said.
“Films are starting to come out that tell about migration from the perspective of Indigenous migrants themselves,” she added.
International
Paraguay summons Brazilian ambassador over Itaipú espionage scandal

Paraguay summoned the Brazilian ambassador in Asunción on Tuesday to demand “explanations” and called its own representative in Brasília for consultations following Brazil’s acknowledgment of an espionage operation. The Brazilian government, led by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, attributed the operation to the previous administration.
The surveillance effort aimed to uncover Paraguay’s position in now-suspended negotiations with Brazil regarding the pricing of electricity from the binational Itaipú hydroelectric plant, according to reports in the Brazilian press.
The Brazilian government “categorically denied any involvement in the intelligence operation,” stating in a Foreign Ministry communiqué on Monday that the espionage was carried out under former President Jair Bolsonaro’s administration (2019-2023).
“The operation was authorized by the previous government in June 2022 and was annulled by the interim director of the (state intelligence agency) ABIN on March 27, 2023, as soon as the current administration became aware of it,” Brazil’s government asserted.
Paraguay’s Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez announced that Brazilian Ambassador José Antonio Marcondes de Carvalho was summoned “to provide detailed explanations” regarding the operation. Additionally, Paraguay recalled its diplomatic representative in Brasília “to report on aspects related to the intelligence activity conducted by Brazil regarding Paraguay’s government affairs.”
International
Elon Musk to step down as government advisor, per Trump insiders

President Donald Trump has informed his inner circle that Elon Musk will be stepping down from his role as a government advisor, according to a report by Politico today.
Citing three individuals close to Trump, Politico states that the president is pleased with Musk’s leadership at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), where he has implemented significant budget cuts. However, both have agreed that it is time for Musk to return to his businesses and support Trump from a different position outside the government.
A senior administration official told Politico that Musk will likely maintain an informal advisory role and continue to be an occasional visitor to the White House. Another source warned that anyone thinking Musk will completely disappear from Trump’s circle is “deluding themselves.”
According to the sources, this transition is expected to coincide with the end of Musk’s tenure as a “special government employee,” a temporary status that exempts him from certain ethics and conflict-of-interest regulations. This 130-day period is set to expire in late May or early June.
International
Milei vows to make Argentina so strong that Falkland Islanders “choose” to join

Argentine President Javier Milei reaffirmed his country’s claim over the Falkland Islands (known as the Islas Malvinas in Argentina) and praised the role of the nation’s armed forces during a ceremony marking the “Veterans and Fallen Soldiers of the Malvinas War Day,” commemorating 43 years since the 1982 conflict with the United Kingdom.
Argentina continues to assert sovereignty over the islands, arguing that Britain unlawfully seized them in 1833.
“If sovereignty over the Malvinas is the issue, we have always made it clear that the most important vote is the one cast with one’s feet. We hope that one day, the Malvinas residents will choose to vote with their feet and join us,” Milei stated.
“That is why we aim to become a global power—so much so that they would prefer to be Argentine, making deterrence or persuasion unnecessary. This is why we have embarked on a path of liberation, working to make Argentina the freest country in the world and once again the nation with the highest GDP per capita on the planet,” he added.
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