General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsTrump's Project 2025 is already underway in Argentina, and it's terrifying
If you can bear to see how Trump would implement Project 2025, look to Argentina a lab for the global far right
As the world absorbs the shockwave of Donald Trumps win in the US presidential election, the playbook for his second term, designed by a handful of right-wing extremists, is already underway in Argentina.
a copy of the Mandate for Leadership was handed to Javier Milei by Heritages executive vice-president Derrick Morgan when the two met in Washington in February for the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC)
For example:
Milei has made an unprecedented cut to all public spending at close to 30%. He cut investment in education by 40%, denied increases to pensions, cut access to life-saving drugs for cancer patients, defunded the science and technology system and universities, and laid off almost 27,000 public employees.
He closed the public media and froze food distribution to soup kitchens. Now, hes set to sell-off public companies in the fields of nuclear energy, aviation, fuel, mining, electricity, water, cargo transport, roads and railways.
Milei has eliminated nine ministries, including the Ministry of Women, Gender and Diversity and the Ministry of Education something that the Mandate for Leadership mentions and Trump has also spoken about.
He has dismantled all gender policies and defunded services including those for survivors of domestic and sexual violence. Last year, more than 170,000 people accessed these services, while official figures show that a femicide is committed every 35 hours in Argentina. It is now unclear whether anyone will continue to keep track of these statistics.
He also closed the Institute against Discrimination, Racism and Xenophobia, which he called a sinister body used for ideological persecution. Project 2025 authors would no doubt be delighted. Their blueprint for Trump goes to great lengths to explain how every diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policy, programme and fund must be removed.
https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/trump-project-2025-argentina-milei-far-right/
Leghorn21
(13,713 posts)
The meeting with Trump will take place at Mar-a-Lago, the incoming U.S. leader's private south Florida club, according to the spokesperson.
Since his election late last year, Milei has sought close ties with the United States and, since Tuesday's U.S. election, has stressed his support for Trump with a fireworks display as well as posts on social media.
The same government source said Milei will also meet with billionaire Elon Musk, the Tesla CEO and owner of social media platform X, who is also a major Trump supporter.
A gathering of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) is scheduled to take place from November 14-16 at Mar-a-Lago.
https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/argentinas-milei-meet-with-trump-musk-next-week-us-2024-11-07/
Will the magas scream with joy when they hear what they just voted for??
EarthFirst
(3,100 posts)I just came across this as I was navigating the muck
Leghorn21
(13,713 posts)Thats a nasty group meet-up coming, eh
Well, mush warned everybody, hey, its gonna be a little rough to start with
GULP
ancianita
(38,232 posts)KPN
(16,067 posts)Trump and his team see it. Ignore and sweep away the current administration. Continuity is irrelevant.
kimbutgar
(23,164 posts)Let the karmic gods do a payback!
jmbar2
(6,038 posts)B.See
(3,411 posts)Why, YES, I absolutely believe they WILL. Did they not cheer at Trump's MSG hatefest when a Kim impersonator threw up his fist and shouted, "Death to democracy?"
Fascists unite.
Demovictory9
(33,651 posts)Wow..is the wheel and fire illegal too?
Dem4life1234
(1,195 posts)Why are these people so evil?
Metro135
(383 posts)misanthrope
(8,139 posts)That's why the first order of authoritarian plans involve creating scapegoats.
ffr
(23,106 posts)In other words, horse shit. And once dismantled, it can never be put back right.
I'm not sure what republicans voted for, but holy shit, did they fuck themselves and everyone else in the process!
hadEnuf
(2,632 posts)We are all Americans. They will suffer what we suffer.
paleotn
(19,064 posts)It's the red states that are really fucked. My heart does not bleed.
misanthrope
(8,139 posts)Look away, look away.
markodochartaigh
(1,967 posts)Oh, I wish I was in the land of DeSantis,
Sinkin' like 'Ol Atlantis,
Sink away, sink away,
Sink away, Florida.
In Florida where I was born in,
You can no longer look at porn in,
Sink away, sink away,
Sink away, Florida.
Then I wish I was in Dixie,
Don't say gay! Don't say gay!
In Florida I'll stand my ground,
And blast whoever is around,
Away, away, away down South in Dixie,
jfz9580m
(15,342 posts)Very important-ty for posting.
Biglinda 52
(86 posts)soandso
(880 posts)that looks terrible! I looked at projected numbers based on current policy which look good. Wonder how it was that read their inflation is down? I'd like to see it all explained.
