Self-proclaimed anarcho-capitalists ought to be skeptical of large standing armies. President Javier Milei of Argentina seems to relish them. Even as he tightens the government purse, he has committed to raising defense spending from 0.5% of gdp to 2% over the next eight years. He vows to “restore the prestige” of the army and transform it into a hi-tech force.
Argentine Vice President Victoria Villarruel spoke against involving the Armed Forces in the fight against crime and defended the need to increase the wages of Senators to cope with the country's rampant inflation. She made those remarks during her first TV interview since taking office on Dec. 10.
Defense Minister Oscar Aguad has rejected the idea that modifications to the Defense Bill will give Argentina's Armed Forces the power to intervene in social conflicts. He also underlined the military will not replace the Gendarmerie along the borders. The comments follow demands from the opposition to have Congress address the issue.
President Mauricio Macri has approved the purchase of airplanes for the Air Force, patrol vessels for the Navy and armored vehicles and combat rifles for the Army, it was announced Monday to give the Armed Forces back some of their lost firepower, Defense Minister Julio Martínez revealed. The total purchases will surpass 40 billion pesos (2,500 million US dollars), the minister added.
General Ricardo Cundom was sworn in on Monday as the new chief of the Argentine Army, and in his first words said that replacing outgoing César Milani in the role was the biggest challenge he had ever faced.
The Argentine 2015 budget contemplates 25.2 billion pesos (*) for the Defense ministry which includes refurbishing aircraft, tanks, sea vessels and the incorporation of state of the art radars for air space control, according to the bill presented to Congress this last week.
Argentine investigative reporter Jorge Lanata, loathed by the current government of president Cristina Fernandez for his disclosure of the close business links of certain unscrupulous entrepreneurs (or most probably straw-men) who have become millionaires during the Kirchner years, has now exposed the 'calamitous' state of the Argentine armed forces equipment.
Argentina Defense Minister Agustín Rossi announced on Monday the finding of a vast quantity of archives belonging to the military dictatorship that ruled Argentina from 1976-83, including minutes that document 280 secret meetings held by the Armed Forces in those crucial years.
Argentine President Cristina Fernandez has defended the designation of César Milani as head of the Armed Forces, and complained that those who previously voted for the Due Obedience and Final Stop laws put in doubt her administration's human rights record.
Buenos Aires daily Clarin in an editorial asks for the Argentine government to release and disclose documents to public scrutiny, referred to the Argentine landing in the Falklands/Malvinas conflict in 1982 since next 2 April 2012, thirty years would have elapsed.