Torenico [he/him]

Weird that all elections in the US up until at least 1965 are excluded…

No, it’s the bad countries that do sham elections only.

Is there any somwhat cohesive Ba’athist remnant having some kind of political participation these days? I understand Ba’ath Party is banned from existing since 2003, but that wouldn’t stop from A) Forming underground cells to agigate for a potential return? and B) Forming Ba’ath-like parties (reformed) and run for office in either presidential or municipal-level elections.

I understand it has been over 20 years since the fall of Saddam, and that the Ba’ath Party have lost a lot of legitimacy, maybe? Is there any appetite left in the Iraqi population for Ba’athism? I suppose not but I’m curious about your opinion, since you’ve been to Iraq numerous times and I suppose you’ve talked to people about this.

The opposition to Perón’s government during the late 40s and 50s was greatly exaggerated by the oligarchy. It’s not that Perón was going to do a sweeping Castro-style Land Reform any time soon, and a lot of the very pro-worker policies carried out during the first Five Year Plan were reversed under a more fiscally-conservative second Five Year Plan, so it’s not that Perón was moving towards Socialism or anything like that. In fact, the land reform Perón promised in the 40s was shelved and never spoken about again after he made a deal with the rural oligarchy. And Perón’s economic plan was running through serious trouble after the main economies bounced back after WW2.

But still, the ruling class of this country has a severe disdain for popular governments. The first coup in this country’s history was carried out in 1930 by a proto-fascist General against the Yrigoyen government which was, at the time, very popular, even though it can’t be even qualified as a Social-Democracy because it isn’t. All Yrigoyen did was redistribute some wealth through patronage and become very popular. Yet, despite of that, they planned to overthrow the Radical government since they took power through the first “fair” elections in 1916.

And about the bombing: I’m not sure how true this is, but apparently the Navy said their planes would drop flowers and leaflets around Plaza de Mayo that day, make a few passes so that people would cheer them. In reality they carried bombs, and they dropped their ordnance on normal people including school children.

After Perón was deposed later that year, Admiral Rial, which took part in the coup, said the following to the Central Union:

Know this: this Liberating Revolution was made so that in this blessed country the son of a street sweeper will die a street sweeper.

Few things can fully describe the history of this country than that quote.

A paint factory went up in flames and exploded in Ezeiza, Buenos Aires Argentina. No fatalities as of now.

This must have been Argentina’s largest explosion since the 1995 Río Tercero Explosion (very possible it was to cover up the smuggling of weapons to Ecuador and Croatia) and that time the Navy bombed civilians in Plaza de Mayo in 1955 because they thought Perón was woke

Huh weird, this night I dreamed there was a coup being carried out in Brasil. Two actually, at the same time (not sure why).

Turkish Air Force C-130 crashes in Georgia after taking off from Azerbaijan

Looks like as if the airplane was cut in half in mid air, very weird.

Anyways, death to “israel”

This is very worrying, not just for Venezuela but for everyone else. The technology gap between the US and the rest of the world, barring countries like Russia and China, is too big and even if the US is in full economic, social and political meltdown, they can still mobilize enough high-tech systems to blow your country to bits if desired and there is nothing you can do about it. Iran serves as the example, all those years preparing for the US strike and when it came, they could do nothing about it. The fact that both the US and “israel” suffered a grand total of zero air losses in the campaign tells you something.

Venezuela has the best or the second best Armed Forces in the entire continent. Maybe there is a discussion between them and Brasil. But regardless of this, as it stands right now, they have little to no chance to stave off a US military assault, even less when the US plays with their strongest cards available – sheer maritime and air power.

I get that a lot of people are referencing Vietnam and such, even Maduro said so. But back in Vietnam the technology gap was big but it could be closed, after all, the MiG-19s and MiG-21s weren’t all that inferior to the Phantoms. The vietnamese AD systems were very good and claimed a lot of kills. In the ground the equipment was comparable. Despite a US advantage on firepower and technology, the vietnamese could close the gap with their own high tech systems (althrough available in limited numbes), sheer resilience and appropiate doctrines. Today I think the technology gap gives one side a tremendous firepower advantage over the other, so much so that “normal countries” have no way of closing it right now.

Take the 1982 South Atlantic War for example. Argentina ran a bunch of older-ish tech against the British yet a number of ships were hit and sunk. Today such feat will not be possible I think. We’re talking about planes that cannot be detected on the radar which can destroy your own radars and fire beyond visual range… that wasn’t a thing in the 70s and 80s…

Well, I guess Venezuela should have bought ballistic missiles… I think it’s very heroic to “mobilize the militias” and give peasants some old AKs, but you can’t fire at incoming Tomahawks with militiamen…

If we ever needed a clearer picture of how the US supports terrorism around the world… well there it is

Any chance of shooting them down with conventional AD systems? They haven’t been used against Iran or Yemen now have they?

I love that he’s absolutely wrecking the White House lol

I’m sorry, but Belgium still has a king?

