The president of Argentina as a matter of urgency approached President Putin in the day before President Putin left for Beijing. They needed help with odious debt that the country entered into with the IMF. This is the sequence of events in the last few days:
Argentina is trapped in $44 billion of odious debt from the US-controlled IMF.
Seeking alternatives to US hegemony, Argentina’s President Alberto Fernández traveled to Russia and China, forming an alliance with the Eurasian powers, joining the Belt & Roadhttps://t.co/rTbO1ZGsPE
— Multipolarista (@Multipolarista) February 6, 2022
Additional details from the Argentine presidency on the deal made in Beijing: https://t.co/bXEWO2UuUB
— Kawsachun News (@KawsachunNews) February 6, 2022
And then, one of the most interesting points in the second tweet: China reaffirmed its support for Argentina’s demand to fully exercise sovereignty over the Malvinas.
Argentina reaffirmed its commitment to the One China principle and China reaffirmed its support for Argentina’s demand to fully exercise sovereignty over the Malvinas. More: https://t.co/kSCICjsyFO pic.twitter.com/iMhhV63Uzz
— Kawsachun News (@KawsachunNews) February 6, 2022
This is then how Zone B grows, with countries saying they have had enough of hegemony and taking clear steps to help themselves.
Short report by Amarynth
Wery,wery good news indeed! Slowly ,but surely OBOR change a landscape of the Earth! Good news!
I saw the meeting on YouTube was shocked by how very friendly it was and the fact the Argentine president didn’t hold back his words when it came to his desire to change the future pivot of his country
It probably will not go unnoticed by the empire. Expect a color revolution attempt there in the not too distant future
I won’t. They are out-gunned and out-classed.
Argentina was the first country in Latin America to purchase Sputnik and rejected the blackmail terms of Pfizer.
Argentina is now producing Sputnik under license for domestic use and for export to South America.
Cheers from an Argentinian in France.
wheels coming off the chariot… US hegemony running on hot air….
Looks like China just punched the Anglo/Zionists in the face really hard. Pain dial going up.
Very good news indeed. As Argentinian I am quite happy although I suppose Argentinian newspapers, all in the hands of the US embassy, are no going to be happy at all…
I think this could be a game changer for the whole región.
An avalanche of debt trap articles will be coming soon.
Thank you Amarynth, this is superb news. Indeed, there is a new sheriff in town.
Chomsky on odious debt:
Noam Chomsky was interviewed in his office by María Luisa Mendonça on March 12, 1999.
Noam Chomsky: The first thing to bear in mind is that debt is not an economic problem. It’s a political problem. The debt is an ideological construction. Say I borrow money from you, and I put the money in a Swiss bank, or I buy a Mercedes, and then my creditors come and I tell them, “I’m sorry—I have no money. You pay it.” That is not the way it works. If I borrowed it, I have to pay it.
Let’s take the Brazilian debt. Who borrowed it? Not the peasants, not the working people. In fact the large majority of the population of Brazil didn’t have anything to do with the debt, but they’re being asked to pay it. That’s like you being asked to pay if I spent my money somewhere else and couldn’t pay it back. To the extent that there is a debt—if you believe in capitalist principles—the debt ought to be paid by the people who borrowed it. In this case they are military dictators, some landowners and the super-rich.
The Brazilian debt, like most of the Latin American debt, is more or less comparable in scale to capital flight. So, there’s an easy way to pay the debt: Bring the capital back.
The other question is: Should debtor countries have to pay at all? The legal concept of “odious debt,” which is reasonably well-established in international law, states that they don’t have to pay. When the United States “liberated Cuba” in 1898—meaning, prevented Cuba from liberating itself—it cancelled Cuba’s debt to Spain on the grounds that it was an odious debt because it had been forced on Cuba by the relations of subordination and power to which it was subject, and therefore had no legal standing.
https://nacla.org/article/debt-drugs-and-democracy-interview-noam-chomsky
No one can match the incompetence of a Government Employee, the higher up you are the more incompetent, all the way up to PM who signs off on all sorts of dodgy Goldmanesque exotic instruments.
Remember Greek PM George Papandreou who refused to sign off on the countries finances/obligations from the loan/debt sharks. They threatened his home and family, then the EU chimed in, then Super Mario Dracula Draghi. I suppose the hefty sum of lucre paid into his private account in Switzerland cushioned the personal esteem blow, but what of the next 3 generations of Greeks?
When will Argentina start Re-training its military to use new Chinese and/or Russian weapons? We know the West will not allow Argentina to apply its sovereignty over the Falklands without a fight.
At the moment the UK lacks the military capacity to retake the Malvinas and Argentina lacks to capacity to invade again. It would need substantial economic growth to be able to rebuild its military capacity. That may be possible through membership of the BRI. The UK seems to have no hope of rebuilding its military, being subject to the kind of delusions described by Andrei Martyanov.
