The government will transfer administrative control of two Antarctic bases and shelters that were under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship to the Ministry of Defense. These are the Carlini and Brown bases , which since 2003 have been under the management of the National Antarctic Directorate (DNA), dependent on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs . After the resolution is signed, the bases and shelters will be administered by the Joint Antarctic Command (COCOANTAR), Ministry of Defense .
The measure was announced by Diana Mondino during the celebration of the National Antarctic Directorate (DNA) day and by Paola Di Chiaro , Secretary of Malvinas, Antarctica, Oceanic Policy and the South Atlantic, on Monday, August 5.
As the newspaper Ámbito puts it, “this is a return to the origin, since the Ministry of Defense had administrative control of all the bases of the Argentine Antarctic system. This organization had been modified in 2003 by a decree of Eduardo Duhalde that transferred the DNA to Foreign Relations where it is now under the Secretariat of Malvinas, Antarctica, Oceanic Policy and the South Atlantic.”
According to reports, the recovery of logistical-administrative control by the Ministry of Defense began with the trip to Antarctica that Milei made last January with Petri , Mondino , Di Chiaro , the then Minister of the Interior, Guillermo Francos (current Chief of Staff), the Secretary General of the Presidency, Karina Milei , and the director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of the United Nations, Rafael Grossi .
The measure agreed between Mondino and Petri is part of the adjustment and restructuring policy proposed by Milei's government . With the slogan of "reestablishing unified administrative control -public purchases and contracts- of the 13 bases in Defense" they try to make people believe that this, by itself, will make "spending efficient" and save resources .
A light blue scarf in front of the adjustment
Cynthia Hotton , the director in charge of DNA , will have to “deal with change and reassign staff who previously handled purchasing and tendering.” Hotton , who was Juan José Gómez Centurión ’s running mate as vice-presidential candidate in 2019, took up her role as Antarctic director at the 36th Annual General Meeting of the Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs (COMNAP) , an international body made up of most of the signatory countries of the Antarctic Treaty, responsible for planning and carrying out Antarctic operations in support of science .
As the REALPOLITIK portal has pointed out, “this covert 'logistical transfer' would imply that the Foreign Ministry would stop managing the facilities under its charge, which could constitute a violation of Article I of the Antarctic Treaty, which prohibits, among other things, 'any measure of a military nature'. The transfer of the administration of the Antarctic facilities to the Ministry of Defense, as the file points out, could contravene this principle.”
This loss of the administration of the bases and shelters by the Foreign Ministry on the Antarctic continent would weaken the DNA and could reduce control over possible "military maneuvers" in Antarctica, which are expressly prohibited by the Antarctic Treaty agreement , signed in December 1959 by twelve countries, including Argentina. It came into force in 1961, suspending for 40 years disputes over claims of sovereignty on the continent.
The transfer would violate Law 18,513, which grants the DNA full responsibility for Argentine Antarctic activity , including programming, coordination, and control, and its contribution to national Antarctic policy. In addition, the law also designates the DNA as the authority in charge of environmental protection under Laws 24,216 and 25,260 , and attributes to the aforementioned department the representation of Argentina before the Council of Administrators of National Antarctic Programs (COMNAP) and the Meeting of Administrators of Latin American Antarctic Programs (RAPAL) .
Foreign Ministry employees told REALPOLITIK that “the impetus for this transfer comes from the Secretariat of Malvinas, Antarctica, Oceanic Policy and the South Atlantic, headed by Secretary Paola Di Chiaro, who works in said agency advised by military personnel and maintains a close relationship with the Ministry of Defense due to her previous position as Secretary of Strategy and Military Affairs in said ministry.”
The 36th Annual General Meeting of the Council of National Antarctic Program Managers concluded on Friday 16 August , with discussions on the 2024/25 Antarctic research season, ongoing infrastructure modernisation projects and the challenges posed by increasing tourism pressure on the White Continent .
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