💡 SPOTLIGHT
Milei and the Pope: What this Argentine odd couple tells us about capitalism today
Argentina's rabidly privatizing president, Javier Milei, had a curiously warm meeting with “socialist” and fellow Argentine Pope Francis. As both have an emotive side and abhor the technocratic élites, it could even open the door to an unlikely entente, and even a long-awaited papal visit, writes Loris Zanatta in Buenos Aires-based daily Clarín.
It was an unexpected sight, to say the least: Francis, the "socialist" pope from Argentina and defender of the poor, and Argentina's new, neo-liberal president, Javier Milei, enthusiastically greeting each other this week in Rome. Who would have thought?
What could have led Francis, known for his frosty relations with previous conservative presidents, to allow such an embrace, no less from a politician who once called him an imbecile, a Communist and ... well, evil? Do opposites attract, as they say, or are the two not as far apart as imagined?
For his theological and philosophical studies, Francis, formerly the archbishop of Buenos Aires, Jorge Bergoglio, was familiar with the Hegelian idea of overcoming "opposing polarities." Seeking "harmony" in the "whole that transcends its parts" no doubt, Francis rang the president.
This was surprising, but should it have been? After all, Bergoglio had been preaching about bridges all his life. Why raise a wall now?
Still, they do seem impossibly different: One is holistic and communitarian, and the other an "anarcho-liberal" worshipper of unfettered individualism. The Bishop of Rome cares little for the capitalism the president wants turbo-charged in Argentina.
I suspect Milei is not as unpalatable to the pontiff as one might imagine though, and vice-versa. The man who threatened to sever ties with the Holy See has now, practically received his diplomatic baptism at the Vatican, bar his visit to Israel. He knelt before the “evil” pontiff who in turn allowed his person to be hugged by this reincarnation of the "tropical Trump".
Was this hypocrisy? Or, as they say: there shall be no real accounting for likes and dislikes.
Knowingly or not, Milei is honoring an unwritten law of Argentine history, namely the dual-headship (Church and State) implicit in the myth of Argentina as a Catholic nation. He may pick a fight with everyone, but with the Church, he is obliged to seek an understanding on as many fronts as possible.
Argentina's new president has already said he would care for the poorest in the country — in a gesture to Francis — and his legislators will seek to cancel the abortion law. To think the same man wanted a free market in body organs, as an expression of perfect freedom! [...]
— Read the full article by Loris Zanatta for Clarín, translated into English by Worldcrunch.
🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW
• U.S. pushes UN to support temporary Gaza ceasefire: The United States has proposed a rival draft United Nations Security Council resolution calling for a temporary ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war and warning Israel against an offensive against the city of Rafah. The move comes after the U.S. signaled it would veto on Tuesday an Algerian-drafted resolution, which demands an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, over concerns it could jeopardize talks between the U.S., Egypt, Israel and Qatar that seek to broker a pause in the war and the release of hostages held by Hamas. Follow Worldcrunch’s coverage of the situation in the Middle East here.
• Navalny’s body to be held for two weeks: The family of Alexei Navalny, the outspoken critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin who died on Friday in a remote Arctic prison, have reportedly been told his body will not be released for two weeks. His mother was informed it was being held for “chemical analysis,” a representative for Navalny said. Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of the late Russian opposition leader has accused the Kremlin of hiding the body. For more, we offer this recent article by Roman Anin for independent Russian media Vazhnyye Istorii, translated from Russian by Worldcrunch: Alexei Navalny's Place In History Is Right Alongside Gandhi And MLK.
• Julian Assange in last-ditch bid to fight U.S. extradition: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is beginning a two-day hearing in what could be his final bid to appeal his extradition from the UK to the U.S. Assange has been in a UK prison since 2019 and is wanted by the U.S. for leaking secret military files in 2010 and 2011. Back in 2021, the UK High Court ruled that he should be extradited, dismissing claims that his poor mental health meant he might take his own life in a U.S. jail.
• Polish farmers to step up protests with total blockade of Ukrainian border: Polish farmers will step up protests on the border with Ukraine on Tuesday, blocking almost all traffic in what they say is a bid to save their livelihoods but which Kyiv says is damaging its war effort. Farmers across Europe have been demonstrating over a range of issues including rising costs, the regulatory burden of policies including the European Green Deal, and unfair competition from non-EU nations, including solidarity corridors that facilitate food imports from Ukraine. Read more about it here.
• Widow of Haiti's president indicted in his assassination: A Haitian judge investigating the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise has charged his widow, the former prime minister and an ex-chief of police with complicity in the killing. The 122-page leaked document, published by local media outlet AyiboPost, detailed how the president’s widow, Martine Moise, allegedly conspired with former Prime Minister Claude Joseph to kill the president, intending to replace him herself.