Argentina's inflation has been extremely high and volatile in recent decades, which has also been reflected in several nationwide crises. The hyperinflation of the 1980s peaked in 1989 with an inflation rate of over 3,000 percent. In the years that followed, the rate fell relatively quickly back to almost normal levels of less than 5% per year. There was even slight deflation in 1999 and 2001. However, political and economic turbulence began again in the new millennium. Price increases of often over 10% were not uncommon until 2013. In recent years, rates have risen dramatically again. Consumer prices are even expected to rise by over 200% again in 2024. This means that Argentina once again has one of the highest inflation rates in the world.
https://www.worlddata.info/america/argentina/inflation-rates.php
markodochartaigh
(1,967 posts)the dollar is still the reserve currency. So the course of inflation is likely to be very different from that in Argentina.
However, before Trump only Libya and Iran talked about alternatives to the dollar. During Trump even Germany and France talked about it. When the dollar loses its reserve currency status the US economy will hit a huge air pocket.
Blue_Roses
(13,351 posts)to Trump's armpit.
soandso
(880 posts)Milei is an economist and big "L" ibertarian and was a professor who has written about Austrian & Chicago School economics for his entire career. He's doing exactly what he said he would. However it works out, he was elected because years of corruption and inflation has plunged Argentina into terrible poverty. He also warned that the first years of correction would be brutal and it remains to be seen if his methods work to improve things, though I have read that their inflation is WAY down. Something has to be done because they've defaulted on their debt more than once, I believe. I wish Argentinians luck because whatever it takes to correct things down there will not be easy. IIRC, I think I read he was going to stop the money printing press and once their inflation is under control, basically adopt the USD.
He's a fascinating character who cloned his favorite dog, claims to communicate with a couple of them, is very socially liberal and highly intelligent. The question is: is he right about what he's doing? Selling off public assets is a huge no for me but Argentina has no money and desperately needs to generate investment. The other alternative would be forever debt slavery to the IMF. It's the devil or the deep blue sea, rock or a hard place for Argentina. Milei is very pro freedom so debt slavery is off the table (and hasn't worked out in the past). He's also developed a close relationship with NATO, which I wouldn't do, either (I'd pick neutrality). Argentina is a vast and beautiful country and I hope things work out and they prosper so much that they can buy their public assets back. We shall see, I guess.
ancianita
(38,232 posts)This has everything to do with oligarchs' control of national assets at the expense of social services.
Privatizing a country.
Which is exactly where we are headed under Trump, with the oligarchs and cryptotechbros running the economic show for them.
soandso
(880 posts)I don't know what they did economically or what cased what to happen down there. Isn't Chile very neoliberal now?
As for social services, a country has to produce something and make money in order to have those services and Argentina is broke, leaving their only choices more debt or change. More debt without production would not solve their problem.
ancianita
(38,232 posts)The key trap was that for any law to pass there had to be a 66% vote.
The whole story is documented in Nancy McLean's Democracy In Chains back in 2017.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy_in_Chains
soandso
(880 posts)So what kind of system to they have now? I don't mean democracy but economic policy?
ancianita
(38,232 posts)The real problem in South America -- and the world in general -- has been the ongoing insurgency of oligarchs that run cartels (black market drugs, guns, human trafficking) to run the people off the landbase that the oligarchs want to get assets from -- mining, forests, water, etc. Thus, the intercontinental mass migrations and war in Ukraine, for that matter.
soandso
(880 posts)I quickly scanned it and found it interesting that Chile is both classified as developing and high income. Are you from there?
I had an interesting conversation with a woman whose mother was imprisoned under Pinochet. She was a small child, in detention with her mother, when an employee of the US State Department stole her and took her to the US. Apparently, she wasn't the only one. The woman who took her left the DoS and went on to a long academic career at Yale and the woman stolen hated her, eventually moving to Spain. She tried for years to find out what happened to her mother but never could and believes she was among the murdered.
ancianita
(38,232 posts)No, I'm from here, but have a good friend who goes there regularly.I also have a family of friends in Rio Cuarto, Argentina. They're a family of academics having to deal with Milei right now. To your point about Chile's quality of living, Americans need to travel more to see just how much better and more peacefully people of other countries live compared to the U.S.
Such a terrible story. So much evil done to women and children in this world. And those who do it are the first to point fingers at someone else to distract attention from their evil selves. At scale, this election reveals that we're now headed in that direction with the vultures circling around trump and Washington. All for mammon.
soandso
(880 posts)that I know anything about Chile's standard of living. I've only heard that they're quite economically successful. It's Argentina I know has had terrible economic problems.
