Joel Bowman with today’s Note From the End of the World: San Carlos de Bariloche, Patagonia…
Is the world still there, dear reader?
Politicians still bloviating… pundits still mud raking… the Deep State still puppeteering?
Actually, don’t answer. Your wandering editor has been offline for a few days… and the ignorance has been blissful, as promised.
Far from the madding crowd, we’re down here in Patagonia, touring the iconic Ruta 40, which stretches from the very north of the country, on the Bolivian border, and winds along the majestic Andes Mountains all the way down south, to Río Gallegos in Santa Cruz Province.
The little slice we’re enjoying, between San Carlos de Bariloche and San Martin de los Andes, is sometimes called the Seven Lakes Tour. As you can see from the snappy video above, the region is rather Germanic in architecture and style. The small towns are dotted with ski chalets and petit hotels and fondue restaurants, and every turn in the road yields to magnificent vistas of pristine glacial lakes.
The man you see astride his bronze horse in the clip is Alejo Julio Argentino Roca Paz. Something of a controversial historical figure, Roca was an Argentine army general and statesman who twice served as President of Argentina, once from 1880 to 1886, and then again from 1898 to 1904. Here he is, inaugurating the 1886 legislative session…
See to Shining Sea
Aside from presiding over the era known to monetary historians as the “period of great indebtedness,” during which the country maintained staggeringly high fiscal deficits and foreign borrowing (and experienced the attendant economic crises and currency defaults), Roca’s main contribution to the state of Argentina was the vast expansion of its territory. During his presidencies, he added something in the order of 30-35% of the nation’s total territory, including most of Patagonia.
Indeed, it was Roca who signed the Boundary Treaty with Chile in 1881, the document which established that “the boundary line shall run in that extent along the highest summits of the said Cordillera that divide the waters, and shall pass between the slopes that descend on one side and the other...”
Naturally, as a white European, Roca’s expansionist policies brought him into conflict with many of the local indigenous tribes, with whom he was often at war. And yet his statue stands, unmolested, undesecrated, looking out from the peaks of the Andes Mountains to the distant shores of the Atlantic, at the country he helped found and build. It’s almost as though history happened anyway, whether one likes it or not.
As for what the future holds, we wait to see…
Meanwhile, last week we brought you Part I in what will be an ongoing series titled The Rapper and the Rolling Stone, in which we compare and contrast the leadership stylings and philosophical underpinnings of Argentine President Javier Milei and New York City Ayatollah Zohran Mamdani.
Readers who take offense to our characterization of the Big Apple’s Communist in Chief are especially invited to tune in. (If you know anyone who fits that bill, do feel free to share our Notes with them…)
We also heard from guest columnist and friend of these pages, Mr. MN Gordon, who brought us up to speed on the latest goings on from the frontlines of digital currency, financial privacy and personal liberty. See his work on The Digital Noose, plus last week’s flâneur video around Puerto Madero, back in Buenos Aires, below…
And now for your Notes From the End of the Week…
Final Notes…
We’re off to enjoy some of the famed Patagonian lamb at a local parrilla just out of town. Whatever you’re up to this weekend, don’t forget to take some time to disconnect…
As usual, we’ll be back with more Notes From the End of the World next week…
Cheers,
Joel Bowman
P.S. Writes a dear reader, Susan Blais:
“Thank you Joel for your work. I so appreciate your clear voice for freedom and human dignity. It is a privilege and an honor to be alive at this time to participate in the inversion of the pyramid.”
Thank YOU, Susan… and thanks to ALL our Notes Members, whose generous support keeps our laptop charged and our glass half full.
We’re working hard to spread the message of Free Markets, Free Minds and Free People… and with your support, we’re reading an ever expanding audience.
If you have a moment, join our growing community below and be part of the pushback against The Narrative by supporting independent voices. Cheers ~ JB
