MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Vice-president Villarruel, April 2nd Malvinas parade cancelled: too onerous

Villarruel: April 2nd celebration... she replied, “we wanted to organize it, but it is too onerous for the Senate”

Argentine Vice-president Victoria Villarruel announced there will be no military parade next April 2nd. to commemorate the beginning of the 42nd anniversary of “the Malvinas historic deed before Congress, since it would represent a too high cost” in Argentina's current circumstances.

 In Ms Villarruel first full interview since taking office as Argentine elected vice-president and head of the Senate last 10 December, the top official was asked about recent ongoing rumors that the government was going to cancel the April 2nd celebration and she replied, “we wanted to organize it, but it is too onerous for the Senate”.

Instead of the onerous parade, “we are going to hold ceremonies the whole week here in Congress and we are going to honor Veterans of the Malvinas war”, Ms Villarruel told the TN TV interviewer.

Nevertheless the Argentine vice president insisted, “I have Malvinas in my heart every day of my life, and every day for me is April 2nd.”, to which TN pointed out, “every day Veterans stop me in the street and complain, 'they don't care about us, help us, get this message through to the authorities”

Ms Villarruel replied, “president Javier Milei has Veterans present all the time, despite what they say to the contrary. We have this very much present and we talk about it. President Milei chose me as his vice president knowing very well it is one of the causes I care most, and have a very great emotional closeness.”

The vice president is a lawyer from the University of Buenos Aires and an expert in human rights legislation, besides degrees on urban and port security. She is a strong advocate for compensations to the families of terrorism victims and critic of the Kirchnerite “misbalanced official history” which praised and enhanced the guerrilla/terrorist groups of Argentina, putting all the blame of excesses committed during those decades on security forces.

Despite all the criticisms to president Milei's administration policy on the Falklands/Malvinas claim, and belief that Falkland Islanders opinion and rights must also be considered, Villarruel also likes to define herself as a “Malvinera”, since she comes from a military family and her father, an Army commando officer fought in the Malvinas war.

April 2nd (1982) is when the Argentine military junta of the time decided to invade and occupy the Falkland Islands, liberated 74 days later by a British Task Force sent to the South Atlantic by them PM Margaret Thatcher. Argentina remembers April 2nd as the “Day of Malvinas War Veterans and of those fallen in combat”. In the disputed Islands, the people of the Falklands commemorate June 14th as Liberation Day, when the Argentine military expedition surrendered, and recovered freedom.