I am sure that the comment elsewhere about the current population wishing to remain British is correct, having visited the Malvinas as a tourist. It is a Crown dependency and so talk of democracy there is somewhat spurious. It has a currency that looks just like the UK Pound Sterling, but it has ‘Falkland Islands’ printed on it and cannot be spent anywhere else. The search for offshore oil since the 1982 conflict has yielded no results, and there is not much fishing. So sheep farming and tourism are the main economic activities.
I lived in Mozambique in 1982 and as a on organised group the British in Maputo held various conversations with the exiled Argentinian opposition while the British fleet was sailing to what we called the Malvinas. One opposition group had lost 5,000 members killed by the Galtieri regime, but they still supported the Argentinian claim to the islands. So did we Brits at the time.
“When will Argentina start Re-training its military”
We have more urging matter to deal with before any thoughts of turning up the dial.
Once these issues are solved, the statetegies to face the Brits won’t necessarily include direct military confrontation or setting boots over the islands. For instance, denying the use of the surrounding waters would proove much more fruitful and costly to them, but even that requires significant and intelligent prior investment.
An avalanche of debt trap articles will be coming soon.
@cindy6
Definitely. But it will clash in media with “China will eventualy attack Russia”, and many other avalanches. Spin masters already have hard time to prioritize fake news, and it is not going to be better in the future.
I see also that China has supported Argentina’s position re the Falkland Islands/Las Malvinas. This issue is a festering post-colonial idiocy that should have been dealt with diplomatically 50 years ago. Instead Margaret Thatcher, may she rot in hell, desired re-election and so went to war over the islands. Now BoJo has received a diplomatic kick in the goolies.
Same deal with Spain and Gibraltar, and a bunch of other lunatic Brit imperial holdovers. How long can they hold on to their delusions?
How long can they hold on to their delusions?
“Illusions commend themselves to us because they save us pain and allow us to enjoy pleasure instead. We must therefore accept it without complaint when they sometimes collide with a bit of reality against which they are dashed to pieces.”
• Sigmund Freud
On the whole I agree. However, if Spain would take Gibraltar back, then the question of the Spanish cities in Morocco would arise: Ceuta (Sebta) and Mellilla…
They will hold on as long as the Anglo-American Empire lasts..
it is about control of sea lanes (Malvinas, Gibraltar, Socotra, Singapore, even Taiwan although missiles are pushing them back). If Sea Pirates cannot control seas, then it is Game Over for them. And they do not want to go back to being small-time regional merchants.. Empire is the irresistible aphrodisiac once tasted.
Current moves are peaceful maneuvers to defang them; we will see how the Pirates respond.
This was a “kick in the goolies” almost as sweet!
‘Mano de Dios’
https://youtu.be/0kLR38byaoE
Unfortunately the issue about the Falkland Islands is not as clear cut as you appear to think it is.
Point 1 > Britain occupied the Falkland Islands LONG before the modern Argentinian Nation State was even founded. The claim by Argentine was whipped into a hysteria by the Junta to distract from the internal protests and the new generation only has this factor in the memory, not the fact that Britain was there long before this era…
Point 2 > The distance between Argentinean land mass and the Falkland Islands is 800 km. That is the distance between Britain and Switzerland. Apart from invade ‘recently’. what else did Argentina ever do, to “deserve” these islands?
Point 3 > In the international practice, if a nation has lost blood in defending its property, it reinforces the right to claim that territory as its own.
Point 4 > I lived through the events as they developed. A friend was working in the Woolwich Arsenal in London and explained in detail what was being planned. It was a very ‘fragile’ undertaking, very much a case of muddling along and cobbling together any available assets at the last minute. Had there been clearer diplomatic efforts by the Foreign Office, there would not have been any signal or opportunity for the Argentine to invade and stake a claim. The loss of life on BOTH sides was regrettable…totally unnecessary. Mrs Thatchers claim to victory was a very hollow gesture. But the public felt good about it all…”another war won by Britain”
Point 5 > You mention Spain and Gibraltar. Let us also throw in Ceuta and Melilla…and debate who has the absolute right to their colonial possessions and for what historical reason…and Spanish Sahara (now owned against the wishes of the locals, by Morocco). I was a university student, collecting funds for the rebels who were fighting Spain, at the time…the question about sovereignty was then, in my young mind, tied to the word ‘independence’…today, it would be more appropriate to ask “Cui Bono”? so if the new Moroccan government in Spanish Sahara is De-Facto the new owner, even if they are not De-Jure in the right, is the population better off today? I would call it the Tibet principle: if the new occupier helps develop and improve the life of the people, then one can say, the new sovereigns are doing something positive? No? but is then, Morocco sharing the wealth that it extracts, with the locals?
