
Uruguay and Argentina ratified on Thursday the trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union, becoming the first founding members of the South American bloc to complete parliamentary approval. Whether the treaty begins to apply now hinges on decisions inside the EU, as a separate legal review process continues following moves in the European Parliament.º

El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele tops a February 2026 regional ranking of Latin American leaders’ public approval, according to a survey by Argentina-based CB Consultora Opinión Pública. Bukele posts 72.6% approval and 24.8% disapproval.

Argentina’s federal courts have begun closing hundreds of tax-evasion in bulk following the rollout of the so-called Fiscal Innocence framework, a reform that sharply raised the monetary thresholds required for tax evasion to qualify as a criminal offense and that is being applied retroactively under the “more benign criminal law” principle.

Argentine authorities are investigating an alleged plot to kill Entre Ríos’ Security and Justice Minister Néstor Roncaglia and two federal justice officials — Judge Leandro Ríos and prosecutor José Ignacio Candiotti — in attacks that case files described as planned for Punta del Este, using Uruguayan hitmen for about US$40,000.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is urging countries to modernize how they measure inflation and other key indicators, integrating point-of-sale and online data to reduce “blind spots” that, the institution argues, are widening as the economy becomes more digital and traditional surveys lose accuracy.

Argentina’s government said on Sunday it had reported a theft of IT equipment and other items from offices linked to the Labour Secretariat in central Buenos Aires, launching both a federal court case and an internal probe.

A package containing an explosive device detonated on Friday at Argentina’s National Gendarmerie Superior School in central Buenos Aires, injuring force personnel and triggering a security operation and a partial evacuation of the premises.

Argentina’s Chamber of Deputies approved President Javier Milei’s “labour modernisation” bill on Thursday, but with a last-minute change that removed article 44, one of the proposal’s most disputed provisions. Because the text was amended, it must return to the Senate for a final vote, a timetable the government wants completed ahead of the March 1 opening of the ordinary congressional session.

Argentina began a 24-hour general strike on Thursday called by the country’s main labor federation, the CGT, to protest President Javier Milei’s labor reform bill, as the Chamber of Deputies was set to start debating the legislation from 2:00 p.m. local time. The stoppage immediately hit urban and long-distance mobility and forced airlines and operators to reschedule services.

Aerolíneas Argentinas said it will cancel 255 flights across its network on Thursday, February 19, as Argentina’s main labor confederation, the CGT, carries out a 24-hour general strike. The airline estimated the disruption will affect more than 31,000 passengers and generate losses of about US$ 3 million.