I think many places have a fairly high standard of living, though quality of life is something else and very relative. A bad thing anywhere is extreme disparity of wealth, which I felt acutely during some years I lived in California.
I don't know if Milei's approach will achieve what he wants for Argentinians (prosperity and freedom) but I hope so. It's very radical. Getting mired in debt is no fun to get out of, for an individual or a country.
ancianita
(38,232 posts)oldsoftie
(13,530 posts)And withe their inflation SOMETHING drastic had to be done.
Much like our national debt; SOMETHING needs to be done. Neither party ever mentioned the Debt during this campaign.
soandso
(880 posts)so any overtures from China would probably fall flat - unless joining BRICS makes economic sense for Argentina. I have no clue if it does. I'm not sure what the association with NATO actually means, other than NATO countries are welcome to make use of Argentinian cooperation (ports, bases, etc), perhaps. It could also be a slick move toward getting back the Falkland Islands.
oldsoftie
(13,530 posts)WHY would any country take Argentinina pesos for payment when it may be worth Farr less by the time you spend it?
But its still Ann attempt to take away US power with the dollar, even though every country you go to people would rather take your dollar than their own currency.
ancianita
(38,232 posts)with this picture.
soandso
(880 posts)I did a quick search and could get returns saying they will not join.
lostnfound
(16,572 posts)The question is: is he right? Cmon, dont act like its a mystery or something he invented. Theyve been playing this out cycle over and over for decades. Austerity plans after an externally-induced economic shock. BFD. Just like every other chapter in the book.
Has a lot to do with whats about to happen here, i think. Austerity plans are coming to the U.S>
Yavin4
(36,029 posts)You're rendering your entire population unemployable as low skilled jobs won't be in demand as technology improves. You won't need humans to work in mines or unload cargo ships or stock shelves in grocery stores or , in the very near future, drive trucks.
All you're doing is creating more and more people dependent on the govt for their economic survival or migrants to other countries.
soandso
(880 posts)It may be on excessive (compared to the population) salaries, benefits, pensions and the like. He has, after all, spent his career as an academic so he's certainly in favor of education.
Yavin4
(36,029 posts)Some of the most elitist people that I know are academics who think that education is wasted on the masses.
though that isn't the impression he gives (elitist). I know he hates debt and one of his big criticisms was a public worker class that was both cronyist and enriching itself at the expense of the public.
Dem4life1234
(1,195 posts)All started with education, too!
Don't these rich oligarchs get sick? Who would tend to them?
paleotn
(19,064 posts)Always a dangerous thing. The end of our Department of Education. Yes, a cut in Fed funds would impact VT public schools, but here's the thing. We allot a ton of in-state generated funding into our K-12 system. We're 4th nationally in spending per pupil. The rest of the top 5 are solid blue states, NY, Mass, CT, NJ. Fed funding cuts will hurt but won't be catastrophic for us since it's a far lower % of total spend per pupil than most states. It will be catastrophic for the "shit hole", red states that rely heavily on federal funding. You know, since I'm completely out of "give a fucks", that doesn't bother me all that much.
You sowed the wind, mother fuckers, now reap the whirlwind.
highplainsdem
(52,104 posts)I mentioned it then: https://www.democraticunderground.com/100219326372
Kid Berwyn
(17,810 posts)Forewarned is forarmed.
PortTack
(34,470 posts)That is far from the case here. Tsf is stupid, doesnt read, knows nothing about government or running a country and his only purpose along with his minions, for these cuts were about to see is to enrich himself. Everyone else go f..k off!
Figarosmom
(2,320 posts)Leghorn21
(13,713 posts)Days later, in a statement, he announced a purge: The executive branch will launch an audit of the career staff of the foreign ministry with the aim of identifying promoters of anti-freedom ideas.
According to Project 2025, the next US president must remove from every existing rule, regulatory agency, contract, grant, regulation, and federal law the terms sexual orientation and gender identity, diversity, equity, and inclusion, gender, gender equality, gender equity, gender, gender-sensitive, abortion, reproductive health, reproductive rights.
Abortion is mentioned 199 times in the document, including proposing a federal ban, increased criminalisation, more restrictions on providing care for miscarriages and obstetric emergencies, defunding emergency contraception and strict surveillance systems on people who have abortions or suffer miscarriages.
liberalla
(9,950 posts)Scary stuff
liberalla
(9,950 posts)I haven't watched this yet, but related to the topic:
Argentina Collapses into Poverty - Joe Blogs