San Miguel de Tucuman, Argentina - July 08, 2024

[Note: video contains Portuguese language]

Tucuman welcomed President Javier Milei with one of the coldest nights of the year to celebrate the 208th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, at the Casa Historica Museum. The official ceremony for the national day also saw the signing of the several times extended May Pact together with 18 governors, in a province whose Peronist governor, Osvaldo Jaldo, was the first of the opposition to align himself with the Casa Rosada.

The arrival of the head of state was preceded by strict security arrangements that generated friction with demonstrators and discomfort among neighbours and shopkeepers in the vicinity of the historic building. Milei thus launched the second phase of his administration by presenting and detailing the 10 points of the agreement, which met with lukewarm support.

The celebration was confined to the Casa Historica y Ceremonial de la Presidencia, which broke with some customs. For example, after 22 uninterrupted years, since former President Carlos Menem, by DNU and in 1991, decided that Tucuman would become the capital of the country on 9 July, there was no inter-religious ceremony, nor the presence of representatives of gaucho groups at the midnight singing of the Argentine National Anthem. The control was so strict, under the coordination of the Military House, that the second day and closing of the Great Independence Day, on the esplanade of the Government House, ended at 21:00 with the performance of Chaqueno Palavecino. The crowd was slow to disband, which led to friction with police personnel.

SHOTLIST:
1. Several of Javier Milei's speeches in Tucuman.