A persistent criticism within the UK at the time, was that if already the Falklands were British, why did the UK government not issue passports automatically to the Falklanders?…why did they not invest in the place…They buy mutton from NZ…so why not from the Falklands?…but would then Argentina have funds to do this? I dont think so…
I understand why the Chinese are supporting the Argentine clams, they just want to express a strong solidarity……Maybe if the Chinese poured money into the Argentine and the Argentine maybe were to put some of that into the Falklands, there maybe would be a case for stating that the Argentine can do more for the place than the British do…but this is all speculative…first there has to be a diplomatic effort…THEN someone can give the UK a bloody nose again…but currently the Chinese support is a hollow one and has no legal basis.
Lots of Islands on the map to fret over….hmmm…
The classic imperial argument … we stole it fair and square.
We also stole any ‘court’ by which you might complain.
Have a nice day.
Note that this is identical to what the Israelis claim. “The land was empty when we came.”
Worth mentioning a few more points: There WERE some ‘benefits’ from the Falklands War
– The Argentine military junta gave way to a civilian government…so the internal repression stopped.
– The British came out of their long period of strikes and economic crises and overnight felt great after winning another war…now, it may seem a puny claim, just like the USA prevailing over Grenada but the boisterous UK media milked it for all its worth. I remember well the typical London street scene: British made cars being repaired on the roadside by impecunious father and son, every weekend…and suddenly, the atmosphere changed. The British population ‘celebrated’ the Falklands Victory by en-masse getting into debt, going on a buying splurge and got new cars. Great …now they had more reliable cars – mostly Japanese – and could send their British cars to the junkyard…and that was the start of the great British love affair with Japanese cars…no more perpetual breakdowns…Mrs Thatcher was the ‘traitor’ who encouraged the death of the British car industry – by assuming that Japanese competition would stimulate the British to build better cars…
The British DO build much better cars nowadays – the plants in Sunderland and Derby are models of efficiency. They just happen to be owned by Nissan and Toyota.
Britain has always been much better at building small volume, top of the range stuff. We just never did the mass market, pile em high, sell em cheap sort of stuff as well as more polite and conciliatory peoples. We just got bogged down with macho management and firebrand Union leaders kicking seven bells out of each other and letting the foreign competition take over the domestic markets.
We’re very good at running formula one teams, building Rolls Royces, but even Jaguar got taken over by foreign owners.
We have Germans building minis in Oxford, Americans building Fords and GM cars, Japanese building Toyotas and Nissans etc etc.
We just don’t have any mass market brands still owned by UK shareholders.
Regarding your point 1, in case you do not know it…. Argentina became independent in 1816, Britain stole the Islands in 1833, expelling the argentinians living there.What I just wrote is a FACT.
> Britain occupied the Falkland Islands LONG before the modern Argentinian
I don’t have the documents s to check, so I won’t claim I am 100%, but at least at 80% I am of this: while Britain did various incursions during the time of Spanish rule, the current occupation happened after Argentina independence. There was a governor and a garrison from Argentina, they were military defeated and expelled, but they did have presence (plus legal precedence too).
> The distance between Argentinean land mass and the Falkland Islands is 800 km. That is the distance between Britain and Switzerland.
It’s shorter than that, some 500km. Which is about a quarter of the north/south length of the country, and about the mean length of the AR mainland east/west length. In proportion to AR the Malvinas are more or less at the same distance as west Ireland is from Britain.
Also, AR has antártica territories, internationally recognized, at much longer and more difficult to sail distance.
That is a moot point.
The whole of western Europe supeficy can be contained inside the AR territory. So the distance between England and Switzerland is just an average travel length between two AR provinces, nothing special (Americans, be them northern or southern ones, are often amazed at the small scale of Europe, compared to American scale).
“Point 1 > Britain occupied the Falkland Islands LONG before the modern Argentinian Nation State was even founded.:
That’s not true:
– A 1820 treaty between Spain and England granted dominion of the South Atlantic islands to the Spanish crown
– On July 9th 1816, Argentina (as United Provinces of the Rio de la Plata) declared independence
– In 1825, the British crown recognized the independence of the United Provinces of Rio de la Plata, officially communicated by lord Canning. Since Argentina hold dominium of the former Spaniard Malvinas, it was included in the recognisance
– On January 2nd 1833, a British fleet invaded the islands and expelled the 100 people settlement headed by Argentine Governor Vernet.
Even though the British occupied the island by the 1530s. they abandoned 2 years after and granted sovereignity to the Spaniards in the 1820 treaty. With this background, it’s easy to understand why they never challenged the decolonization committeee of the UN asking for a solution regarding the islands.
“Point 3 > In the international practice, if a nation has lost blood in defending its property, it reinforces the right to claim that territory as its own.”
The United Nations do not accept this criteria. There are around a dozen claims agains the UK in the UN Decolonisation Committee.
I very much appreciate all the replies to my pontifications, from Andres, Pavlo, Alejo, Pocahontas and Joe Heller.
I should have been more nuanced and careful in my assertions.
