International
Milei proposes may pact for opposition unity, promising firm leadership
Argentine President Javier Milei has called on the opposition to sign the ‘May Pact’, a new foundational document with 10 State policies, while offering his “conviction” in response to criticisms over potential governance issues during his administration.
In his inaugural address at the ordinary sessions of the National Congress, the president urged the 23 provinces and the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires to sign this document on May 25, the Day of the Motherland, in the city of Córdoba (central Argentina).
However, he explained that he will summon local governors to the Casa Rosada (Government headquarters) “to sign a pre-agreement and enact both the Basic Law (and Starting Points for the Freedom of Argentines) and a package of fiscal relief for the provinces” to then work “on a common project” and “begin a new era of glory” for Argentina.
Milei aims for consensus
Behind this dual proposal lies the recent standoff between the president and provincial governors over fiscal adjustment and cuts in funds that the State must send to the territories, which led to a call for “dialogue” and “respect” from local governors amid Milei’s frequent outbursts and disparaging messages towards them.
“If what they seek is conflict, they will have conflict because, unlike some of you who think about your next election, we only think about freedom,” said the libertarian president.
Milei asked that, despite differences, leaders can “prioritize the nation’s interests over electoral ones”.
Therefore, he called on governors and leaders of political parties to sign the ‘May Pact’ to “leave behind the antinomies of the past”, with 10 State policies for Argentina to abandon “the path of failure”.
Inviolability of private property; non-negotiable fiscal balance; reduction of public spending to around 25% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP); tax reform to reduce tax pressure; review of the co-participation scheme (State-provinces) “and end the current extortionate model” were the first points listed.
Milei invites all parties
Furthermore, the commitment of the provinces to advance in the exploitation of natural resources; a “modern” labor reform; a sustainable pension reform; structural political reform to modify the current system; and opening up international trade for Argentina “to be a protagonist in the global market”.
Milei said that all parties are invited because, as he claimed, neither he nor his party want to “play the mediocre game of politics”, but rather they emerged on the scene to “seriously change the country”.
In response to the potential governance issues often discussed concerning the lack of “parliamentary strength” of La Libertad Avanza (LLA, far-right), Milei countered with his “conviction”.
Thus, he claimed that his party “may not have the parliamentary strength or governors or mayors, but it knows what it has to do, how to do it, and has the conviction to do it”.
LLA is the third parliamentary minority, with 38 deputies and 7 senators, and does not have any governors, which obliges it to make agreements to advance legislative projects.
Télam News Agency to be shut down
Milei announced that his government will close the Télam public news agency.
In reviewing some achievements of his Executive in the 82 days since taking office on December 10, the libertarian highlighted the closure of the National Institute against Discrimination, Xenophobia, and Racism (INADI), which he described as “thought police”, which, he explained, “spent 2.8 billion pesos to maintain paid militants”.
“In this same vein, we are going to close the Télam agency,” the president announced without offering further details of the operation.
He also referred to the “immorality” of “spending money to buy the will of journalists” through official advertising in the media, which his Executive has suspended for a year, “in a country where people are starving”.
Founded in April 1945, the Argentine public news agency Télam had been in the libertarians’ sights since the electoral campaign, during which several leaders referred to its possible privatization or closure, as well as with the rest of the public media.
However, today the president only mentioned Télam.
Other media may be affected
On February 5, the Argentine government published in the Official Gazette the decree of intervention for one year of all state media as part of its policy of “reorganizing public companies”.
The Educ.ar portal, Radio Nacional, Televisión Pública, the Télam news agency, and the segmented Public Content channels (Encuentro, Paka Paka, Depor TV, ACUA Mayor, and ACUA Federal) were included in the list of media intervened for a year – with the option of extension – by Decree 117/2024.
Also included were the administration of the Audiovisual Production Center and the assets of the Argentine Universal Audiovisual Content Bank (Bacua).
According to the decree, the mission of the intervention was to “develop a plan for reformulation, readjustment, and action for the societies”, which will include reviewing fund management, modifying the contracting regime, and appointing or suspending officials.
The document named Diego Chaher and Diego Marías as intervenor and deputy intervenor, respectively, of Radio and Television Argentina and, ‘ad honorem’, of Télam, Public Contents, and Educ.ar. Both under the authority of the Chief of Cabinet of Ministers, Nicolás Posse.
“Populism took away 90% of our income”
In addition, the Argentine president denounced that populism took away a good part of the population’s income, when reviewing the “inheritance” received from the Administration of the Peronist Alberto Fernández (2019-2023).
“Populism took away 90% of our income to the point that a third of formal workers are poor,” said the president at the beginning of his speech before the Legislative Assembly, which serves as the start of its ordinary sessions and which offers, as he himself recalled, 82 days after the start of his administration, last December 10th.
International
Trump signs order to end federal funding for NPR and PBS
U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday to halt federal funding for two public media outlets, PBS television and NPR radio, accusing them of being biased.
NPR and PBS are partially funded by American taxpayers but rely heavily on private donations.
Trump has long maintained a hostile relationship with most media outlets, which he has referred to as the “enemy of the people.”
An exception is the conservative Fox News channel, some of whose hosts have played important roles in the administration of the Republican magnate.
“National Public Radio (NPR) and Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) receive taxpayer funding through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB),” Trump said.
“Therefore, I direct the CPB board and all executive departments and agencies to cease federal funding for NPR and PBS,” he added.
The Republican leader argued that “neither of these entities provides a fair, accurate, or impartial portrayal of current events to the taxpayer citizens.”
At the end of March, Donald Trump called on Congress to end public funding for these two “horrible and completely biased networks.”
International
Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka
Japanese police arrested a man on Thursday after he rammed his car into a group of seven schoolchildren in an apparent deliberate attack in the city of Osaka.
The children, who were on their way home from school, sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital. All seven remained conscious, according to local authorities.
An Osaka police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the suspect is a 28-year-old man from Tokyo. The officer shared statements the man made after his arrest: “I was fed up with everything, so I decided to kill people by driving into several elementary school children,” the suspect reportedly said.
The man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
The injured children, aged between seven and eight, included a seven-year-old girl who suffered a fractured jaw. The six other children—all boys—suffered minor injuries such as bruises and scratches and were undergoing medical evaluation.
Witnesses described the car as “zigzagging” before hitting the children. One witness told Nippon TV that a girl was “covered in blood” and the others appeared to have scratches.
Another witness said the driver, who was wearing a face mask, looked to be in shock when school staff pulled him from the vehicle.
Violent crimes are rare in Japan, though serious incidents do occur from time to time. In 2008, Tomohiro Kato drove a two-ton truck into pedestrians in Tokyo’s Akihabara district, then fatally stabbed several victims. Seven people were killed in that attack.
Internacionales
Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages
May Day protests in France were marked by a heavy police presence and clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement in several cities.
In Paris, Lyon, and Nantes, thousands took to the streets to demand better wages, fairer working conditions, and to voice their dissatisfaction with President Emmanuel Macron’s government.
While the majority of the demonstrations remained peaceful, isolated confrontations broke out in some areas. Protesters threw objects at the police, prompting the use of tear gas and resulting in several arrests.
Videos showing police crackdowns circulated widely on social media, drawing criticism from labor unions and human rights advocates, who denounced the authorities’ response to the protests.
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