International
MEP Miguel Urbán charges Milei for questioning the historical memory
Spanish MEP Miguel Urbán considers that the Government of Argentina, headed by the ultraliberal Javier Milei, and other far-right-wing Executives of the world seek to question the policies of historical memory so that the flame of the struggle of the present cannot be ignited in the reading of the past.”
“It is a common feature and a deliberate attack on what the democratic foundations would be,” says in an interview with EFE in Buenos Aires, this member of the European Parliament since 2015, a central figure of the Anti-Capitalist political organization – which was integrated into Podemos from its foundation until 2020 -, and author of the essay ‘Trumpisms’.
Urbán, son of a communist militant tortured during the Franco dictatorship (1939-1975) by the policeman Antonio González Pacheco, better known as ‘Billy el Niño’, is in the Argentine capital to, among other reasons, accompany other victims grouped under the so-called ‘Argentine complaint’ against the crimes of the Franco regime.
In addition, this Sunday he will participate in the mobilization that will take place in Buenos Aires within the framework of March 24, Day of Remembrance for Truth and Justice, in which the victims of the last Argentine military dictatorship (1976-1983) are commemorated, on the anniversary of the coup d’état that overthreuched the democratic powers of the South American country.
The Government of Milei – and particularly the vice president, Victoria Villarruel, with family ties with the military and accused of ‘denialism’ of the crimes of the dictatorship by associations that defend human rights in Argentina – has been equidistant with this symbolic day.
“Obviously we are witnessing a questioning of memory as a questioning of democracy,” says Urbán, who considers that this type of policy is the same as those used by other far-right leaders in the world, such as the Portuguese André Ventura, leader of the Chega! party, or the Spanish Santiago Abascal, president of Vox.
Urbán attributes this trend to the “element of the cultural battle”, usually argued by reactionary leaders to position himself “against the ‘cowardly right’ that does not question the ‘progressive dictatorship’.”
The MEP thinks that Milei is nothing more than “the Argentine decline of this global reactionary wave” that he describes in his latest book and that he presented this Friday in Buenos Aires.
“These phenomena start from eating the political space of the international right (…) Milei could not have been president if he had not managed to get the right to prefer to support him rather than a ‘right-wing uncle’ like Sergio Massa (the presidential candidate of Peronism in the 2023 elections),” says the MEP.
Urbán considers that “the same radicalization” motivated prominent conservative leaders – among them, the former president of the Spanish Government Mariano Rajoy (2011-2018) – to ask for the vote for the far-right Milei in the last Argentine elections.
“(The phenomenon of the extreme right) is not a European measles,” warns Urbán, who calls the importance of the communication skills of far-right leaders or issues such as the rise of disinformation “peripheral”.
“We could not understand this global reactionary wave without understanding that we are facing a real crisis of the regime of capitalism; a crisis resulting from the combination of the neoliberal governance crisis (…) and, on the other hand, the ecological crisis and climate change that constitute a kind of ‘cancellation of the future’,” explains Urbán.
Faced with the anxiety of the present, the MEP, who participated in the 15-M movement (or ‘of the indignadomen’) in Spain in 2011, believes that the extreme right proposes an imaginary of the past “known and that gives assurances.”
“It’s a matter of passion and not of reason,” says Urbán.
In this sense, the MEP believes that Milei’s ultra-liberal positions are more difficult to “inoculate” than those of the Salvadoran president, Nayib Bukele, characterized by his harshness in police action against the violent gangs of the Central American country.
International
Police investigate deaths of Rob Reiner and wife as apparent homicide
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) is investigating the deaths of Hollywood actor and filmmaker Rob Reinerand his wife as an “apparent homicide,” amid a wave of tributes to the director of classics such as When Harry Met Sally.
According to U.S. media reports on Sunday, Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner were found dead at their Los Angeles mansion with what appeared to be stab wounds.
Several political figures shared messages of condolence following the reported deaths of the director of A Few Good Menand his wife.
While the LAPD did not officially confirm the identities of the victims, it stated that homicide detectives were dispatched to the Reiner residence.
“At this time, no additional details are available and the investigation into an apparent homicide is ongoing,” the Los Angeles Police Department said in a statement posted on social media.
LAPD Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton told reporters that no arrests have been made and that no individuals are currently being questioned as suspects.
“I’m not going to confirm whether anyone is being questioned at this moment or not. We are going to try to speak with as many family members as we can,” Hamilton said.
CNN reported that a family spokesperson confirmed the deaths of Reiner and his wife.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, former U.S. President Barack Obama, and former Vice President Kamala Harrisissued statements expressing their condolences.
International
U.S. and Mexico Reach Deal to Address Water Deficit Under 1944 Treaty
The United States and Mexico have reached an agreement to comply with current water obligations affecting U.S. farmers and ranchers and for Mexico to cover its water deficit to Texas under the 1944 Water Treaty, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a statement.
The department уточified that the agreement applies to both the current cycle and the water deficit from the previous cycle.
On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump accused Mexico of failing to comply with the water-sharing treaty between the two countries, which requires the United States to deliver 1.85 billion cubic meters of water from the Colorado River, while Mexico must supply 432 million cubic meters from the Rio Grande.
Mexico is behind on its commitments. According to Washington, the country has accumulated a deficit of more than one billion cubic meters of water over the past five years.
“This violation is severely harming our beautiful crops and our livestock in Texas,” Trump wrote on Monday.
The Department of Agriculture said on Friday that Mexico had agreed to supply 250 million cubic meters of water starting next week and to work toward closing the shortfall.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, quoted in the statement, said Mexico delivered more water in a single year than it had over the previous four years combined.
Trump has said that if Mexico continues to fall short of its obligations, the United States reserves the right to impose 5% tariffs on imported Mexican products.
Mexico’s Deputy Foreign Minister for North America, Roberto Velasco, said that a severe drought in 2022 and 2023prevented the country from meeting its commitments.
International
Several people shot in attack on Brown University campus
Several people were shot on Saturday in an attack on the campus of Brown University, in the northeastern United States, local police reported.
“Shelter in place and avoid the area until further notice,” the Providence Police Department urged in a post on X. Brown University is located in Providence, the capital of the state of Rhode Island.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social that he had been briefed on the situation and that the FBI was on the scene.
At 5:52 p.m. local time (11:52 p.m. GMT), Brown University said the situation was still “ongoing” and instructed students to remain sheltered until further notice.
After initially stating that the suspect had been taken into custody, Trump later posted a second message clarifying that local police had walked back that information. “The suspect has NOT been apprehended,” the U.S. president said.
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