Mauricio Macri, president of Argentina from 2015 to 2019, used the phrase pasaron cosas during a televised explanation of the country's economic problems, attributing difficulties to a series of events beyond his government's control. Argentine viewers quickly isolated the two words, sharing them on social media and in WhatsApp groups as a sarcastic response to any vague official excuse. The clip outlived the interview and remains a standard reaction in Argentine meme culture whenever something unexplained goes wrong.
About this sound
Short clip of former Argentine president Mauricio Macri saying pasaron cosas, used as a meme reaction for excuses, unexpected problems and things going wrong.
This is the voice of Mauricio Macri delivering his famous two-word explanation, pasaron cosas, in a calm, matter-of-fact tone. The short phrase, which translates as things happened, sounds deliberately vague and understated for the serious situation it was meant to explain. That contrast is what makes it funny and instantly recognisable in Argentina and across Spanish-speaking social media. Listeners hear it as the ultimate non-explanation, a shrug in audio form that turns a failure, delay or sudden disaster into a joke rather than a real answer.
