Between 3 and 5 pm on Friday, November 28, Agenda Malvinas received messages from two female and one male official of the Tierra del Fuego government, relaying what was happening at the opening of the Ushuaia 2025 Antarctic Congress, organized by the Finnova Foundation , at the Arakur Hotel in the capital of Tierra del Fuego.

And although the three acknowledged not being present at the ongoing conference, they forwarded photographs of the presentation given by Mariela Cornejo , director of IAATO (a high-ranking official of the International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators). The photos highlighted Ushuaia as the world's largest source of Antarctic cruises—accounting for 65% of the market—surpassing Cape Town (South Africa), Punta Arenas, Puerto Williams and Puerto Natales (Chile), Hobart (Australia), Bluff (British Antarctic base), and the Malvina Islands . (In parentheses at the bottom, in smaller font: (“ Malvinas Islands” ).

A British cartography as well

This same understanding of the Malvinas as British territory was also reflected in the maps used by Cornejo , where not only do the islands bear the colonial name and their color not coincide with the blue in which IAATO partially distinguished the Argentine territory from the rest, but the sector of the Antarctic peninsula that Argentina called "San Martín Land" appeared in English, the name of "Queen Elizabeth Land" .

Image produced by the Malvinas Union , showing the Argentine mainland and Tierra del Fuego Island in blue, and the Malvina Islands in white. Antarctic toponymy is also entirely British.

In front of about a thousand people , and prior to the deployment of a group of exhibitors linked to the scientific field, geopolitics, history, the environment, port activity, tourism in Tierra del Fuego, and Argentine military personnel with experience and knowledge in the subject; the presentation of Mariela Cornejo and the lack of prudence of the IAATO , captured the attention of the press and partially overshadowed the first event of this nature organized by the young FINNOVA.

Hours later, IAATO apologized. “IAATO acknowledged the error and clarified that there was no intention to be disrespectful or to express a political position,” FINNOVA reported. They indicated that The international organization "acknowledged that the United Nations nomenclature was not applied correctly in this case and offered their apologies for the situation generated," FINNOVA also sincerely regretted "this error, especially considering it is such a sensitive issue for those of us who live in Tierra del Fuego" ; reaffirming that what happened "does not reflect" the foundation's political stance.

Agenda Malvinas asked members of Gustavo Melella 's cabinet which officials had attended the Congress and whether a presentation by a member of the Secretariat for the Malvinas, Antarctica, South Atlantic Islands, and International Affairs of Tierra del Fuego was scheduled. All three agreed that the provincial government was not participating in the Congress and that the Secretary of the Secretariat, Andrés Dachary , had not been invited.

The final schedule published by FINNOVA on Wednesday the 26th confirmed the total absence of officials, professionals or experts of the first or second political line of the FORJA government.  No one from the permanent staff of the Tierra del Fuego government is included either. Brigadier General (Ret.) Edgard Calandín, former commander of the Joint Antarctic Command (COCOANTAR) and current Undersecretary of Strategic Affairs for the province of Tierra del Fuego, reporting directly to the Governor ( Decree No. 1911/25 ), who was listed in the program presented by the foundation on Tuesday, November 11, was not part of the Congress panel .

Nevertheless, several of the photographs published by the Fuegian Legislature showed Vice Governor Mónica Urquiza and the President of the Provincial Port Authority , Roberto Murcia , in the front row. These are the last remaining links of the political alliance between FORJA and the Fuegian Popular Movement , who neither at that time nor after Cornejo 's presentation offered any opinion on what they had witnessed.

After 35 years of provincial status, the private sector of Tierra del Fuego is taking an initiative that successive government administrations have failed to generate on behalf of the Fuegian State. Devoid of any understanding, comprehension, and therefore any commitment, the fractured government of Gustavo Melella stood on the sidelines (angry for reasons that remain unclear), watching as FINNOVA held a Congress that, beyond the offensive "error" of IAATO , opened a necessary debate that reflects a society that wants to be a protagonist in a maritime and Antarctic province, and not merely an inhabitant of an island .