The issue is that it is one thing to be moral and to state that there has been a historic injustice by the colonial past…and im actually totally in agreement that there is a need today to revisit/revise/change ALL the controversies surrounding sovereignty…but it is quite another, to actually get the colonial powers to release their grip on all their possessions (whether gained legally, captured from an enemy or stolen from indigenous people)…and to decide in some cases, how far back in history one should go…
Sticking just to the key topic here, of “who really owns the Falklands” the situation is, based on all your replies, a simple one, that Argentina DOES have a legal claim and it IS enshrined in some documents or treaties and the UK actually was and continues to be, a predator there. As this is a fact (which i concede i had not researched properly and again many thanks for the corrections), there is then, the follow-up question: of how to change the situation.
I dont think the Argentine Juntas attack was justified at that moment. They thought it was a good opportunity but i always had the feeling that Galtieri used this for ulterior motives. I also never felt that the UK government had performed correctly. The UK Foreign Office was incompetent and asleep at the wheel…their excuse at the time was that they were distracted by other events…So the question of formal negotiations on the sovereignty issue (as a more moral stance) was always rejected by the UK government…..and Margaret Thatcher had no real choice (in her still colonial mindset) but to grab the Falklands back. it was a hollow victory. it wasted lives and funds and only retained the status-quo…but Thatcher was able to present it as a positive outcome. It kick-started an economic recovery in the UK.
So the next issue as i mentioned, is, how competent are the colonial powers in managing these acquired territories?…do they extract more than they give?…do they neglect their possession?…or do they actually give more than they extract, with a view to creating a self-sustaining society there?
That is how I judge the situation. We can moralise and say it is wrong to possess stolen territories but it is quite another to get these colonial powers to loosen their tentacle-like grip on these territories.
So my position is that if a people in a territory find that a ‘new’ occupier actually contributes to major improvements, then i would say that the sovereignty issue, whilst still a controversy in legal terms, is less of an issue, when the population actually feels a tangible benefit. ie the Tibet principle. There, one can argue all day about who had sovereignty over the territory in the distant past and why this is wrong today but i note that the Dalai Lama concedes it has been an extremely positive step by China, to take over Tibet, as the latter has had a modernisation that it would never otherwise have achieved.
So taking THIS principle, the UK government wasted lives on both sides, in grabbing back the Falklands and had a history of neglecting the territory so is it then the case that the UK does not ‘deserve’ to keep the Falklands? So the next question has to be, If there are any negotiations ever to take place on the sovereignty issue, could the Argentine actually create improved circumstances for the territory? If there is strong Chinese support, i think the Argentine could certainly achieve this …but not under its current situation.
I am not an expert on international law and i dont know how the fact that there is a British population on the Island, affects the legal outcome…i just remember that the UK government neglected to invest and neglected to give UK passports…and the locals stated at the time they just wanted to be left alone and did not mind the lack of investment..
My assertion about the distance between the Argentine and the Falklands was meant to highlight the remoteness and the true motivation for wanting to have sovereignty over the islands. I recall that some in the UK media even stated that as the Falklanders had to rely on visits to Buenos Aires for medical treatment, this made that Argentine had a strong moral case for sovereignty over the islands.
So if the issue is more about “righting a historic wrong” then i am all for diplomatic negotiations…The war was just a waste of lives and just retained the status-quo. Would the UK government today be more open and flexible on this issue? I dont think so…but they are now certainly weaker militarily than in the 1970s and have far bigger fish they want to fry…so maybe the Argentine…with Russian and Chinese help… might be able to redress this historic wrong…
Taking the issue further, i observed that France has the strongest grip over its dependent territories, as they are treated in the same way as the French districts. Independence movements get an immediate visit from the Foreign Legion, as in Reunion… The Netherlands has 7 possessions in the Caribbean and each has a different relationship to the Netherlands, negotiated over time, and each gets some investment flow. The UK appears to be the most neglectful…The Spanish are heavily involved in extracting more than they give, in most of their territories.
So surely is there are case for stating that if colonial masters give more than they extract, there is then greater contentment in that territory?…and if there is a higher level of extraction than of support, the people of these territories would be more likely to rebel?
Could places like Diego Garcia, Gibraltar, Cyprus, Hawaii, Guam, ever see a civilised negotiated solution where they get back sovereignty over their own territory? The possibility seems remote, when these territories were gained precisely because they were geopolitical chock-points and stepping-stones
I would far prefer a situation where each small island or territory, were to be able to run its own affairs…so for example, not have the EU nation states represented in a forum but to have eg Catalonia, Corsica, Bavaria, the Balearics, being able to represent their own interests directly in a larger forum
I am bemused by any British arguments about the need to retain the choke-points around the Globe, “for reasons of National Security” when Britain has ongoing disputes with Spain on a number of issues… but allows Spain full control over the UKs strategic domestic oil and gas pipelines. Go Figure…
Just a note to Pocahontas. i have never been a supporter of Israels existence in the Middle East. Historically there were jewish tribes who were a minority in the region and even as minorities they appeared to create trouble…and the land was definitely not empty…I recall reading the history of Abu Nidal, whose family created and owned the Jaffa orange groves…so this family for example certainly had far more rights than the invaders…unfortunately history only teaches that one must fight back hard against any predator/intruder and if one cannot do it alone, one must find stronger friends…
I wonder what the world would look like if every country could only exercise authority within it’s own borders? Seriously, would it be much better or much worse?
