After Argentine President Javier Milei appointed Lieutenant General Carlos Alberto Presti, current Chief of Staff of the Army, as the new Minister of Defense this Saturday (22), several political opponents and human rights organizations in the country stated that the appointment represents a “democratic setback”.
The former Minister of Defense during the governments of Cristina Fernández (2007-2015) and Alberto Fernández (2019-2023), Agustín Rossi, declared in an interview with Radio 10 this Sunday that the appointment of a military man to head the ministry “is a huge setback for Argentine democracy and the Armed Forces”.
He further opined that “the Armed Forces are getting involved with the destiny of the government, when they should be protected from any political influence”.
Presti’s appointment makes the officer the first military officer to head the Ministry of Defense since the return of democracy in 1983.
Jorge Taiana, Peronist deputy elected for the province of Buenos Aires and also former Minister of Defense, agreed with Rossi and stated in a post on social media that civilian control of the Armed Forces “is a democratic consensus of more than 40 years” and that appointing a military man to head the ministry “implies partisan use” of the institution.
He also stated that the current government “failed to implement salary increases and bankrupted the military health system”, leaving “military families unprotected. Once again, the Armed Forces are being used to continue austerity and debt policies.”
The political criticisms were corroborated by the human rights group HIJOS, which released a message on social media on Saturday stating: “Alberto Presti will be the new Minister of Defense. This is the first time, since the return of democracy, that this position will be occupied by a member of the Armed Forces. His father, Roque Carlos Presti, was accused of crimes against humanity committed by the state terrorist regime.”
The Presidency of the Republic announced Presti’s appointment on Saturday and emphasized, in a statement, that his arrival aims to promote “the professionalization, modernization and depoliticization” of the Armed Forces, in line with the security and defense strategy promoted by the Executive Branch since 2023.
Presti will take office on December 10, when the current minister, Luis Petri, will step down to take up his seat in Parliament.
Luis Petri’s departure was announced alongside that of Patricia Bullrich, Minister of National Security, who was elected to the Senate on December 10 and will be replaced by the current Secretary of National Security, Alejandra Monteoliva.