Lmfao

Also I regret to inform you that without a VPN Hexbear seems blocked, so I guess we’ve been deemed liberals.

They’ve read our electoral effortposts and struggle sessions.

The elections were fair play, at least as the system goes.

The biggest opposition to milei fucking sucks. An incoherent, internally divided group of morons that are good for nothing. Not a single proposal was offered: only “let’s say no to milei”. That’s hardly a way to campaign. In the end people prefer to “endure milei and see what happens” than “going back to the peronist days of high inflation and corruption”.

And the direct US intervention in the elections was key. Trump was clear: If milei doesn’t win, bad things will happen to Argentina. And thus, people saw the precipice, got scared, and voted for the guy who can get “the US to support us”. Of course we know better, but this is what many people truly believe. It is the president of the United States who’s speaking, after all.

Also around 12 million people didn’t vote. Turnout was a little over 60%, the lowest since 1983. That’s a huge problem because there’s a total lack of faith in the current political leadership, ready to be filled in by whoever crafts a somewhat coherent message and because the political democratic regime is not an important issue for many. Also not voting is a way to show discontent too, so there’s a massive portion of the electorate that could be worked on by the left.

milei’s victory in the midterms will spell absolute DISASTER for the working class. There is a gigantic battle ahead of us and we have little chance of winning it. I’m afraid Argentina’s toughest days are yet to come.

Milei aims to speed up reform drive after election victory

President Javier Milei is preparing to forge ahead with a second wave of reforms, targeting the labour market, taxation system and pensions. But first, he will have to open dialogue with leaders in what he says will be the “most reformist Congress” in history.

Emboldened by his midterm election triumph, President Javier Milei is opening dialogue with political leaders to advance with a second wave of reforms, targeting the labour market, taxation system and, down the line, pensions. Milei’s government reached last week’s legislative elections amid financial turbulence that has calmed after the win. It now faces the challenge of jumpstarting a stagnant economy and consolidating its political project.

Milei’s first step will be to negotiate his first Budget bill in two years in office with lawmakers after two consecutive rejections. Milei postponed it until December, when his position in Congress will be stronger.

Milei’s La Libertad Avanza caucus will expand but still fall short of a majority. Although the final count is pending, the government is expected to hold around 100 of 257 seats in the lower house and 20 of 72 in the Senate, as from December 10. With their centre-right ally, the PRO party of former president Mauricio Macri, Milei and La Libertad Avanza could have a combined 107 seats in the new-look Chamber of Deputies. In the upper house, the caucus would be 26 seats out of 72.

Milei has happily proclaimed that the new Congress, which will sit for the first time on December 10, will be “the most reformist… in Argentina’s history.” The President has called on governors and other political forces to open talks on his “second-generation reforms” in 2026. This time, the abrasive right-winger – who in the past dismissed his opponents as “rats” and “traitors” – is showing signs of being more open to dialogue.

Milei says there is a “sequence” for his reforms and simplifying Argentina’s byzantine tax code is his top priority. The 55-year-old economist has in the past branded taxes as “theft” and labelled those who stash their money into offshore accounts as “heroes” for managing to “escape the claws of the State.”

Milei wants to bring more workers into the formal economy. To achieve that he proposes lowering employer payroll taxes, so that companies put workers on their books and hire new staff.

“We have a plan to eliminate 20 taxes, reduce rates and broaden the tax base so that evasion no longer makes sense,” he told the A24 news channel on the Monday following the election. According to Milei, the new tax scheme will trigger an “expansion of the private sector” that will allow progress towards “labour modernisation.”

Loosen labour laws

Milei always wants to shake up Argentina’s “anachronistic” labour code, which he says “is over 70 years old and not designed for today’s world.”

He argues that the current system is driving informality and wants to make it easier to hire and fire staff. Unemployment in Argentina stands at 7.9 percent, while 40 percent of workers are informally employed.

A bill drafted by a Milei-aligned congresswoman proposes making working hours more flexible – up to 12 hours a day – and allowing a percentage of wages to be paid in non-monetary form, such as with food vouchers or coupons.

They’re calling 12 hours shifts a MODERNISATION. Going back to the 1880s is actually GOING FORWARDS.

Milei also wants to end what he calls the “labour litigation industry” by introducing a fixed severance pay system. The Labour Ministry has proposed negotiating collective wage agreements at company level rather than the current union-led talks, along with performance-based pay.

Leaving collective agreements to be decided between the employer and the employees is suicide for the latter, the power relation is completely on the side of the employer. It’ll never happen save for a few sectors/industries where certain employees are crucial.

Milei says the proposals, which are being pushed by employers, would be a win-win for companies and employees alike.

But Argentina’s famously combative unions have so far categorically rejected them.

Not strictly so. The main Union’s Federation, the CGT, is already in talks with the milei admin to negotiate the reforms… to NEGOTIATE THE REFORMS. That’s hardly a combative spirit. I hope this entire shitshow finally puts an end to the CGT or the CGT’s current leadership, which fucking SUCKS.