The US strategy for Latin America has always been to restrict their natural development. Argentina has enormous potential just with tourism and agriculture. Once it sees an opportune future, its people will flourish. Tying into BRI, China will direct millions of tourists to the spectacular beauty along the coast and inland. Russia will assist their military.
Food production for China will become a significant relationship for trade. And wherever China goes, leading edge technology gets installed. So Argentina will jump in the level of its IT infrastructure and digital economy.
You aren’t right. Any of these countries which stands alone, even if it’s Argentina or Brazil (by itself), will be punched … It’s union or a nonstarter!
There will be fierce resistence and sabotage by the local comprador elites and the huge contingent of wannabe’s elite bootlickers that infest Latin America as a whole, to the point of travelling to the USA in the last weeks of the pregnancy, so their children can be american citizens… and also to buy the newest iPhone and take some pictures with Mickey Mouse.
If Lula gets elected in Brazil in October/November, then the chances of a 180-degree turn for the entire region increases, as well and the tentatives of color revolutions and old-fashioned coups – Lula’s election itself is not guaranteed, since Brazilian army and police forces fanatically supports Bolsonaro and has publicly status that they will intervene/rebel according to the election results.
Good afternoon everyone, as usual congratulations for Amarynth and The Saker and the whole staff and I’ll get to the point: you’re absolutely right. The level of love that brazilian (would be and) elites nurture deep in themselves for the US and the stars and stripes is really impressive. Military personnel also in very huge amount think quite plainly that what’s good for the USA is goog for Brasil, and not few people either in the Zona Sul of Rio de Janeiro and those who usually stroll around and amuse themselves in Oscar Freire st. in Jardins (São Paulo) really believe that the best thing that could happen
Would be Brasil become just like Puerto Rico. Cheers from Rio de Janeiro
the Brazilian elite is about Zionism. The Jews who founded Manhattan were from Brazil, who originally came from the Iberian Peninsula. It’s all about Zionism. In Argentina it is different. Cristina Krisner put the Yankees on the run. Argentines have pride and dignity and are a nation. Brazil is an artificial Zionist construction, like the USA. Zionists everywhere want to live together. The CIA will not let Lula win. Argentina will continue to be the resistance in South America. Maradona was a friend of Fidel and Hugo Chavez.
Argentina is different…. you obviously know little about your neighbor county… Brazil had Leonel Brizola (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonel_Brizola), Getúlio Vargas, Lula, etc. and a history of fighting imperialism and being leftist, hence the 1964 military coup backed by CIA… Brazil had a strong labor movement, etc .. In the meantime, Argentina is no saint… It’s well documented that Nazis settled in Argentina…(https://theculturetrip.com/south-america/argentina/articles/a-brief-history-of-nazi-migration-to-argentina/). There is still resistance in Brazil, do not discount it. And yes, Maradona was also a drug addict…
Brazil has wonderful things. Lula da Silva helped form the BRICS and attacked social inequality. But it was only as long as the São Paulo Zionist elite allowed. Then the Brazilian oligarchy promoted the hybrid war of the empire and imprisoned Lula. The US, the CIA will not let Lula be president, now that Putin has invited Argentina to the BRICS. The Masonic and Zionist elite overthrew the monarchy and created Sao Paulo and Minas Gerais. I’m a history student. The Zionist aristocracy of São Paulo governs the entire federation. The Argentines are a warrior people, they did not have African slavery, and it was not formed by Zionists like Brazil. Argentina was a project of Spain that didn’t like Zionists. You are here on the blog, and you know that the Zionists created this decadent West. Lula will be prevented by the STF, and judge Sergio Moro will be president of Brazil. He arrested Lula, and he is the Brazilian Guaidó. However, unlike Venezuela, Moro is supported by the oligarchy and the military. Argentina enters the Brics, and Zionist Brazil will leave and will lose a lot of market to Argentina. The Chinese are tired of the vassal Brazil. Biden ordered the bozo Bolsonaro not to visit Putin in Moscow. Argentina is the future of Latin America!
Penso que Lula esta “sequestrado”, achei estranho a sua soltura do “gulag” sem ter acontecido nada de novo, soltinho para disputar a eleição.
A escolha para ser seu vice do inimigo histórico o neoliberal Alckimin a meu juízo torna o Brasil refén dessa decisão.
