Man did this thread not age well.
And now our President is using it as an opportunity to try to sway the Argentine elections.
They're also supplying China with the soybeans that we aren't selling now.
Why are we giving all this money to them, again?
I'll finish up my answer from the other thread here. The reason they're giving them a swap line is because they want access to Argentina's commodities/mineral's and don't want China having access and influence in our backyard. I know you guys are constantly fed information that Trump is dumb and wrong on everything, but I think this is the right move. If we don't offer them a swap line, China would have. We don't want China having any influence in the North or South America.
Agree on most of this but the look of it is what is getting old fast. We bailout Western Hemisphere neighbors if they align w/ us ideologically but we threaten others that don’t, like Brazil, and they are a much bigger prize for China to win influence over.
And this is on top of playing favorites w/ red and blue states.
I would say cultural death matches are dumb.
What's wrong with using economic carrots to incentivize South American nations to be less dictatorial or more economically open?Man did this thread not age well.
And now our President is using it as an opportunity to try to sway the Argentine elections.
They're also supplying China with the soybeans that we aren't selling now.
Why are we giving all this money to them, again?
I'll finish up my answer from the other thread here. The reason they're giving them a swap line is because they want access to Argentina's commodities/mineral's and don't want China having access and influence in our backyard. I know you guys are constantly fed information that Trump is dumb and wrong on everything, but I think this is the right move. If we don't offer them a swap line, China would have. We don't want China having any influence in the North or South America.
Agree on most of this but the look of it is what is getting old fast. We bailout Western Hemisphere neighbors if they align w/ us ideologically but we threaten others that don’t, like Brazil, and they are a much bigger prize for China to win influence over.
And this is on top of playing favorites w/ red and blue states.
I would say cultural death matches are dumb.
Man did this thread not age well.
And now our President is using it as an opportunity to try to sway the Argentine elections.
They're also supplying China with the soybeans that we aren't selling now.
Why are we giving all this money to them, again?
I'll finish up my answer from the other thread here. The reason they're giving them a swap line is because they want access to Argentina's commodities/mineral's and don't want China having access and influence in our backyard. I know you guys are constantly fed information that Trump is dumb and wrong on everything, but I think this is the right move. If we don't offer them a swap line, China would have. We don't want China having any influence in the North or South America.
Agree on most of this but the look of it is what is getting old fast. We bailout Western Hemisphere neighbors if they align w/ us ideologically but we threaten others that don’t, like Brazil, and they are a much bigger prize for China to win influence over.
And this is on top of playing favorites w/ red and blue states.
I would say cultural death matches are dumb.
Brad already stated my thoughts. I'll just add I don't view it as cultural. I view it through a geopolitical and national security lens.
What's wrong with using economic carrots to incentivize South American nations to be less dictatorial or more economically open?Man did this thread not age well.
And now our President is using it as an opportunity to try to sway the Argentine elections.
They're also supplying China with the soybeans that we aren't selling now.
Why are we giving all this money to them, again?
I'll finish up my answer from the other thread here. The reason they're giving them a swap line is because they want access to Argentina's commodities/mineral's and don't want China having access and influence in our backyard. I know you guys are constantly fed information that Trump is dumb and wrong on everything, but I think this is the right move. If we don't offer them a swap line, China would have. We don't want China having any influence in the North or South America.
Agree on most of this but the look of it is what is getting old fast. We bailout Western Hemisphere neighbors if they align w/ us ideologically but we threaten others that don’t, like Brazil, and they are a much bigger prize for China to win influence over.
And this is on top of playing favorites w/ red and blue states.
I would say cultural death matches are dumb.
Nothing, just noting the weird, jarring optics of using the stick so emphatically with some nations (and US states) while offering some nice little carrots to ideological brothers. The old fault line was democracy itself. I’m just not sure what the new one is.
to be less dictatorial or more economically open
Does it really look to you like that is what this is?
to be less dictatorial or more economically open
Does it really look to you like that is what this is?
Yes. He cut government spending by 30%.
I think you'll need to connect some dots on this one. Getting from "Milei cut gov't spending" to "Trump is using economic carrots to incentivize SA nations to be less dictatorial and more economically open" is not a single step process.
to be less dictatorial or more economically open
Does it really look to you like that is what this is?
Yes. He cut government spending by 30%.
I think you'll need to connect some dots on this one. Getting from "Milei cut gov't spending" to "Trump is using economic carrots to incentivize SA nations to be less dictatorial and more economically open" is not a single step process.
