(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . ‘Sophie’s Choice’ in Argentina [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-12-03 Proposal to new Argentine President Javier Milei Previously published in Spanish on Une.America, site of Latin-American journalists. "They always say it, this time it won't be the same... B ut when the thieving politicians ran out of funding, they went back to ‘the printing machine’… It's never different. Specifically because the state is a criminal organization that has the monopoly of force. Therefore, the first argument against the Central Bank is not only empirical, but above all, it’s moral because stealing is wrong." - Javier Milei, LaTamEconomic Forum , September 7, 2023. Last Sunday, Argentine voters had a Sophie's Choice election—it hurt to decide. Sergio Massa, of the left, allied with the party responsible for the hyperinflation behind this Great Argentine Depression; or 'el Peluca’—the Wig—Javier Milei, a former rock-star and political economist who voices values such as ending state corruption through a Libertarian, ‘ultra-right’ vision. That's why, at this moment, much of the world looks on and wonders: How could the Argentines vote for someone like that? The answer: our desperation. Milei won because Argentina has nothing left. The joy felt in the streets and homes here is the purest hope, hope that finally someone will lead who wants to reform the economy and bring down the “political caste” that Milei blames for illicit corruption. Someone who understands hyper-inflation is a crime. Or so he says. Such a rare and beautiful thing to hear, on a global scale, because despite the fact that 'stealing is wrong,' it is the system that surrounds us. As Milei explained at LaTam this year: 20 of the 22 previous crises in Argentina were due to fiscal reasons. That's the real 'caste,' filled with corrupt politicians and the best-established oligarchy in history—a global plutocracy. Though many Argentines are unaware of the World Economic Forum (WEF), this group assembles the most powerful plutocracy in the world. They're the ones who micromanage all our presidents—from the right or left, in the U.S. or here. Milei is already a member of the WEF; he already spoke to that cabal. Obviously, politicians have a set of delinquents who, disguised as scientists or knowledgeable people, lie in favor of those atrocities that they propose. And that includes several areas..." -Javier Milei, speech at LaTam Economic Forum, 07.09.2023 In any case, it's important to underscore how crucial Milei's arrival at this pivotal time is for Argentina. Milei rejects Argentina’s entry into BRICS, for 'developing nations' like China, Russia and Cuba, in favor of the U.S. and the dollar. He demonstrates sound reasoning by this alliance, in not underestimating Argentina and not negotiating with totalitarian or communist nations. Perhaps that's why Milei’s first two trips after winning the election will be to the U.S. and Israel. In this delicate moment, Milei—with a prepared and authentic team—could save Argentina from the jaws of the vultures. We were already surrendered. Argentine hyperinflation has surpassed Venezuela—a country that has already fallen; its people now refugees. Every week, less money here translates into less food for families. There have already been cases in Argentina of restaurants selling dog meat to their customers. That's how famines begin. Now, filled with hope and hunger, let us keep our eyes wide open so we can prepare for any drastic change. Austerity—as economists call severe cuts to public spending—has ascended in Argentina, arriving right during our second Great Depression. For most people, we will have to tighten our belts and try to save wheat, corn and more, much like the Mormons do. It's time. We just hope that Milei fights for our workers and families as much as he fights for the rights of commerce. Let’s hope he isn't one more "thieving politician," like all those who took advantage of their positions and the people. Otherwise, Argentina could face a desperation at the level of Afghanistan, where parents have had to sell a kidney or a child to feed the rest of their children for a little while. Let’s hope we can escape that danger, and not go from the mouth of the vultures directly into the fire. Because Milei's comparisons to Donald Trump are chilling. Trump claimed to be a populist, representing the common people. Then he gave the largest gift to the wealthy and powerful possible: a permanent tax cut—but not for the common people. He fomented a growing base that includes neo-Nazis, blaming immigrants for all the country's problems—just as Adolf Hitler blamed Jews for everything. Why? Perhaps because the tragic reality is that in the U.S., just like in Argentina, having a job doesn't mean having enough to eat. Since the 1970s, when neoliberalism began in the U.S., CEO salaries have skyrocketed—but not for workers. For over 50 years, not even close. Now, and for more than a decade, the U.S. has been experiencing a pandemic of suicides, especially among poorer White men aged 25 to 65. Sociologists have called this "Deaths of Despair," attributing it to economic injustices that drive people to give up. Of course. In 2021, inequality and excess wealth—concentrated