Deteriorating relations with the US

[nikad]

What I would really like to know is if anyone has experienced any anti-US feedback from Argentine migraciones and what specifically makes getting residency here "really tough" as sergio stated in his post.

I got through the whole residency visa for my husband, who is american, and it took over a year, you need to get papers translated, legalised, the police background check takes far more time than what they say, then if you happen to have an initial on one document and a full second name on another you gotta get letters from your embassy, also when you go to migraciones sometimes you gotta wait for 2-3 hours cos it is packed with people, and so on. I think the requirements are fair, but getting all the paper stuff together can take time, also state workers take their time to do things ( if you know what I mean ). There is nothing tricky really, it is just a pain in the b**. It is possible that if you do it at an argentine embassy abroad things are smoother and faster though.

 

[nikad]

And regarding the hostility issue, I can tell you that people have negative feeling towards the US government ( not the people though ) but basically because of supporting the british during the Falklands War, for requiring a visa to enter the US after years of being into the visa waiver program, etc. A lot of people dislike Chavez and the love the current government professes for him, so I don´t think it will affect americans living here at all. Despite the valijas incident, this government ( both Cristina Fernandez and Nestor Kirchner are ex montoneros, left wing, pro communists, anti imperialists ) so if you haven´t percieved any hostility until now, I don´t think this incident would worsen things, I don´t think the argentine people have any type of particular sympathy for Chavez or Fidel whatsoever.

 

[Ariel]

If Argentines have no sympathy for Fidel, why did large crowds of students and others turn out a few years ago to hear the feeble old dictator speak (apparently for hours!) when he was in BA? And why did Argentines fill a stadium in Mar del Plata to hear Chavez spew venom aganinst the US (his #1 trading partner, by the way!). Seems to me there is more than a litte affection in Argentina for these two hypocrites.

 

[bigbadwolf]

If Argentines have no sympathy for Fidel, why did large crowds of students and others turn out a few years ago to hear the feeble old dictator speak (apparently for hours!) when he was in BA? And why did Argentines fill a stadium in Mar del Plata to hear Chavez spew venom aganinst the US (his #1 trading partner, by the way!). Seems to me there is more than a litte affection in Argentina for these two hypocrites.

There's a huge and growing reservoir of ill-feeling towards the United States in South America. There is similar ill-feeling in the rest of the world. This is a statement of fact, not an emotional tirade.
Sergio is right to ask about the impact of this on ordinary US citizens: it's not possible to disassociate the citizens of a country from the government that acts in their name. The world in general is more hostile towards US citizens than it was ten or twenty years ago.

 

[nikad]

If Argentines have no sympathy for Fidel, why did large crowds of students and others turn out a few years ago to hear the feeble old dictator speak (apparently for hours!) when he was in BA? And why did Argentines fill a stadium in Mar del Plata to hear Chavez spew venom aganinst the US (his #1 trading partner, by the way!). Seems to me there is more than a litte affection in Argentina for these two hypocrites.

Ariel, 100 thousand people or so do not represent 30 millions. If you read about dictatorships in Argentina, especially the last ones, you will realise that our society was divided in two different groups which are still represented nowadays.

 

[nikad]

There's a huge and growing reservoir of ill-feeling towards the United States in South America. There is similar ill-feeling in the rest of the world. This is a statement of fact, not an emotional tirade.
Sergio is right to ask about the impact of this on ordinary US citizens: it's not possible to disassociate the citizens of a country from the government that acts in their name. The world in general is more hostile towards US citizens than it was ten or twenty years ago.

It is true that the current US administration gained quite a negative worldwide feeling in many countries. However, I think that even people here that don´t sympahtize with the US current policies, etc, tend to believe that americans that are here do not like their current US administration either, hence they don´t have negative feelings against expats ( the equation is simple: an american, living in a country whose president is close to Chavez and Fidel, is not like the others, most likely he dislikes the US system to a certain extent as well )

 

[sergio]

Anyone reading the papers can see that this dispute with the US stemming from the illegal entry of money to Argentina by a US/Venezuelan dual citizen is a very serious matter and that relations with the US have been seriously damaged. It is such an important matter that Cristina Kirchner has radically altered her foreign policy plans. She had originally planned to improve relations with the US. Now she is reinforcing ties to Chavez. My original post drew some sarcastic comments. I'd ask those people to rethink what they said. It looks very much like relations with he US, poor under Nestor Kirchner, are going to get far worse under Kristina. Just what will this mean for expats?

 

[Elpanada]

It looks very much like relations with he US, poor under Nestor Kirchner, are going to get far worse under Kristina. Just what will this mean for expats?

I wonder what this will mean for expats in Argentina from Nicaragua.

 

[runner]

The world is changing, changing for the better. The U.S has better get use to the idea that it is a decling world power. There was a time when the U.S would say to a 3rd world country "Jump" and the reply would be "How high?" I think countries arround the world are learning to say "stick it in you A**;
The majority of Americans thinks it is Ok to send money to overthrow democraticaly elected goverments like Iran's Mohammed Mosddeq and replace him with Shah Pahlavi or Chile's Salvador Allende and replace him with Agusto Pinochet. It's not that Americans have a character flaw. It is because it has been part of the their culture. I wouldn't worry much if a Porteno did not say I'm sorry.
The best way to cure a bully from it's bad habits is good A** kicking. Wrong, people foregot Vietnam.
w.c Fields

 

[jtwells]

I´m from Texas. My wife is from here. I recently lived in Acasusso and Beccar for about a year. Right now I´m spending the holidays in Acasusso with my Argentinian family.
I´m 26 and have 7 cuñados. I am friends with all of them. I go out with each and every one of them and have made friends with their friends. My Spanish is poor but improving. I stick out like a sore thumb. I have blond hair and blue eyes. I went to the University of Texas and sometimes wear UT shirts. The point is that pretty much everyone here can tell I´m from the US just by looking at me and/or hearing me talk. In case anyone is interested, I have not been met with any hostality at all. Yes, many people discus with me how they do not like the US gov´t, Bush, etc..., but not one of them has shown me any antimosity at all. In fact, most people find it interesting to talk to /hang out with a Yanqui. The people I meet are not only from Recoleta and Palermo. Just last night I went to a party at the Buenos Aires Cricket and Rugby Club where my cuñados play. We stayed up drinking and dancing until 8:30am. The people I met there are from all over BsAs. Last year I worked in San Telmo and made frinds from the city. None of them, or their friends, dislike me because Im a Yanqui.
There is my 2 cents about the whole hostility question.