Afinal no ” cardápio” sempre esta disponivel novichok ou “polônio” para os “hereges”.
Argentina has about 30% of voters which are strict conservative/right/neo-liberal.
They could not inflict damage if there where not 20% swing voters dancing opportunistically between both sides.
The balance is peronist and/or left.
The mass media is totally sold out to Washington, with very few exceptions.
We had good governments under the Kirchners, then came Macri selling out the country to the IMF in order to bring in dollars for the corporations/rich to do a massive capital flight.
Now, again, we have a peronist government without a solid strength in congress/senate.
Nothing guarantees that the next government falls back to our Americanized idiots.
Cheers from an Argentinian in France.
@ Amarynth
Thanks, Amarynth, for the sitrep.
An incredibly significant move on the part of Argentina, to visit both Russia and China asking for help in the middle of a geopolitical crisis involving these two giants. Joining the BRI was an additional masterstroke that could start a trend not only in Latin America, but in the entire Zone B, mired as they are in IMF debt and neo-liberal economic policies.
However, I would caution against any successful conclusions in this endeavor by the Argentinian president. His presidency is a continuation of the Kirschner’s populist and corrupt administrations, where the wife followed the husband, whose premature death prevented him from running again in what became a political dynasty. She is now vice-president to Fernandez presidency, whom she hand-picked to run as a candidate for the Justicialist Party.
He may or may not have the support of the army, always ready to jump when the CIA says so, at any indication of the minimum political independence in their “backyard.” Truth is, Argentina has been facing a severe crisis ever since the elites broke the country in the early 2000s, and condemned millions from the upper/middle class to poverty. The pandemic hit the country hard, shrinking the economy by 10% in 2020, third year of recession in a row, four of every ten Argentinians now live below the poverty level.
The Argentinian elites, or the sector of it represented politically by the Kirschner/Fernandez, are looking for a way out of the stranglehold the US/IMF have in their country’s economy, and Russia/China offers an option with the new economic sphere they are projecting onto the world. Good luck to them, we have to wait and see how far they are willing to go (Fernandez’s trip to Russia and China on the eve of Putin’s departure gives the appearance they are desperate), and how far the US/IMF will allow them to step out of their global dominance and exploitation.
Lone Wolf
“This is then how Zone B grows, with countries saying they have had enough of hegemony and taking clear steps to help themselves”.
Even though the US empire is crumbling, it is still strong enough to enact internal subversion in Central and South America, which it regards as it’s own back yard. Neither Wall Street nor Washington DC will look kindly to Argentina joining the Belt and Road Initiative. We shall now see if a coup or color revolution is approaching Buenos Aires.
“We shall now see if a coup or color revolution is approaching Buenos Aires.”
It already happened and failed. Macri’s government has been possible thanks to a strong media campaign based on the suicide of public prosecutor Nisman and claiming that Cristina Fernandez government were full of thieves and that Cristina sent someone to kill him. Almost all the big media is aligned with Washington, so they were able to manufacture consent for Macri’s candidacy, despite the more than 200 criminal causes open against him.
It is nice, but we know when this gets out of hand people get whisked away on planes and exiled. Revolutions start and so on. Politicians love to flirt both sides to get concessions. And it is difficult for Russia/China to exert influence in South America. I really do wish the nations well though.
The reassertion of sovereignty over the Falklands by Argentina and Chinese support is interesting in view of the recent Russia/China declaration. What do the Falklanders want? A referendum in 2013 showed overwhelming (99.8%) support for the status quo (UK dependency). Taking the island by force could not be seen as democratic (unlike Taiwan there is no overriding imperative of security).
Probably better for Argentina to concentrate on the very real benefits of BRI.
The Falklanders do not count. Self determination is granted to indigenous population, and they were implanted into the islands after the 1833 invasion.
Good morning everyone, sharp and precise point.@Andres. In fact it’s quite the same as asking israelis if they would agree to get immediately the hell out of invaded Palestine. You can not use those people to account because they are in fact invaders that simply do not consider the self-detetermination and are used to heteronomy for their own good sucking and exploiting other peoples (and countries) resources. Thus did the englishmen with Malvinas islands that militarly occupied them back in the 1830 by the time they were the superpower and used to have their “free seas” (for them) and as every argentinian knows january the 3rd of 1833. Amazingly, british and us american children learn the tales just like the one wikipedia produces about Malvinas status disconsidering the independence of las provincias unidas del rio de la plata of Spain and becoming Argentina and that once Argentina became independent it simply told the brittish to fuck of their coasts. So, all my hopes that Argentina can finally get rid of its comprador elites by dealing with China and Russia and implementing a wide scope reniew in their military to clean up its forces of traitors and imperial bootlickers and stablish a truly nationalist one. Then things may start changing the balance of forces down here in América do Sul. Cheers from Rio de Janeiro
Still totally puzzled why Greece never approached Russia or China when the former was in financial trouble. The final debt that the Greek population has had to pay to the western bankers, in particular Goldman Sachs and the German banks, is a grossly inflated amount over the original debt.