• Military leaders dissolve government in Guinea: The military in Guinea, which seized power more than two years ago, has dissolved the interim government in the West African nation and said it will appoint a new administration. Military leaders released a video statement to say that directors of cabinet, secretary generals and their deputies would be in charge until a new government was formed.
• Lottery rollercoaster: A man in Washington, D.C. who thought he won a jackpot worth $340m has sued Powerball and the DC Lottery, who claim they published his numbers by mistake. John Cheeks said he felt “numb” when he first saw Powerball's winning numbers matched his ticket in January 2023. But when Cheeks presented his ticket to the Office of Lottery and Gaming (OLG), his claim was denied.
🗞️ FRONT PAGE
German daily Tagesspiegel reports on Ursula von der Leyen’s announcement to seek a second five-year term as head of the European Commission at the upcoming elections in June. The 65-year-old former German defense minister was chosen by the Christian Democratic Union party to be their candidate for Commission president, putting her in a strong position to retain the post. Von der Leyen will only need a further rubber stamp when the party's European umbrella group, the European People's Party (EPP), meets in Bucharest in March. The Commission chief vowed to defend democracy and “the rule of law that we defend and the peace that we have together” at a news conference following the party meeting in Berlin.
📰 STORY OF THE DAY
This puppet-show parody of “The Sound of Music” is a culture category of its own
Neville Tranter and Nikolaus Habjan, global stars of the puppet world, are performing in Berlin. Their caustic satire about Austria is definitely not for kids. It shows why hand puppets are not only hot right now, but they’re also incredible actors capable of convening the magic of theater at its utmost, reports Jakob Hayner in German daily Die Welt.
🎭 Tranter, born in Australia in 1955, had his first taste of success in the late 1970s, using puppets to explore serious subject matter onstage. Embracing the work of Shakespeare and Molière, and themes such as Hitler’s last days in his bunker, Tranter toured the world with the life-size puppets he had created himself, performing at major theaters and renowned festivals. And he gave workshops, in which participants learned how to make puppets. Nikolaus Habjan, born in Graz, Austria, in 1987, attended one of Tranter’s workshops at the age of 14. At 36, he’s now a globally renowned star puppeteer.
🎵 The Hills Are Alive is a grotesque parody of the iconic 1965 Hollywood musical The Sound of Music, which portrayed a kitschy view of Austria based on mountaintops and Edelweiss. The musical is not very well-known in the German-speaking world, but it still brings a flood of foreign tourists to Salzburg every year. The Hills Are Alive demonstrates everything that makes puppetry so wonderful. What we see on stage is so eccentric, funny, grotesque, naughty, fantastical and infectious that the audience quickly forgets they are only watching puppets.
🧑 More than the slightly involved plot, it is the puppets that stick in the audience’s mind, the fast-paced slapstick and the unbridled joy of the performance. It is a journey into the heart of theater, where inanimate objects are brought to life, so that in their own way they can illuminate what it means to be human. The sight of the puppets dancing is worthy of the large stage at the Deutsches Theater.
➡️ Read more on Worldcrunch.com
💬 LEXICON
红烧肉拿铁
To mark the Lunar New Year, Starbucks has released a new drink in China, with an unusual combination: a braised pork latte (红烧肉拿铁, pronounced Hóngshāo ròu ná tiě), made out of Dongpo Braised Pork Flavor Sauce with espresso and steamed milk, as well as pork breast meat as a garnish. “Eating meat means prosperity in the coming year,” the Shanghai Starbucks Reserve Roastery wrote on Chinese social media platform Weibo, with pictures of the drink dubbed the “Abundant Year Savory Latte.” Read more in this article, Tea Be Damned! Inside The Massive Starbucks Bet On China's Shift To Coffee, translated from French to English by Worldcrunch.
📹 THIS HAPPENED VIDEO — TODAY IN HISTORY, IN ONE ICONIC PHOTO
➡️ Watch the video: THIS HAPPENED
#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS
-19.4%
Israel’s economy has contracted by 19.4% in the final three months of 2023 on an annualized basis compared with the July-to-September quarter, as the war in Gaza takes a heavy toll on the country’s gross domestic product. The decline was driven by a 26.9% drop in private consumption, as households cut back on spending, as well as an 18.3% fall in exports and 67.8% slide in investment in fixed assets.
📸 PHOTO DU JOUR
(see top) Supporters of Julian Assange hold a vigil outside the office of the British Consulate General in Melbourne, Australia ahead of his High Court hearing where he is fighting against extradition to the U.S. — Photo: Sydney Low/ZUMA
👉 MORE FROM WORLDCRUNCH
• Alexei Navalny's Place In History Is Right Alongside Gandhi And MLK — VAZHNYYE ISTORII/IMPORTANT STORIES
• Ukraine Invasion, Navalny, Nukes In Space: What Will Wake Up Republicans To Putin Threat? — FRANCE INTER
• Taylor Swift Or Shakespeare? A Legit Comparison For This Literature Professor — THE CONVERSATION
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