only has to look as far back as her great-uncle, Arturo Umberto Illia, who was a puppet Argentine President for the Argentine fascist military dictatorship!

[center]

Pres. Illia waves during his 1963 inaugural parade. Gen. Juan Carlos Onganía
(right), then Head of the Military Joint Chiefs, wore the sash of state instead of
Illia, and is said to have later told Adm. Benigno Varela (middle) that he "should
keep this photo...it might be prescient, someday."[1][/center]
His Wikipedia biography:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arturo_Umberto_Illia

The extreme right wing of Argentina has always had tight allies in the U.S. Government. Very sad.

So this isn't the first time the Vice President has been viewed far over the line, either. Wingers get very grabby when the opportunity presents itself, and it happens with right-wingers remarkable often. They see themselves as above the law.

Thanks for the latest news from Macri's reign, forest444. Wow.

Illia was a complicated character. He applauded the violent overthrow of populist leader Juan Perón in 1955, was himself elected president in 1963 in elections in which the Peronists (who would have won) were banned, and as president cracked down on Peronists' October 17 Loyalty Day rallies (which were, of course, banned at the time).

Illia, however, also ended austerity, used public banks to expand mortgage and small business credit (which private banks always ignore in Argentina), promoted collective bargaining, enacted the minimum wage and raised taxes on large landowners, regulated runaway pharmaceutical prices, and rescinded abusive oil concessions granted to foreign firms.

The economy boomed, pensions and services improved while deficits were cut, and real wages jumped by over 20%.

He was also the first president since Perón to address the problem of racism and even found a way to stop carrying water for the right-wing military on the question of Peronism - actually allowing Peronists to run in the 1965 mid-term elections, which they won. Right-wingers hit back with a relentless media smear campaign (sound familiar?), and they ultimately got him overthrown the following June.

Illia refused his presidential pension in protest, and died in 1983. Today, even right-wingers acknowledge that his overthrow was arguably the gravest mistake in modern Argentine history. In short, Illia's presidency was in fact overshadowed by military pressure; but he ran a squeaky-clean administration and actually got a lot done.

This much is certain: Dr. Illia would have been ashamed to see his grand-niece (whom he knew as a girl) use his good name for something as destructive as this Macri administration.

On a lighter note, Judi, I thought you might find this footage of Buenos Aires from back in the Illia years interesting (start at 0:50). A kinder, gentler time, certainly. Enjoy!