They did, in summer 2015. The then prime minister, Tsipras had talked with Putin, regarding Greece’s exit from the eurozone, and reverting to the previous currency, in order to have some monetary tools.
Putin refused. Unknown whether he could not help, was not willing to help, or both.
Please provide link to your comment above about Russian refusal. Mod.
Thats a very interesting bit of info, thanks
I did read about that too, ie, Tsipras went to Moscow but did not get the help he hoped from Putin. No reason was ever published. It may be a RT report.
Hooray for the Argentines. Will happen more and more
When China & Russia objected to NATO expansion, Mr Stoltenberg called this “an attempt to deny sovereign nations the right to make their own choices, a right enshrined in key international documents.”
We all know how the US will respond to Argentina’s right to make their own choices.
Striping Empire of its colonies (and free resources) is continuing at increased pace. The day of imposing sanctions never heard before on Anglos is near.
Good for Argentina. Perhaps finally the economic situation in Argentina will have a chance at stability.
Back when there used to be a left ….
One would hear the notion that the people are not responsible for a debt incurred by a government over which they had no control.
So, when some Zone A ‘Presidente’ enters into massive debt (much of it stolen and given to their co-conspirators, the rest given to police and military to crush any opposition), the people have the right to disavow this debt. Their elections were crooked. Their constitution (usually written under military dictatorship) said that the people had no power. There was no real democracy. They did not really have a mechanism for ‘people power’. Thus, they are not responsible for the debts.
Uncle Sam and Wall Street definitely do not agree.
Quiet Joe, you’ll pay until your dying day, then your children, then their children. The beatings will continue until morale improves.
I remember a meeting I had in Holland over a decade ago, several big Dutch companies/banks (some spooks ) and the ex-Defence Minister present. Immediately after that meeting they were all most eagre to get over to Argentina to get in on their Debt bonanza, jubilee, shenanigans.
As I’ve said in several earlier comments, this is the heavy price you pay when you allow the western Banking parasites into your country ( remember Blinken’s comments about how difficult it is to rid Russians from your home, the polar opposite is true, it’s those cockroach US banking cartels, CIA playbook ). But don’t take my word for it, just check out those vassals Balance Sheets.
Kudos to President Alberto Fernandez who’s spreading the gospel among his peers in South America and for Russia & China in dismantling America’s vulture Debt scheme.
Argentina, why do you wait until your back is up against the wall and seeing the western surgeons on their way to neuter you before shaking the dream of being buddy-buddy with the west? Why couldn’t you take your lips off of that western ass before now, when you thought that these devils think of you as part of them and you were oh so happy about that? Yeah, they promoted one of you to be a so-called Pope, and you were swooned to become one of their lackeys, willingly, even in the face of UK still occupying the Marvina. You could have borrowed from China many years ago, but no, you’d rather choose to borrow from IMF because, obviously because, IMF is the West!!! Now you need help. You want someone to bail you out of a bind, out of the exact same thing of what the west accuses China of setting–a debt traps.
I suggest that you first step up to the plate and tell it like it is to the world how the west has swindled you into this predicament. Hit the home run! You first show your loyalty to the ones you are now seeking help from, that you intend to join their ranks in clear terms. Then you work with them to work out your difficulties. Doing so would set an example to many other nations in the world who are, like you, still burdened with wool pulled over their heads and deep in their dream of being buddy-buddy with the Anglos and so-called G7.
The line is now quite clearly drawn, in the form of a Joint Statement. There is now a signed Partnership whose sole purpose is to oppose the Empire in propagating miseries and injustices in the world. It is time to join such a Partnership to begin tearing down the Unipolarity and spread fairness around the world. But you got to show your courage first by voicing your intent to join the Partnership, not just silently imply that you want to be part of that partnership.
Here here!
A forensic examination of where the loot went should be easy. Get it all out there, shutdown the IMF.
Well said – – “You could have borrowed from China many years ago, but no, you’d rather choose to borrow from IMF because, obviously because, IMF is the West!!!”
That’s an exactly spot on comment & should be headlines !
President Fernandez is buying time while preparing for the next stage.
He knows the IMF debt is impossible to repay, but he had no choice, since repudiating it would have triggered a run against the peso and halted the significant economic recovery experienced after the quarantine. With a default on the IMF, most industrial and commercial companies would have stopped investments until a perception of a stable dollar value was guaranteed, which constitutes a self-defeating prophecy since halting the economy would provoke a run aganst the peso.
Washington under Trump pushed for the loan to be approved while Macri was on power so as to avoid the financial collapse and keep a faint hope of him being reelected. Current BID president Claver-Carone, the former US representative for the US at the IMF, admitted a time ago in Chile that Trump pushed for this loan’s approval in order to save Macri’s administration. In normal conditions, such a loan of USD 57B would have never been approved since it didn’t meet the minimal requirements.
