Football and Big Brother: Javier and Pedro, Both in the Final

Spain and Argentina have delivered superb performances in their respective continental challenges. Spain must defeat England to be champion; Argentina must overcome Colombia. If both were to triumph — as I sincerely hope — they would meet thereafter in what could be called the Super Cup — or something like that — for the most coveted prize in world football after a World Cup title. Eleven Spaniards against eleven Argentines, teeth clenched, fighting to win. It’s beautiful, healthy, and natural.

Of course there will be rivalry, but that won’t translate into problems between peoples.
However, in the political field you didn’t need eleven on each side — you only needed one for both countries to maintain a diplomatic tension never seen in a history of brotherhood.

Last week, according to Darío Lopérfido, Pedro Sánchez and the virus of Latin American populism in Europe illustrated how far things had gone. In fact, the President of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, very recently decided to withdraw his ambassador from Argentina permanently. This has happened numerous times in modern history and almost always heralded a war or long-lasting irreconcilable tension. But that won’t happen this time.

Javier Milei, on the other hand, did not withdraw Argentina’s ambassador to Spain, and in reality he gained an important advantage in the game. Milei had nothing to do with the beginning of the conflict: the spark that ignited it was named Oscar Puente, a minister of Sánchez who has the unfortunate job of irritating, dividing, and inflaming — much like the ultrakirchnerist Guillermo Moreno did during Kirchnerism. Puente threatens and insults vigorously, publicly calling a young journalist critical of the regime a “bag of shit,” and boom, accusing the Argentine president of ingesting substances before anything could escalate. He did this knowing full well that Milei was traveling.

Meanwhile, Sánchez traveled to Spain outside of all protocol and received an award along with a giant portrait of himself that brought him to tears. To top it off, he was the central figure in an event with VOX, the only right-wing party in Spain — even as the traditional People’s Party, recently labeled “coreacentrist” in Argentina, drew an increasingly bewildered popular divide.

Javier shares many political values with VOX and the venue was filled with supporters chanting his name. Javier, in rockstar mode, of course launched sharp barbs at Sánchez — particularly a poisoned one: he called Sánchez’s wife “corrupt.”

In his desperation, Sánchez saw an opportunity to impose a parallel narrative as a distraction, through the format of Gran Hermano (Big Brother). In Spain, since the year 2000, there have been 25 editions of Gran Hermano — a record. But Sánchez miscalculated. He thought he had found an easy opponent to control. After all, Sánchez is handsome and tall, and Javier isn’t.

Milei, however, did not play into the “there are two left in the house” scenario Sánchez presented; he passed it by and left him stranded, like a hitchhiker by the roadside, without even giving him the proverbial “Catalan whistle.” Milei seized the attack and the strength of the rival to fan the flames with a favorable wind. Decisively, he returned to Spain immediately, in the heat of the moment, in a different posture than before. He targeted another social segment and directed his criticism at Sánchez by visiting the Community of Madrid and, in particular, its president, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, whom he greeted warmly with handshakes, kisses, and embraces — just as he did with Meloni.

This added another chapter to a romance born of politics and seemingly destined to die with it: the love between politicians and balconies, as seen in Madrid’s iconic Plaza de la Puerta del Sol, right in front of the Government Palace. Javier dealt Sánchez a significant political blow — and at a time when Sánchez is juggling so many fronts and losing traction, his agreements with the ex-ETA (Basque terrorists) through his party Bildu were made in desperation and are unlikely to succeed.

Added to this is the fact that Sánchez’s wife is now entangled in murky legal matters, sitting in the dock — a sign that in Spain things might not unfold as in Argentina, where resilience of the regime is also deeply known in the southern cone.

However, in this particular battle between Javier and Pedro, the unforced error by Sánchez — while tactical — reveals the need for diversionary elements to cover a more unstable underlying reality. For that reason, the most probable outcome is a victory for Javier, who globally appears to be on the upswing, while Sánchez’s fuel to sustain so many fronts is running out.

In any case, whether Spain and Argentina win their most difficult challenges — which, above all else, is the most important thing — for me, one of these days Pedro will leave the house.