City v Nation. | Art by Joaquín Temes The fight against the pandemic that last year saw heavyweight political rivals working together has now degenerated into a bitter legal battle between them over whether schools should stay shut for 15 days in the Buenos Aires metropolitan area (AMBA). Buenos Aires City Mayor Horacio Rodríguez Larreta, a centre-right opposition leader, has taken the national government all the way to the Supreme Court after President Alberto Fernández announced his decision. A ruling was pending at press time, but like all legal battles involving rival politicians, this is not a straightforward fight. A group of “organised parents” took the case to a Buenos Aires City court first that ruled in their favour, effectively allowing schools to open normally in the capital. But that City court ruling was contested by a federal judge who said Rodríguez Larreta must abide by the national government’s decision and wait for the Supreme Court ruling.