I don’t know how au fait some of you are with Argentine politics and economics, but in December 2023 Argentina voted for a radical change in direction, handing a sweeping victory to Javier Milei, a liberal economist and firebrand, whose main election argument was his intention to attack public spending with a chainsaw. Now I am not getting into party politics in any way, this is not the role of these scribblings, but nobody can deny that he has been true to his word, and Argentina’s key macro-economic numbers have changed dramatically. Public deficit eliminated, inflation and the country risk both down dramatically.
That of course has its effects, and he has vociferous opponents. Equally undeniable is that Argentina is a country which is dominated by politics. Every decision made is somehow seen in the light of a potential political statement. To ignore the effect of politics in Argentine life is to be simply ingenuous. Equally not to be dismissed are football, inevitably intertwined with politics, conspiracy theories, and if you’re of English descent, Maradona’s goal with his hand which was the ultimate political statement if ever there was one, and worthy of an extended article of its own.
Fortunately, my favorite read, The Guardian International website, has an article on this very subject in today’s edition, so please feel free to read their far more qualified analysis. I am a big fan of the Guardian, basically for the excellent quality of their writers. I start my day with their coverage of current international affairs and then go to the Leicester Mercury sports pages, so now you understand why I need the endorphins and additional vitamin C of an early 7 kms walk……
For the sake of balance, I have also attached an article from the Daily Investor. Here go the links, and over to you.
As stated, the macro is looking positive, depending on who you believe, but there is so much to be done. There is an underbelly in the state system which will be far more complex to manage, because it is endemic to the system, embedded in years of clientelism, inertia and inefficiency. As always, a picture paints a thousand words, so let me tell you a personal story which demonstrates what really goes on.
For the first time in my life, I let my British Passport expire in 2023. When I finally got around to renewing it I had it sent to my brother’s address. He put it together with some other personal documentation and sent it to me in Buenos Aires. Here was my first mistake. I should have asked him to send it by private courier, but I didn’t, basically because I was being tight. So, he very logically sent it registered and tracked via the Royal Mail.
After a month it had not arrived, and I asked him to check the tracking for me. He duly did and said it appeared to have reached the Correo Argentina (the Argentine Post Office) on November 4th. Hmm. I know where this is going. On my walk I incorporated a stopover at my local branch, and I was informed of the local tracking number, and that the envelope was in Custom, who would eventually send me a telegram with further instructions. No, not via the app, a paper telegram. Memories of the 1970s…….
And the story goes on through miscommunications, customs payments, tax forms (on private documentation) and hours of wasted time and increasing paranoia and the day arrives that I am informed I need to present myself to the main customs area in the Retiro area, which is downtown Buenos Aires. For some unknown reason the tax declaration had arrived in my son’s name and so I asked him to accompany me.
Of course, the envelope was not there, and we went through further form filling, and I was told to come back the following week. I did and was told they had shut early. Undeterred I went back alone the next morning, and after going from pillar to post I was told to wait in the room, basically a large warehouse with chairs, and my name would be called.
In the bowels of the system. 7/1/2025. Credit: The Bard.
After a 3 hour wait, my son’s name was called out, and I went for it, armed with the final authorization papers from the system which had been tracking my passport assiduously for over two months. AI, eat your heart out.
Track and trace in the digital age. 7/1/25. Credit: the Bard.
With this paper the young customs agent found my envelope in one of the many piles in from of her, opened it, took out the contents, put them back in the envelope and gave it to me. With all my instincts saying just get out of there, I couldn’t resist asking why this whole process was necessary. She smiled and shrugged. In most other countries that would mean ‘S*** happens’. Here, no. It means ‘This is Argentina’. It is probably the phrase most used in every walk of daily life here, normally in the most self-deprecating manner by the Argentinians themselves.
The main point is that in the 1990s, this was par the course, and it is only unfortunate that this remains the case in 2025. I could be flippant and simply say ‘Good luck Javier’, but it is a serious problem on every level, as nothing really works the way that it should.
The Bard’s objective is to bring sunlight and not shade into people’s lives, so of course there is an upside to this story. As I mentioned, Retiro is downtown, and is home to the main railway station, and the main long-distance bus terminal. The Correo Argentino is a five-minute walk from the train station, so Nico and I used the train.
As we descended from the train, I pointed out the architecture of the station itself. It always brings back sepia memories of arriving at St. Pancras in the 1970s, decades before the Euro hub appeared. Retiro, today, is in far better shape than St. Pancras was then, with its steam-engine and diesel blackened walls and ceilings accompanied by cigarette-butt strewn platforms, but sometimes a reminder of fond memories from home is a healthy brush with of nostalgia to color our day.