#millei

In his first speech at the United Nations headquarters, Argentine President Javier Milei accused the international organization of promoting a “socialist” and “collectivist” agenda, and said the country would abandon its long tradition of neutrality regarding world conflicts.

“The woke agenda’s collectivism and moral posturing have collided with reality and no longer have credible solutions to offer to the world’s real problems,” the president said during the UN’s 79th General Assembly. 

In a speech replete with religious references, Milei said that the UN had “became a multi-tentacled leviathan, which seeks to decide not only what each nation-state should do, but also how all the world’s citizens should live.”

Milei also said the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, a 17-point goal declaration adopted by all member countries that includes goals such as tackling climate change and achieving zero hunger, is “a socialist supranational government program.”

The president also criticized the UN’s Pact for the Future, which Argentina distanced itself from on Monday, and aims for member countries to commit to action on issues including peace, poverty, climate change, and gender equality.

“We invite all nations of the free world to join us, not only in dissenting from this pact but in creating a new agenda for this noble institution: the agenda of freedom,” he said.

Milei listed alleged “mistakes and contradictions” the UN had committed, such as voting against Israel, which he called “the only country in the Middle East that upholds liberal democracy.” He also said the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns worldwide were a “crime against humanity” and said that the UN “allowed the Human Rights Council to support bloody dictatorships such as Cuba and Venezuela without the slightest reproach.”

Since taking office, Milei has aligned himself with Israel and the United States, as well as international far-right political organizations such as the Spanish Foro Madrid and the U.S.’s Conservative Political Action Conference.

Milei also accused the UN of promoting a “toxic relationship between global governance policies and international lending agencies” and of “requiring the most impoverished countries to commit resources they do not have to programs they do not need.” 

Argentina took a US$44 billion loan from the IMF in 2018, during Mauricio Macri’s government, and currently has an economic program agreed with the international lender to pay back the debt. 

Argentine media had previously reported that Milei was planning to meet with IMF authorities during his trip to the U.S., but the meeting did not come to fruition.

“From this day on, you should know that the Argentine Republic will abandon the historical position of neutrality that characterized us and will be at the forefront of the struggle in defense of freedom,” he said. Argentina has maintained a long tradition of neutrality regarding world conflicts, dating back to before World War II.

“May God bless the Argentines and all the citizens of the world, and may the forces of heaven be with us,” he said, before ending his speech with his usual guttural roar of “long live freedom, dammit!”

Milei arrived in the U.S. on Saturday night. During his trip, he rang the Wall Street opening bell and spoke with investors. He also met with X owner Elon Musk for the third time. After the meeting, Musk posted on X that his “companies are actively looking for ways to invest in and support Argentina.”