This Thursday: a special edition of the Buenos Aires Times

Dear reader,

Thank you for joining us once again for an edition of the Buenos Aires Times, Argentina’s only English-language newspaper.

You may notice that that our print edition is a little bit thinner than usual this week. Just the four pages – a significant snip on our usual length – with many of our regular features and columnists absent. But fear not, our contributors and writers aren’t off sunning themselves, they’re furiously working away on pieces that you will be able to read very soon.

Next weekend is a momentous occasion in Argentina’s history, as the world’s most important leaders converge on the nation’s capital for the twoday G20 Leaders Summit, running November 30 through December 1. Thousands of people are expected to arrive in Buenos Aires over the coming days, including presidents and prime ministers from across the globe, as the world’s eyes turn toward Argentina.

This creative, inspiring, resilient, and yes, sometimes cha- otic country has always punched above its weight. It has produced characters that have drawn the world’s attention from afar, for good and for bad, be it (warning: clichétime) Maradona and Messi, Evita and Che Guevara, Leloir and Saavedra Lamas, or Piazzolla and Perón. But never in recent decades – and even in this country’s history – has Argentina actually managed to become the centre of the world.

Next weekend this nation, albeit temporarily, will step on the world stage, as global geopolitics shifts to find a new pro

tempore home in the southern hemisphere. In celebration and in recognition of that fact, we’re taking our own momentous (yet considerably more humble) step: we’re branching out our 16-page English-language newspaper into a bigger, bolder, one-off special edition.

This coming Thursday, November 29, at all good kioscos, you will be able to find a stand-alone expanded edition of the Buenos Aires Times.

Since September 2, 2017, after the closure of the Buenos Aires Herald, a group of us have found a home for English-language journalism in Argentina, inside the pages of our excellent parent newspaper, Perfil.

Like all good children, we love our parents and we’ll always come back home. But sometimes, it’s good to look a little further afield.

Inside the pages of Thursday’s special edition, you will hopefully find many of the characteristics that we’ve shown you over the past 14 or so months.

We will feature in-depth reporting, with a clear eye on context and history. We will present pieces without fear or favour. We will feature a range of voices, some of whom will directly challenge the ideas put forth by others on previous pages. We will continue to reject ideology as a guiding principle, along with pre-defined conclusions, opting for independence of thought. Life is not black-and-white and the only thing in a newspaper that should come across in that way should be the black text of ink on a white printed page.

Naturally, given the importance of the coming days for Argentina, we’ll be focusing much of our content on the G20 Leaders Summit and the key issues facing the world’s top politicians as they gather together for this special weekend, with ambassadors from many nations sharing their views on multilateralism and their ties and links with Argentina.

Some of you may be rolling your eyes at this thought, I’m sure. For many por

teños, this coming summit (and its accompanying security operation) will cause a great deal of disruption and that is something that is worth recognising and acknowledging.

To those people, fear not. Our edition won’t all be about the G20. We’ll be printing much of our regular content and contributors, ensuring there is a little bit of something for everyone.

With this expanded edition, I hope we can please you, dear reader, as well as help to educate our visiting guests a little about Argentina and the wider world beyond. Perhaps we can make a few more new friends along the way too. I hope you’ll join us on Thursday.