The Hardest Part of Fighting Fascism Comes After the Fascists Have Fallen
I lived in Argentina in the mid-1980s, just after the fall of the brutal military dictatorship that ruled from 1976 to 1983. The country was taking its first, shaky steps back toward democracy. It was a time of great hope, but also of grave uncertainty — because while the generals were gone, the political culture that enabled them remained. Like most of the nation, I was captivated by the…
Source
Historian: US Escalation Against Venezuela Isn’t About Drugs — It’s About Maduro
President Trump has ordered what he called a “total and complete blockade” of sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela, as the United States escalates pressure on the government of President Nicolás Maduro. The move comes amid a major U.S. military buildup in the region and days after U.S. forces seized an oil tanker carrying Venezuelan oil. Since September, the U.S.
Source
After US Bailouts, Trump Takes Credit for Milei’s Victory in Argentina Midterms
President Donald Trump on Monday took credit after his political ally, Argentine President Javier Milei, scored a major victory in his country’s midterm elections following Trump’s decision to bail out the South American country’s struggling economy. According to BBC, Milei’s La Libertad Avanza party on Sunday won 41% of the vote, helping it secure more than half of contested Senate seats and…
Source
Trump: no money for health care, plenty for Argentina
This story originally appeared in Jacobin on Oct. 17, 2025. It is shared here with permission.
Last November, Americans voted for a president who said he would put “America First.” They’re getting “Argentina First” instead.
Earlier this week, the Donald Trump administration announced it was doubling its planned bailout of Argentina, which, under President Javier Milei’s harsh austerity program, has seen its economy stagnate and the country scramble to sell $1 billion of its foreign reserves to stabilize its collapsing currency.
The Trump team’s plan is to scrounge around for another $20 billion from the private sector to send to the crisis-stricken country, on top of the $20 billion of US taxpayer money Trump already pledged he would use to buy up pesos, which would supposedly be a loan. The $40 billion Trump is sending the country is roughly on par with the $41.8 billion it owes the International Monetary Fund — by far the largest debt on the organization’s books, half of which was taken out under Milei earlier this year.
There is no benefit to working Americans from this, and the president isn’t even pretending there is. As he explained, “it’s just helping a great philosophy take over a great country,” because “Argentina is one of the most beautiful countries that I’ve ever seen, and we want to see it succeed. It’s very simple.”
That “great philosophy” is Argentinian president Milei’s “anarcho-capitalism,” or libertarianism, which holds that government should be radically shrunk and its role in society limited to the barest essentials, while letting private, corporate interests run free. Seriously pursued, turning that philosophy into concrete reality necessitates the dismantling of safety net programs like food stamps, Medicaid, and Social Security; the
GOP Blocks Warren Bill to Stop Trump’s “Brazen” $20B Argentina Bailout
Republican Sen. Tim Scott (South Carolina) blocked a bill seeking to stop President Donald Trump’s unprecedented $20 billion bailout of Argentina and its far right government on Tuesday, with Democrats criticizing Republicans’ priorities as Americans languish under GOP cuts to social programs. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) tried to pass the No Argentina Bailout Act on Tuesday…
Source