The idea was, as Plan A, to “rescue” Macri in order to sustain his chances for reelection and, as Plan B, significantly condition the Fernandez administration with an unpayable debt, rolling refinaning cycles subject to trimestrial audits from IMF officials, which woudl push for the typical neoliberal recipes of prioritizing the banks profits at the expense of the real economy.
The Chinese support for Malvinas is always expected, since both countries claim islands close tho their shores and that had historical claims over them.
I think that the Russian and Chinese contributions will be very positive and significative, but many Argentineans should temper their expectations. Russia and China won’t be “saviors” for the dire socioeconomic situation, mainly due to mismanagement by the Macri administration. Argentineans should not expect a shower of “Sinodollars” to pump consumption.
Now, the country has a small hope to recover and avoid the return of the neoliberal alliance, this time under Rodriguez Larreta, but as other commenters explained 30%+ of the population supports Macri and many of them (middle and upper classes) cannot accept a mild recovery if it doesn’t guarantee enough dollars to buy scores of imported goods and shopping sprees to Miami. Sadly, a big chunk of the population has a colonial mentality.
“President Fernandez is buying time while preparing for the next stage.”
What do you mean exactly? Which one would it be the “next stage”?
I mean that, by agreeing on a few years grace term and having no major conditionalities, Fernandez may be able to slightly improve the general living standard through exports growth, provided that no natural disaster or market downturn appears.
Sooner or later, a political change at the IMF, a drought or a flooding, etc, will make unsustainable the payment of the IMF debt. Combined to debts from other countries to the IMF cause by COVID or similar. these countries won’t be able to recover loans, and the IMF would get into red and a major restructuring will be forced. That may be synchronized with a parallel monetary agreement headed by China outside the IMF to provide a REAL monetary balancing mechanism.
By getting the delay on payments, The Argentine government may be able to keep growing the economy and, when the time of the huge payments arrives, the IMF would be in hot water and/or new institutions may allow to switch and declare default to the IMF without serious consequences.
The big chunk you mention is about 30% (European stock, mainly Buenos Aires (CABA), middle and lower middle class, believing to be ‘exceptionals’ and ‘better’, actually getting poorer but holding tightly to their fake ‘upper class’ image and convinced that ‘Clar’in” and ‘La Nacion’ are sources of truth.
The other chunk (20%) will move whereever the wind blows more strongly.
The day we send all of those to Miami, we might begin building a cohesive and inclusive Nation.
Cheers from France.
Saludos y viva Peron!
And during times the military is stretched to the bone too, no troops on the ground, no boots on the ground, means no payment in the kitty.
For decades Argentina is never been able to pay back its debt or even interests on that debt to the IMF. Now all default interests have accumulated. The only solution will be to swap real assets, like land, for debt.
“The only solution will be to swap real assets, like land, for debt.”
These kinds of loans are made, among other objectives, to privatize public lands or assets continuously, and this is precisely what we should never do.
The scam works this way:
– A new neoliberal/globalist government comes to power and “liberates” the foreign exchange sector
– In the beginning, ordinary people and companies start buying as many dollars as they can
– In order to stabilize the dollar, the central bank raises interests rates to 40-60% and the government takes debt in USD from private banks, so as to fill the coffers of the treasury and avoid a run against the peso.
– Investors of all sizes flock to the country, changing dollars for pesos, investing for 3-6-9 months and changing back to dollars. They make 30%+ without any “risk”. A juicy carry trade.
– In order to avoid a massive exit, the government increases the interest rates, sometimes up to 70%, but at some point “the king is naked” and they run massively to drop titles in pesos and get dollars.
– The coffers of the central bank start to deplete and, being unable to get more debt from the private sector, a loan from the IMF becomes unavoidable.
Do you think that banks and IMF officials don’t know this “scheme”? They absolutely do. It happened at least 3 or 4 times in the last 50 years. It is made on purpose because the IMF loans come with political and economic conditions that fit US interests.
Didn’t Pfizer ask Argentina to put up state assets in return for the vaccine. Maybe they were trying to get ahead of the curve using covid to buy out assets, assets that may now go to Russia and China in return for debt relief and infrastructure investment.
Cheers M
I hope someday Britain will be repaid its dues from the Opium Wars; Malvinas is but a small first step.
Would this be a challenge to the Monroe Doctrine?
Watch out, Mr. President. You could end up as the target of one of Uncle $hmuel’s regime
change operations.
This has been inevitable since the Russia-China Double Helix was conceived. They should complete the job and repudiate the Odious Debt. This deal with China may do that but that’s not clear from the article. There are a lot of Countries who should repudiate their debts with the Globalists Banks, the IMF, World Bank and the BIS.