Are you asking why Trump wouldn't be as friendly if Milei loses?
to be less dictatorial or more economically open
Does it really look to you like that is what this is?
Yes. He cut government spending by 30%.
I think you'll need to connect some dots on this one. Getting from "Milei cut gov't spending" to "Trump is using economic carrots to incentivize SA nations to be less dictatorial and more economically open" is not a single step process.
Are you asking why Trump wouldn't be as friendly if Milei loses?
Uh, no.
to be less dictatorial or more economically open
Does it really look to you like that is what this is?
Yes. He cut government spending by 30%.
As he should. His country was north of 150% debt to gdp two years ago with few prospects for growth . He just took more IMF money this spring. When the EU makes Italy cut deeply they call it austerity, when the world makes Milei do it he calls it fighting the internal enemies of the people. Sounds familiar.
Brazil has its debt in order and has excellent growth potential. They do 5x more trade w/ us than Argentina and have historically been more open to trade deals.
Believe this administration when it explicitly tells you it’s punishing Brazil for prosecuting coup leader Bolsonaro because it told us that. That’s ideology, not geopolitics. Infer with confidence that this admin is favoring Argentina along similar lines.
to be less dictatorial or more economically open
Does it really look to you like that is what this is?
Yes. He cut government spending by 30%.
As he should. His country was north of 150% debt to gdp two years ago with few prospects for growth . He just took more IMF money this spring. When the EU makes Italy cut deeply they call it austerity, when the world makes Milei do it he calls it fighting the internal enemies of the people. Sounds familiar.
Brazil has its debt in order and has excellent growth potential. They do 5x more trade w/ us than Argentina and have historically been more open to trade deals.
Believe this administration when it explicitly tells you it’s punishing Brazil for prosecuting coup leader Bolsonaro because it told us that. That’s ideology, not geopolitics. Infer with confidence that this admin is favoring Argentina along similar lines.
Brazil is a member of BRICS and has a cozy relationship with China. Why would a BRICS country want a swap line with the U.S.? Wouldn't that defeat the purpose of trying to bypass the dollar?
If Brazil dropped out of BRICS and distance themselves from China, Trump would be singing their praises tomorrow. He'd be talking about how Pele was the greatest ever.
As for ideology, Trump and Bessent are pro capitalism, pro dollar, and anti-China. Brazil is 0 for 3 on those.
to be less dictatorial or more economically open
Does it really look to you like that is what this is?
Yes. He cut government spending by 30%.
As he should. His country was north of 150% debt to gdp two years ago with few prospects for growth . He just took more IMF money this spring. When the EU makes Italy cut deeply they call it austerity, when the world makes Milei do it he calls it fighting the internal enemies of the people. Sounds familiar.
Brazil has its debt in order and has excellent growth potential. They do 5x more trade w/ us than Argentina and have historically been more open to trade deals.
Believe this administration when it explicitly tells you it’s punishing Brazil for prosecuting coup leader Bolsonaro because it told us that. That’s ideology, not geopolitics. Infer with confidence that this admin is favoring Argentina along similar lines.
Brazil is a member of BRICS and has a cozy relationship with China. Why would a BRICS country want a swap line with the U.S.? Wouldn't that defeat the purpose of trying to bypass the dollar?
If Brazil dropped out of BRICS and distance themselves from China, Trump would be singing their praises tomorrow. He'd be talking about how Pele was the greatest ever.
As for ideology, Trump and Bessent are pro capitalism, pro dollar, and anti-China. Brazil is 0 for 3 on those.
Brazil and China are in BRICS to facilitate trade and development outside the US system but Argentina is much more deeply tied to China via big % of their external debt and the funding/ construction of their mega projects. Brazil doesn’t need China or anyone like Argentina needs China. Milei conveniently walked back much of the anti Chinese rhetoric once elected. He’s not too proud to beg from all comers. He wisely treads the line. Charmed as we are, we’ll likely throw good money after bad with him. Brazil’s relative stability and growth potential just completely lost on us. As a geopolitics nerd, just a weird play.
Partially. But my response to MapleTom was about his objections to certain foreign policy/economic policy decisions, not really the particular issue of Trump. Who knows why Trump does the things he does: Likes Milei? Thinks Argentinian women are hot? Has some hotel deal cooking down there? Is ginning up some multi-lateral, genius 8-D chess move to eliminate Chinese ties while squashing long-standing communist sympathies in the region? Who knows?to be less dictatorial or more economically open
Does it really look to you like that is what this is?
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