in just 0.00001% of the richest American hands—had already surpassed the same concentration of excess in few hands that had ended in the global Great Depression of the 1930s. As Argentinians, we understand depression and desperation very well. Here, suicide is also silently growing. But unlike Milei, Trump has never showed affection for a single dog—nor his children or three wives. Trump, who could have actually helped workers, chose instead to continue printing money with "the machine," blaming refugees for all U.S. inequality. He separated more than 5,000 children from their desperate parents, permanently "losing" 2,100+parents and children. Disappeared. Under Trump's mandate, cases of sexual abuse against women and children in detention centers escalated. For the first time in U.S. history, a corporation—MVM, Inc., was allowed to keep minors in hotels instead of the agencies designed to protect immigrant children—such as DHS or ORR. Then, for his grand finale, after losing his re-election, Trump convinced his followers to stage a coup where people and police died, just to maintain power. I hope we never again compare Milei to Trump. But with Milei, there are indeed reasons to be concerned. Milei, a Libertarian, is against abortion; this would take away women's freedom to determine their most private and vital matters. This happened in the U.S., where the Supreme Court under Trump took away this right—without exceptions. It has resulted in10-year-old girls being unable to receive abortions, even in cases of rape, incest, both, or other threats to the mother's life. More orphans and victims of poverty help to increase human trafficking. Milei also disparaged the ‘Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo,’ searching for 46 years now for their missing children and grandchildren. The ‘Argentine children of the genocide,’ family members of the Argentine military and the doctors who helped torture and kill civilians during Argentina’s 'Dirty War,' wrote a letter of warning: "We reject Milei's plan to review the sentences of genocidaires," they wrote, terrified that the little justice achieved could now be reversed. "There were not 30,000 disappearances, but 8,753," Milei has said. It is essential to know the real and transnational number of dead, so as to protect historical memory regarding the systematic torture and murder of that time. The U.S. State Dept. revealed, of Operation Condor, that there were 106 torture centers in Argentina alone. Other countries affected by this same illegal and transnational ‘Southern Cone’ plan included Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay, Peru and more. Operation Condor was a fascist repression, led by governments and commerce. The more despotic generals and dictators were trained at the U.S. School of the Americas (SOA). Who from that time can forget the green Ford Falcons of the AAA, Argentine icon of forced kidnappings. Ford not only provided cars to the state military, it also appears to have allowed a 'concentration center' to be installed inside a factory plant. Here, “workers and union delegates were tortured and murdered,” notes InfoCielo. Disappearances, private and permanent, were a tactic that Hitler named 'Night and Fog,' allowing the Nazis to eliminate people 'without a trace' or witness. It was in 1976 that my mother and I emigrated from Argentina to the United States, at the start of the dictatorship. She had obtained a Student Visa, and we were able to leave. I grew up in the U.S., learning English better than Spanish. Yet I always missed Argentina and my large family here. With Trump in power, I tried to help immigrants, translating for their legal cases. All while U.S. neo-Nazis again grew, for the first time since the1930s. The regular people of the United States could bear no more. Just before Trump’s attempted coup d'état on January 6, 2021, I returned to Argentina. I got to Argentina just in time to live through the indelible crime of hyperinflation, which people here are just barely surviving. Argentina can bear no more. That's why I address Javier Milei, our new president, with this proposal: Be decent with our people, even more than with just the rich. Do not be like all past politicians who, upon winning, soon forgot all their promises, leaving the people to fend for themselves. In this precarious moment, we implore Milei not to allow any more inflation in order to eliminate the peso for the dollar. Already, 11 countries have adopted the U.S. dollar as their official currency. Though many prefer to ‘dollarize’ as soon as possible, 100 economists write that the process and the cost—in a country without reserves and still bleeding—could leave us even worse off. Perhaps, like Afghanistan. What we need in this moment, more than dollars, is to end inflation and the systematic corruption that consumes us, one by one. In terms of security, we don’t yet know what it will truly cost Argentina to lose the ministries of education, health, transportation and more, proposed by Milei. But we implore him to first cut from the subsidies for the richest, rather than the neediest families. This is a moral proposal. We also ask Milei to strengthen our democracy and protect us from plutocracy—the global elite. Take a look at the Direct Democracy