International
Argentina’s presidential candidates in final debate
November 13 |
The candidates for the Presidency of Argentina, Sergio Massa (Unión por la Patria) and Javier Milei (La Libertad Avanza) starred on Sunday night in the last and decisive television debate to seek support for the ballot on November 19.
The Law School of the University of Buenos Aires, in the Argentine capital, the same venue as the second debate held before the first round, is the space chosen by the National Electoral Chamber (CNE) for this last appointment.
Throughout the debate both candidates discussed several issues and had a new opportunity to make known their proposals and plans to reach the presidency of the country.
Both Massa and Milei entered into a strong counterpoint, in which the candidate of Unión por la Patria, managed to make the right-winger uncomfortable, who could not face each of the criticisms against him exposed by the candidate of Unión por la Patria (UxP).
The Minister of Economy, Sergio Massa, in his presentation, pointed out that “we have to decide who is going to take care of our health, our education, our work. I am here to propose a great change, with a great agreement of state policies, with dialogue, consensus and respect for those who think differently”.
Milei tried to defend his economic model saying that “Argentina has been in decline for 100 years. This is a consequence of the caste model, which assures that where there is a need there is a right. The problem is that needs are infinite and those rights have to be paid for. This manifests itself in fiscal deficit”.
Massa put Milei on the spot when he confronted him against his campaign and pre-campaign statements: “But there are many things at stake here. We are facing someone who lied during the whole campaign or is lying now”.
According to the Minister of Economy, “Argentina has the responsibility, in an absolutely convulsed world, to think its foreign policy in defense of the Argentine interest, we have to be clear about multipolarity, to have relations with all the countries that open their arms to sell Argentine work. The main partners are Brazil, China, we have to defend that commercial agenda that provides jobs to two million Argentines. This man [Milei] called the most important Argentine in history, Pope Francis, as evil, we are going to work for Francis to come to the country in 2024. And we have to defend the Malvinas cause”, says Massa when talking about Argentina and its relationship with the world.
In the same sense, Massa expresses that Milei said “that Margaret Thatcher was your idol and that the kelpers had the right to self-determination, I ask people to look up what you said”.
Milei tried to answer: “Thatcher was a great leader like Churchill or De Gaulle, she had a great role during the fall of the Berlin Wall, but you are upset that the Wall fell”.
However, Massa closed “Thatcher is an enemy of Argentina”.
The third axis was dedicated to Education and Health. While Milei denies wanting to privatize. Massa answered him in this sense: “Eight points of the GDP will be allocated to education, with 753 kindergartens, with a literacy plan, with compulsory mathematics and robotics, with the preparation of shorter university careers”, Massa listed his proposals.
In the economic block, Sergio Massa pointed out that from the Government “this year we made an effort that allowed us to grow in employment every month” and rejected Javier Milei’s proposal of “opening the economy” that will “destroy thousands of families”.
Massa expressed that “I do not want to go back to that stage in Argentina”, in relation to the indiscriminate opening of imports.
Sergio Massa, said this Sunday that he seeks to “definitively bury the political crack” that exists in the country, while his opponent, the libertarian Javier Milei, asked the population to vote “without fear because it paralyzes”.
At the end of the debate, both candidates were asked by the moderators why they want to preside Argentina.
Massa repeated the idea of forming a “government of unity”, with a program of 10 State policies, and promised to those who will not vote for him out of conviction, “but as a vehicle for not choosing a path that is violence, that is hate, that is damage”, that he will work “so that they do not feel that they threw their vote away”.
On his part, Milei highlighted that this is “the most important election of the last 100 years” because Argentina must ask itself if it wants to continue “walking this decadent path” and “sustain this parasitic, useless and useless caste”; therefore, he asked to “vote without fear because fear paralyzes and benefits the ‘status quo’”.
In view of Javier Milei’s difficulty to answer Sergio Massa’s questions and criticisms, the media could not hide their opinions about the right-winger’s participation in the last debate.
Several media reported that Massa came out victorious by answering with clarity and precision each one of Milei’s opinions, who on more than one occasion tried to make the candidate of Unión por la Patria uncomfortable.
At the end of the last debate for the second round of elections scheduled for November 19, specialized political programs and hegemonic media reported that the candidate of La Libertad Avanza was hesitant and erratic in contrast with Sergio Massa’s answers.
