14 deaths in storm in Argentina call Milei’s denialism into question

Gusts of wind at 180 km/h, hailstones the size of a mango and a month’s worth of rain recorded in just a few hours. This is how the Argentine press reported the climatic event that hit the province of Buenos Aires, this weekend, and which left 14 people dead, thousands without electricity and dozens of neighborhoods in a critical situation.

Less than ten days after taking office, the new president and far-right leader faces the first climate crisis of his government, having to face the concrete reality of climate change, despite his denialist statements.

This Monday (18), the Crescent Prevention Center of the Naval Hydography Service, of the Argentine Ministry of Defense, warned of a possible major flood on the River Plate.

Some official records show that the streets of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, as well as Tigres, San Fernando, Avellaneda and Quilmes are flooding more frequently. In the city of Enseada, also in the metropolitan region of the capital, around 70 people were evacuated as a precaution and taken to the local multi-sports gym due to the floods.

Hurricane-force winds in Argentina have moved a plane on the ground. Awesome! pic.twitter.com/xrguvNdnXO

— Fer🇻🇪🇯🇵 (@FerVeneppon) December 17, 2023

If a storm cannot be considered a direct consequence of climate change, the conditions that encourage their appearance are increasingly recurring due to the consequences of human actions.

The anarcho-capistalist, however, has already attributed climate discussions to “cultural Marxism” and, throughout the election campaign, expressed his intention to withdraw his country from the Paris Agreement, as did former president Donald Trump, during his term in office. .

Amid the transition process with the government of former president Alberto Fernández, the Argentine far-right leader sent only one diplomat to COP 28, in the United Arab Emirates.

Although Argentina’s weight in the summit negotiations is not as great as that of countries like Brazil, the United States and China, a denialist government can impact the well-being of the population of its country and its neighbors.

Milei’s neglect could impact, for example, the governance of Argentina’s water and land borders with Paraguay and Brazil. The new government has already shown signs that it intends to encourage the establishment of industries on the banks of the Paraná Basin, which could pollute the rivers in an excessive manner and harm the countries that are bathed by them.

Milei even defended that companies would have the right to pollute rivers at will, while his chainsaw plan foresees significant reductions in funds allocated to public universities and research institutes.

❗🛋🇦🇷 – In Argentina, a sofa simply went flying during the strong storm that hit the country’s capital, Buenos Aires. pic.twitter.com/OmQIdWtjzx

— 🔥🗞The Informant (@theinformantofc) December 18, 2023

This Sunday (17), dressed in a military coat, Milei met with the crisis committee in the city of Bahía Blanca, in the province of Buenos Aires. The city was one of the hardest hit by the storm and recorded 13 deaths.

The president committed to helping the region and classified the situation as a “disaster” and highlighted the “integrated work that was carried out in the affected areas, without distinction of parties or ideologies, with the mere intention of preserving life”.

This Monday (18), however, Milei was accused by journalist Cynthia García who, in an editorial, stated that the far-right leader “had no solution in hand” during the press conference he held alongside ministers, some, like the president himself, dressed in military attire.

“It could not be real for the President and his Defense Minister to dress as if to go to war”, said the journalist. “The war against whom? Against climate change denial? Against mystical climate change? Who wants to win with that image?”, she concluded.