Forty-three years after the Malvinas War, President Javier Milei led the central ceremony in tribute to the Veterans and Fallen of the Malvinas War, in front of the Cenotaph located in Plaza San Martín de Retiro, in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires.
For her part, the Vice President of the Nation, Victoria Villarruel , decided to celebrate it in Ushuaia, as a result of the snub the Milei brothers gave her by not inviting her to the event in Plaza San Martín.
The event began at 8:45 a.m. and was broadcast nationally, as Milei was planning an urgent trip to the U.S. A small group of officials and a handful of military officers and veterans attended. Several veterans complained about not being able to enter.
In his speech, Milei hinted at the Kelpers' self-determination and did not condemn the British occupation of the islands. He then defended the role of the Armed Forces, criticized the entire leadership of previous governments, calling them "corrupt," and accused them of having "directly and indirectly" harmed the claim of sovereignty over the Islands "through the economic, diplomatic, and military decisions of the political class." He accused them of having "driven Argentina into the arms of the scum of the world."
He then added that "if we add to that the disarmament and demonization of the Armed Forces, we have the perfect recipe for the Malvinas Islands to remain forever in foreign hands." Of course, without naming or mentioning the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the invading enemy and usurper of our national territory.
"The first step we must take is to rise as a country in every sense ," Milei stated. This is an unlikely scenario to materialize given the extent of the destruction of jobs, industry, and national production that has been the norm since December 2023.
"The belief that the larger the state, the greater the sovereignty is an Orwellian concept under which politics has sought throughout history to hide its dirty dealings, resulting in a poor people and an omnipresent state ," the president added.
He also spoke about the British occupying colonists, whom he called "Malvinas," and said he hopes they choose to vote for him and be Argentine. "When it comes to sovereignty over the Malvinas, we always make it clear that the most important vote of all is the one cast with our feet, and we hope that the Malvinas people will one day decide to vote for us with their feet. That's why we seek to be a power, to the point that they prefer to be Argentine, and that there's no need to use dissuasion or persuasion to achieve that."
Finally, he insisted on the "unwavering demand for the Malvinas Islands" and reinforced his commitment to exhaust "all diplomatic resources" to return them to Argentine hands. "To the veterans, their families, and all those who wear uniforms in defense of the homeland, I reiterate my eternal gratitude on behalf of all Argentines," Milei concluded, to the already intemperate and unconvincing cry of "Long live freedom, damn it!"