International
U.S. warns China over Taiwan during high-level defense talks in Kuala Lumpur
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth expressed concerns over China’s growing military activity near Taiwan during a meeting on Friday with Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun in Kuala Lumpur.
“It was a constructive and positive meeting,” Hegseth wrote on X. “I emphasized the importance of maintaining a balance of power in the Indo-Pacific and raised U.S. concerns about China’s actions around Taiwan,” the self-governed island that Beijing claims and does not rule out invading.
The meeting took place on the sidelines of the ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting-Plus, one day after U.S. President Donald Trump met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Busan, South Korea. According to Trump, Taiwan was not discussed during their talks.
“The United States does not seek conflict and will continue to firmly defend its interests, ensuring it maintains the capability to do so in the region,” Hegseth added in his message.
Friday’s encounter followed a September 9 video call between Hegseth and Dong. Their previously planned meeting at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore was canceled due to Dong’s absence from the event.
Trump’s sit-down with Xi — their first since 2019 — resulted in some trade agreements but avoided addressing the issue of Taiwan, a long-standing source of tension between the world’s two largest powers.
Trump has taken a more ambiguous stance on Taiwan’s future compared with former President Joe Biden, who repeatedly stated that Washington would support Taipei if China launched an invasion. The Republican president has also criticized Taiwan for “stealing” the U.S. semiconductor industry.
International
U.S. considering airstrikes on military sites in Venezuela, reports say
The United States may soon carry out airstrikes on military facilities inside Venezuela as part of an escalating offensive against Nicolás Maduro’s regime, according to reports Friday from the Miami Herald and The Wall Street Journal, citing sources close to the Trump administration.
Airstrikes could take place “within days or even hours,” the Herald reported. The Journal noted that while the option is under serious consideration, President Donald Trump has not yet made a final decision on authorizing strikes on Venezuelan soil.
Potential targets allegedly include military-controlled ports and airports used in drug trafficking operations, such as naval installations and airstrips, officials told the Journal.
The Herald also quoted a source saying that “Maduro’s time is running out”, suggesting that more than one Venezuelan general may be ready to detain and hand him over. However, officials declined to confirm whether the Venezuelan leader would be among the military targets.
Trump has repeatedly vowed to block the flow of illegal drugs into the United States, following nearly two months of airstrikes against vessels in the Pacific and the Caribbean. Those operations have destroyed 15 boats and left 61 people dead and three survivors since September 1.
“We are finally waging a war against the cartels — a war like they’ve never seen before — and we are going to win that battle. We are already winning at sea,” Trump told U.S. troops during a speech in Japan.
The reports on possible airstrikes come on the same day the United Nations accused the U.S. of violating international law with its maritime operations, saying those killed at sea may have been victims of extrajudicial executions.
International
Pope Leo XIV revives Global Compact on Education to confront cultural crisis
Pope Leo XIV announced on Friday that he will revive and update the Global Compact on Education, an initiative launched by the late Pope Francis aimed at deeply transforming global culture through education.
The announcement was made during an audience in St. Peter’s Square, held on the occasion of the Jubilee of the Educational World, which this week gathers more than 20,000 participants from 124 countries in Rome.
During his address, the pontiff — who is of U.S. origin and Peruvian nationality — emphasized the importance of restoring the value of educators and reinforcing the principles that support the pact.
“We must be careful: damaging the social and cultural role of educators means mortgaging our own future,” he warned before thousands in attendance. “A crisis in the transmission of knowledge leads to a crisis of hope.”
The Global Compact on Education, launched by Pope Francis, seeks an integral and long-term cultural transformation. It is structured around five pillars: dignity and human rights; fraternity and cooperation; technology and integral ecology; education for peace and citizenship; and culture and religions. To date, the initiative has been joined by over 553 schools and nearly 410,000 students, according to Catholic Schools data.
Pope Leo XIV also expressed concern over the widespread inner fragility affecting both students and teachers — many of whom feel overwhelmed by bureaucratic burdens.
He additionally addressed the role of artificial intelligence in education, warning that it may worsen emotional isolation among learners: “It can further isolate students who are already isolated, giving them the illusion that they do not need others — or worse, the feeling that they are unworthy of them,” he said.
U.S. warns China over Taiwan during high-level defense talks in Kuala Lumpur
U.S. considering airstrikes on military sites in Venezuela, reports say
Pope Leo XIV revives Global Compact on Education to confront cultural crisis
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