“Afuera!” New Argentine President’s Decisive Measures

Hi Global Recap readers,

Have you seen the infamous video of then-presidential candidate, Javier Milei, screaming “Afuera!” and ripping out names of ministries from a whiteboard?

Well, if you didn’t know, he is now the president of Argentina. In fact, we are closing in on his first week in office.

Today: We are revisiting his memeable moment and looking at his decisive first actions as the country’s leader.

🌐 Around the world:

• Kyiv: Under fire as Zelensky seeks more aid.

• Bye-bye fossil fuel?

• China caught trying to steal US helicopter.

• Israel’s plan to drown out Hamas tunnels.

• “Afuera!” New Argentine president’s decisive first actions.

Let’s get into today’s news.

🇺🇦 Kyiv Under Fire

While President Zelensky was away seeking funding for Ukraine’s war efforts, Kyiv faced a ballistic missile attack, injuring 53.

Despite air defenses intercepting all missiles, debris caused fires and damaged infrastructure.

• Plea for Support: Ukrainian President Zelensky is seeking Western support, visiting Washington and Norway.

• Defense Dilemma: Ukraine’s air defense munitions are depleting. Zelensky’s visit to Washington on Dec. 11 - 12 did little to alleviate this problem, as he left with only $200 million and a recent Republican-blocked bill that included a $61 billion aid package for Ukraine.

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🌍 Fossil Fuel Farewell?

Dubai’s COP28 summit concludes with a groundbreaking deal to ditch fossil fuels.

• Loopholes Linger: Despite the historic move, the agreement is reportedly riddled with loopholes allowing continued coal, oil, and gas expansion.

• Methods: The verbiage of the deal shies away from a definitive “phase-out”, instead nudging countries to “contribute” to carbon reduction in their own ways. Therefore, success hinges on countries’ action plans.

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🚁 China Caught Trying to Steal

Taiwanese authorities foiled a Chinese plot to bribe a Taiwanese pilot to steal and land a US CH-47F Chinook helicopter.

• Initial Offer: The pilot, Hsieh, faced a tempting US$6,400 offer for the heist, but later turned it down.

• New Offer: Then the Chinese returned with an offer he could not refuse - $15 million.

• Failed Plan: Unfortunately for both parties, the plan failed to materialize after Hsieh was detained before action.

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💧 Drowning Out Hamas Tunnels

The Israel Defense Force (IDF) has reportedly begun injecting seawater into Hamas’ underground tunnel network.

• Objective 1: Destroy the tunnels.

• Objective 2: Force the terrorists above ground.

• Environment: Experts worry that the method could cause long-lasting problems to the groundwater in the area.

• Tried and True: The Egyptian military used the same tactic in 2015 to flood Hamas tunnels at Gaza’s southern border.

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Argentina

“Afuera!” New Argentine President’s Decisive Measures

🇦🇷 New Argentina. Javier Milei, who calls himself the “king of the jungle,” took office on Sunday, bringing forth radical plans to rescue Argentina’s economy from inflation heading towards 200%.

💰 Radical Plan. The new Economy Minister Luis Caputo announced on Tuesday 10 “emergency economic measures.” Some notable ones from the list are:

• Weakening of the Argentine peso by over 50% to 800 pesos/dollar.

• No more new public works tenders. Canceling approved but undeveloped contracts, and letting the private sector carry out infrastructure works.

• Cutting ministries from 18 to 9, secretariats from 106 to 54.

Looks like he kept his campaign promise to “do away” with ministries he deems useless and money-suckers.

💊 Pain Ahead. Caputo’s plan is a bitter pill, aimed at tackling the fiscal deficit and soaring inflation.

However, Milei didn’t try to sugarcoat it. In his inauguration speech, he frankly communicated to the Argentine public that his drastic actions would be painful in the short term, but necessary to mend the nation’s economy.

🏦 IMF Weighs In. The International Monetary Fund has endorsed the measures as “bold,” necessary for economic stability and growth.

💭 Closing Thoughts. You would think such a shakeup of the status quo would be deeply unpopular, but many Argentines see these measures as the “last hope” to get the country back on track. That’s how bad people have it in the country. After all, he was democratically elected.

Let’s just hope that the media doesn’t try to smear him in the early painful stages of his plan to destabilize the public’s faith. I can already see the headlines coming…