This weekend the top news spot was captured by International News this weekend - both showcasing Spain: while La Nación dealt with the sour exchange between Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and Spain's Rey Juan Carlos. While Spain's PM Zapatero was giving his speech, he was rudely interrupted by Chavez who meant to attack Jose María Aznar, the former PM.
The King defended Aznar by telling Chavez to shut up, and left the conference room after the shouting contest.
Clarín chooses to go back to the paper-mill dispute between Argentina and Uruguay, and states that Spain wants both countries to re-ignite settlement talks. Not only did they not do so, but Uruguayan President Tabaré Vázquez went as far as to shut down the frontier at Gualeguaychu to prevent any Argentine attack on Botnia's recently-turned-operational mill. This conflict, which was 2006's top news, seems to want to carry itself over into 2008. By the lack of progress around it, it most certainly will be around for New Years'.
Secondary news at both papers were just that: secondary. La Nación had as second important story Clarin's first, and Clarin had La Nacion's first as second, so that made an interesting role-switching exercise. At La Nación, other news were about panic rooms, the local rugby championship and the Colón Theater's restoration. Clarín has many small side stories: the main ones are about the actual Economy Minister, who will apparently not be part of Cristina's cabinet, and a local druglord's confession, as well as Seferino Namuncurá's beatification process and soccer violence.
The summary of today's papers would be: if the Spanish fight that much, ¿how can you expect the apple (us Argentineans) to fall far from the tree? And don't get me into our Italian heritage ...