of Switzerland, Uruguay and more as a way to empower the people and eliminate political salaries—forever. Also, pass the option of 'Ranked Choice Voting,' a way to vote for lesser-known candidates without losing your vote. I also ask that Milei negotiate with the IMF—not only to pay down the Argentine debt, but if possible, to forgive some of that $50 billion from 2018. This was the largest loan in the history of the IMF, granted despite the rules and norms of the IMF and Argentina. Milei is a proven negotiator and economist. If anyone can tame them, it will be him. With the $50 billion loan from the IMF, the Argentine government tried to buy YPF Oil. Only for more than it is worth: the owners of YPF demand USD $16 billion, when “YPF has a current market value of USD $12.283 billion,” writes InfoBae. It is not yet known how much Argentines stand to lose behind this negotiation, nor in the sale of YPF that Milei indicated. Since then, Argentina continued to subsidize 90% of fuel extraction instead of renewable energy. Argentina already produces 111% of the electrical energy it needs, but only 6% to 14% of energy demand and consumption in Argentina is in renewable form. Meanwhile, our smaller neighbor Paraguay already produces more than 95% of its energy in renewable form. It should also be noted that the dollar and the global dominance of the U.S. is expected to end. Many countries are already 'de-dollarizing' in favor of BRICS and other options, such as crypto, the euro or the yuan. Argentina’s alliance with the U.S., so the dollar becomes the sole currency, comes at a key moment for both nations, important in global terms. But we must stay attentive to diverse options—something that an economist like Milei will already have taken into account. It is also important to note that the 'National Bank' of the U.S., the Federal Reserve, is not a state bank. It is a private bank, led by CEOs of the largest banks, who still politicize decisions, change the rules and manipulate interest to support the plutocratic caste at the cost of the common people—always. Though yes, they do manage to cheat less and avoid the rampant inflation of Argentina’s Central Bank robbers. In this transition, how fortunate to have a proven economist negotiating. Above all, Argentina asks for stable and authentic treatment. We implore that Milei not be another one of that global caste of wolves, vultures and presidents. WEF leader Klaus Schwab boasted that Argentina’s Mauricio Macri was chosen and trained by the WEF. Macri, as well as Argentina’s current president, Alberto Fernandez, demonstrated loyalty to the mandates of the WEF. Similar to the U.S., where current president Joe Biden and former president Trump both confirmed their loyalty to that same caste. The message from WEF and Schwab: they prefer that we “eat bugs” instead of meat; that our pets do too; and that we only rent instead of owning things, so as to reduce our ‘climate footprint.' Meanwhile, this global caste flies the world in private jets, pushing globalization instead of localization, while perpetually increasing global pollution. Right on schedule, ‘far-right’ candidates are rising to power across Europe and Latin America, just as despair and globalization grew. “People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made… Freedom means the supremacy of human rights everywhere.” -Franklin Roosevelt, ‘The Four Freedoms,’ State of the Union Address, Annual Message to Congress, delivered on January 6, 1941 Franklin Roosevelt’s policies helped repair the gaping wounds of U.S. working families, already dealing with the effects of greed-and-bust—the Great Depression and the Dustbowl. Roosevelt gave that speech in an effort to convince his fellow citizens of the moral imperative of entering WWII and ending Nazi genocide. Roosevelt emphasized humanity’s natural rights to “Four Freedoms": the freedom of speech, the freedom of worship, freedom from want and freedom from fear. How far back ‘We the People’ have gone, on all four freedoms, globally. Neither Argentina, nor the world, can handle more. Everything seems a screen, our Roman circus—minus the bread. That is why Argentina, a country enslaved and desperate, after losing everything, risked it all. Now we must prepare for big changes, saving food, patience and more. Let us all pray that Milei does not offer himself for sale like everyone else. May 'never again’ truly be never again. We implore Milei to accept this modest proposal, to be our lion, and thus free Argentina from the mouth of the vultures so we may once again become a world power. Amen. LONG LIVE ARGENTINA, CARAJO! Gab Romeri was born i n Buenos Aires, Argentina. S he emigr ated as a child to the U.S. at the start of the military dictatorship i n Argentina. She grew up in Maryland, earning a master’s in writing and literatur e from Johns Hopkins Universi ty . She’s been featured in vari ou s pre s s e s and publications, among them America , Orbis Books, Maryknoll . Misioneros , Maryknoll Office of Global Concerns , the Catholic Press Association, Dr. Eckleburg , Paycock Press and Johns Hopkins University Press. RESOURCES [END] --- [1] Url: https://dailykos.com/stories/2023/12/3/2209353/--Sophie-s-Choice-in-Argentina?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/