Hear
PRAGUE.- The magical Charles Bridge, the medieval cobbled streets that lead to the Castle that dominates the city, the churches with Gothic spiers, the baroque and neo-Renaissance buildings, the Vltava River, the spirit of Franz Kafka present. President Javier Milei -who was in Madrid on Friday, in Hamburg on Saturday and in Berlin on Sunday-, concludes today his European marathon in the fascinating Prague, becoming the first president of Argentina to visit the Czech Republic. lThe occasion is the centenary of bilateral relations and the objective is to strengthen the bond, marked by great political coincidences, as well as economic, scientific and cultural ties.
The Czech Republic, also called Czechia, with 10 million inhabitants and a size similar to the province of Entre Ríos, until recently (when it was still part of Czechoslovakia) was a country of the Soviet bloc. In 1989, the legendary Velvet Revolution brought about the fall of the communist regime and the rise of the charismatic playwright Vaclav Havel. Former President Havel, who died in 2011, was in Argentina in 1996; His successor, Vaclav Klaus, did the same in 2011.
But a president of Argentina had never set foot in the Czech Republic, which became a member of the European Union in 2004, but is not yet part of the euro zone (its currency is the Czech crown). It is a country where, due to its dramatic past under the Soviet yoke, an anti-communist and anti-Russian sentiment still reigns, something in which there is absolute agreement with the Argentine president. Hence, the enormous interest that this official visit has aroused, which occurs in the midst of a geopolitical situation marked by concern about the large-scale invasion of nearby Ukraine by the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, who already entered in February in his third year.
The issue of Ukraine, on which they share positions in favor of firm support for the Ukrainian president, Volodimir Zelensky, was, among others, on the agenda of Milei’s first institutional meeting with the prime minister. Petr Fiala, at his residence in Villa Kramar. “President Javier Milei held a meeting with the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, Petr Fiala, in Prague,” the Office of the President limited himself to informing for the moment.
There is ideological affinity with Fiala: he is the leader of a center-right coalition and is close to the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, who became good friends with the Argentine president and who is a reference for the same conservative right-wing group (ECR) in the European Parliament . The Czech Republic has established an initiative to supply weapons to Ukraine; and in the case of Israel there are also coincidences because they maintain the right to self-defense. In fact, they voted like Argentina in the last resolution of the UN General Assembly on the recognition of the State of Palestine (that is, against).
Milei – who, beyond the 11,8000 kilometers of distance, in the morning remained aware of the Argentine reality, according to his posts in terrace with views of Prague Castle after 3 pm, together with his sister Karina, general secretary of the presidency, the Pro deputy and head of the Senate Foreign Relations Commission, Fernando Iglesias and the Argentine ambassador in this country, Claudio Rozencwaig. This Monday the Minister of Defense joined the small delegation, Luis Petri, who, in the morning, accompanied by Rozencwaig, a career diplomat with vast experience, signed a memorandum of defense cooperation with his Czech counterpart. When leaving the hotel, asked by La Nación how his tour was going, Milei, smiling, answered: “excellent.”
As far as he could know THE NATION From informed sources, economic issues were also discussed with Fiala. That is, the Czech interest in diversifying its exports outside the eurozone and, on the other hand, that of Argentina – which exports commodities here – in receiving Czech investments in areas ranging from technology, mining and energy, to defense, among others.
A 59-year-old political scientist and university professor, Fiala has made trips to Asia and Africa and plans to go to Latin America, including Argentina, in 2025. In Argentina it is estimated that there are more than 50,000 descendants of Czechs, the second largest diaspora in America. after the United States.
On a sunny and cool day, after meeting with Fiala, the libertarian president received – as in Madrid and Hamburg – a new award for his ideas of freedom, this time from the Liberal Institute, an organization that proclaims the principles of liberalism and is part of the global network that has been praising the courage and audacity of the Argentine president, known – and also criticized – for drastic cuts, fiscal adjustment and chainsaws. The award that the President was awarded has been held since 1994 and is awarded for his contribution to the development of liberal thought and the implementation of the ideas of freedom. This award was received, among others, by Nobel Prize winners in Economics Gary Becker, Milton Friedman and James Buchanan. Amid great media interest, the ceremony took place at the Zofin Palace, an elegant neo-Renaissance building on the banks of the Vltava River, considered one of the most important cultural and social centers in Prague. There the President gave a speech. At the entrance of this place, shielded by the police, a crowd was waiting for him, with dozens of people with banners that read “enough of adjustments and repression”, “Milei defender of the ‘freedom’ to steal, exploit, discriminate, impoverish” and “sell country”, among others. Although in front of the building, Mariana Delfino, from Córdoba from Alta Grecia who has lived in Prague for two years, was also waiting for him, with an albiceleste flag, very excited to see the President. “Argentina hurts me and we need this to work, Milei is a light in the darkness that we have been suffering,” Delfino commented to THE NATION.
The day of Milei – the first president of Argentina to visit the Czech Republic and who will then undertake the trip back to the country – then closed in the most emblematic place of this magical capital: in the legendary Castle that dominates it from a hill , where he was received with full honors by President Petr Pavel, a 62-year-old retired soldier with an important resume: he was a military commander of NATO and head of the Czech Armed Forces. When, escorted by motorcycles, Milei’s black BMW arrived at the Presidential Palace at 7:30 p.m. local time, some Argentines who were waiting for him behind the fences cheered him on and a shout of “Long live fucking freedom” was heard. The head of state then responded, saluting with his arm and raised fist. Shortly after, to the joy of the handful of compatriots present, in the impressive patio, decorated for the occasion with a red carpet and Argentine and Czech flags, a military band played the two anthems, there was fanfare and a military presentation.
The two leaders, who then had a photo session sitting behind a desk, already inside the luxurious building, decorated with ancient tapestries, will later provide a joint statement.