Some of the proposals had been included in a massive 2023 mega-decree, but they were ultimately blocked by the courts following challenges from labour groups.

As part of his triptych of new reforms, the President has also floated a shake-up of the country’s underfunded pension system, without giving details and making clear it would come last of the three. Groups of pensioners have become a focal point of resistance to the government, staging weekly protests that are often met with police repression. According to the IARAF think tank (Argentine Institute for Fiscal Analysis), pensions and retirement benefits will account for 46 percent of state spending in 2026. So far, the government has not provided details of its proposal to reform the pension system.

They’re also fucked.

milei has severely moderated his rethoric. He’s no longer treating provincial governors like rats and old men that smell like piss. He just had a meeting with all of them, and the situation greatly changed. He’s going for the labour reforms, he’s getting the political support to do it.

It’s a gamble, either he wins big or the entire situation gets out of control and it explodes in his face. Time will tell, but I have little hopes.

and then proceed on their mission, with no where to return in the event of an actual nuclear strike.

So they just ditch their planes somehow?

Nuclear war is so fucking stupid man

To me it’s every time I wake up and realize I am, in fact, living in this country.

Indeed he did. The two 20 billion USD bailouts came in at the right time. Of course they’ll have absolutely no positive impact on the economy, no bridges would be built, no schools will be repaired and no new hospitals will open. We all know that “generous” bailout from the US is not aimed at improving our material conditions rather than saving whatever investor really fucked up and creating a scenario of “immediate default” as soon as any administration takes power other than those approved by the US.

And the main opposition couldn’t even capitalize on this, either. Here’s a small story:

In the midst of the 1946 presidential elections, Perón was likely to be the winner. He was the de-facto leader of the “1943 Revolution”, using his military rank, his position as vice-president and Secretary of Labour and Social Security he had gained A LOT of support from working class people. In that context, the US Ambassador to Argentina, Spruille Braden, openly opposed Perón’s rise to power and campaigned against him. The problem is that this didn’t go well with people in general and Perón was able to capitalize this foreign intervention to his favor. Thus Peronism became anti-interventionist and Braden polarized the elections, the now iconic phrase “Braden o Perón” was born. In the end, Perón won despite the direct US interference.

This time around Peronists are so devoid of political content and guidance that they couldn’t even formulate an anti-interventionist rethoric even though it’s ridiculously clear to all of us that the US is DIRECTLY INTERFERING. They had some timid responses, but nothing major. And this time around we don’t have some ambassador talking shit, we have the US President himself talking directly about our elections. It goes to show that Peronists are still looking at the US with fond eyes, that they abandonned whatever anti-US attitude they once had (which, still, it was short lived, as Perón normalized relations with the US in the late 40s) and they will not take a fighting stance if they win the presidential elections in two years which, to be honest, is looking very very unlikely now.

This country absolutely loves the US and it shows. Which why I said a week or so ago that we are now fully tied with the US empire, when they fall, they’ll take us and “israel” with them.

Electorally speaking they have been doing relatively well, all things considered. They do not have any major backings, so funding comes from their own militancy. They’re also a far-left party striving to survive in the post-USSR era, so you can imagine how hard it is to get a message rolling and get people to vote and do militancy for you. Yet despite all that they managed to build some actual political power, as of right now they hold three seats in Congress, they lost two over the years unfortunately. In some provinces they hold a couple of seats at a legislative level too.

Apart from electoralism they do invest a lot of time and energy in accompanying workers with their demands, and has provided material support during critical strikes. Some of their members come from worker-operated companies and factories, and pretty much everyone in their ranks are from a working class background. They do have some presence in some unions too, but they are far from taking power in the biggest ones yet, let alone the central union, the CGT. But that power is slowly building. A lot of people are completely unaware of this though, especially their opposition, who think the trots are just “another electoral party”.

They do have a quite charismatic and somewhat popular leader in Myriam Bregman, she’s well respected even among peronists, especially progressive and feminist peronism.

No rigging took place, despite it’s many flaws our electoral system is quite robust and democratic (politically speaking), even more democratic than the US one for example (which is not a lot to say).

What happens is that there’s a sense among people that they would rather suffer tremendous hardships before getting governed by peronists once again. It’s insane, completely uncharted territory, but we’re here.

Argentinian midterms results:

Congress (92% of the votes)

La Libertad Avanza (milei): 40%

Fuerza Patria (Peronism and others): 31%

Provincias Unidas (Remnants of the old UCR party and other local parties): 7%

Frente de Izquierda Unidad (Trots): 5%

Senate (90% of the votes)

La Libertad Avanza (milei): 42%

Fuerza Patria (Peronism and others): 28%

Provincias Unidas (Remnants of the old UCR party and other local parties): 13%

Frente de Izquierda Unidad (Trots): 4%

Somehow milei was able to overturn his pretty terrible defeat in the Buenos Aires province EVEN THOUGH his candidate had to drop out due to links with drug smugglers. They hold a 1% lead over the peronist coalition.

Participation was around 60%, the lowest since 1983.