Argentina's president-elect, Javier Milei, has invited Vox leader Santiago Abascal to his inauguration, the Spanish ultra-conservative party has announced. Abascal, who has accepted the invitation, will meet on December 10 in Buenos Aires with King Felipe VI, who plans to lead the official Spanish delegation, as is customary at the inauguration of Latin American leaders. Also confirming their attendance at the inauguration of the far-right were the president of Chile, the leftist Gabriel Boric; far-right former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
Abascal has a long-standing relationship with Milei, who participated in October 2022 in the great party of the ultra-Spanish party, at the Madrid Trade Fair. Vox also sent a delegation to the recent Argentine election campaign made up of the director of the Disenso foundation, Jorge Martín Frías, and the Madrid Forum, Eduardo Cader, both linked to the ultra party, whom Milei received on the same night of the elections after his victory was known.
The link between Vox and Milei is Vice President-elect Victoria Villarruel. In August 2019, the then secretary general of Vox, Javier Ortega Smith, participated in an event with Villarruel at the Military Circle of Buenos Aires, in which both defended the need to give "the cultural battle" to the left. Villarruel was then president of the Center for Legal Studies on Terrorism and its Victims (CELTYV), which minimized the crimes of the Argentine military juntas, as Vox did in Spain with those of the Franco regime.
On December 10, Milei will receive the baton of command from the outgoing president, the Peronist Alberto Fernández. The Legislative Assembly has proclaimed this Wednesday the presidential formula made up of Milei and Villarruel in a session that has been chaired by the outgoing vice president and former president, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. At the event, the results of the final count were announced, giving the winners of the second round of the elections, on 19 November, 55.6% of the votes.
In 11 days, the presidents and leaders who have already confirmed their attendance at the inauguration will arrive in the country. For now, they are few and far between, and they are aligned, above all, on the conservative spectrum. One of the first to accept the invitation was Bolsonaro, who confirmed his presence in a phone call. Bolsonaro had said on election night that with the triumph of the ultra "hope shines again in South America." Both leaders, who represent an anti-establishment current that has managed to capitalize on the popular rejection of all traditional options, have been on the same page for months.
The presence of Brazilian President Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva, on the other hand, is up in the air. The far-right leader sent his future foreign minister to Brasilia on Sunday to hand deliver to the Brazilian foreign minister the invitation for the president to accompany him at his inauguration as president. The economist, who during the campaign called Lula a "corrupt communist," wrote: "I hope that the common time as presidents and heads of government will be a stage of fruitful work and building ties."
Also confirmed his presence on December 10 was the Hungarian ultra-nationalist Viktor Orbán. In a message on the social network X (formerly Twitter), Orban wrote: "I recently spoke on the phone with President Milei to congratulate him on the astonishing victory in the Argentine presidential election. I look forward to working together with a true patriot! See you at the inauguration in Buenos Aires."
Boric will also be present, despite the attacks he received from Milei, who had described his triumph in 2021 as "appalling news". The leftist will attend because it is a "matter of state," he said. The spokeswoman for the Presidency, Camila Vallejo, was the one who made the announcement: "The president represents the State of Chile, and as has always been done, he will attend (...) We are interested in building and strengthening diplomatic and state relations with all countries, regardless of whether the governments in power are related or not."
La Libertad Avanza, the party led by Milei, assured that the president of the United States, Joe Biden, will not attend due to scheduling issues. The president, however, congratulated the president-elect and stressed "the importance of continuing to build strong bilateral relations," according to a White House statement. Republican Donald Trump also congratulated the ultra-liberal for winning the election and assured that he will travel to Buenos Aires to meet with him, according to a statement from La Libertad Avanza, but Milei's party has told EL PAÍS that there is still no scheduled date for the trip.
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