Conservative leaders from throughout the Western Hemisphere and parts of Europe jammed Buenos Aires on Sunday to celebrate the inauguration of Javier Milei as president of Argentina — and the first true libertarian to become president anywhere.
From Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform to Santiago Abascal, leader of Spain's right-of-center Vox Party, high-profile conservatives who admire Milei and his no-punches-pulled libertarianism were fixtures at a reception at the storied Circulo Des Armes Club on Saturday night and a Sunday luncheon and viewing of Milei's swearing-in ceremony and inaugural address.
"The victory [of Milei in Argentina's election last month] is a very clear sign Latin America is beginning to change for the better and that there will be other victories like his in other countries," Francisco Tudela Van Breugel Douglas, foreign minister of Peru under conservative President Alberto Fujimori, told Newsmax.
In April 1997, Van Breugel Douglas was one of 72 hostages held by the leftist Tupac Amaru guerrillas at the Japanese Embassy in Lima and rescued in a commando raid order by Fujimori; he was hit by three bullets from terrorists during the raid and a fourth that would have surely killed him but instead hit Colonel Juan Valor, who shot down the gunman and died.
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who was on the platform when Milei delivered his inaugural address, brought a full contingent of supporters with him. Led by Brazilian Congressman Cristiano Caporezzo, "Team Bolsonaro" cheered every time their hero appeared with Milei on the big screen at the reception. It was widely noted in Buenos Aires that while Bolsonaro was invited and in a place of honor at the inauguration, his arch-nemesis and Brazil's current leftist President Lula da Silva pointedly stayed away from Milei's event.
Easily one of the most-sought-after visitors to the inaugural festivities Sunday was Eduardo Verastegui, leading man in Mexican film and television as well as producer of the recent hit movie Sound of Freedom (which underscored child exploitation). Earlier this year, Verastegui announced he would run for president as a conservative independent in the 2024 elections.
Before the inaugural ceremonies, Verastegui presented Milei with a painting of Our Lady of Guadalupe. In talking to the Mexican conservative, Newsmax noted that Milei's vice president Victoria Villarruel is a strong adherent of the Catholic Church's traditional Latin Mass that was celebrated universally before the Second Vatican Council, but which Pope Francis has recently tried to severely limit in favor of the modern vernacular Mass. Villarruel often attends a Latin Mass celebrated by the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX), which is technically outside the Catholic Church, because it is difficult to find the traditional service in Buenos Aires.
"I know — Victoria is my friend," Verastegui told us, "And I am also a Traditional Latin Mass Catholic. Really, if you're a serious Catholic, is there any other way?"
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