Javier Milei traveled to Santa Cruz, and this Saturday he will fly to Antarctica. The President’s first trip to Argentine Antarctica has a scientific focus, and he will visit the Marambio and Esperanza bases on Saturday, delivering a message that reflects the importance his administration attributes to the white continent.
The head of state traveled on Friday, January 5th, to Rio Gallegos, Santa Cruz, where he spent the night, and early on Saturday, he will continue his journey to Antarctica, which, as always, depends on favorable weather conditions. It is expected that he will announce the pollution control program promoted by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
“The return will be to the Aeroparque Airport, on Saturday at 10:30 p.m.,” commented spokesman Manuel Adorni during the press conference.
Javier Milei said that “two thirds of the improvement” generated by his policy will be seen in the next 15 years.
Milei’s entourage is made up of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade, and Worship, Diana Mondino; and her counterparts in Defense, Luis Petri; and the Interior, Guillermo Francos; as well as his sister and Secretary-General of the Presidency, Karina Milei.
The President spent the night in the capital of Santa Cruz awaiting positive confirmation that would allow him to make the flight to the Marambio Base early on Saturday. The planned schedule estimates that he will be touring the facilities of this prestigious Argentine presence in the white continent around 9:30 a.m.
Javier Milei’s agenda at the Marambio and Esperanza Bases
According to the plan, Milei will board a helicopter for about 25 minutes, which will transport him to the Esperanza Base, also of the Argentine Army, recognized as the space where the crews live with their families and where a school operates for children who live in Antarctica for a whole year.
According to the latest 2022 census, among the seven permanent bases distributed in Antarctica, 64 people live in the Joint Antarctic Base Esperanza and 77 in the Joint Antarctic Base Marambio.
After touring the base and participating in an activity, Milei will return to Marambio after noon to lead a ceremony that will formally launch a pollution control program promoted by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
What is the IAEA program that Milei will inaugurate?
In the Antarctic continent, Javier Milei will deliver the speech that marks the beginning of the pollution control program promoted by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), led by Argentine Rafael Grossi, who will join the ceremony.
The initiative to study microplastics in Antarctica arose from an agreement between the IAEA and the Argentine Antarctic Institute (IAA) and aims to address the global problem of plastic pollution in the oceans.
“It is a pioneering trip because it is the first time that the International Atomic Energy Agency initiates a scientific mission in the Antarctic continent regarding a global problem, which is very serious, such as the presence of microplastics and plastics in general in the international marine environment, but particularly in Antarctica,” said Grossi in an interview with the Telam agency.
The objective of the program, Grossi said, is “to identify the amount of microplastics or nanoplastics in the water” of the area through the monitoring of all the seas under comparable parameters. So far, 63 countries are participating.
In radio statements, he further explained, “One of the major environmental problems in the world is plastic pollution, and research has never been conducted in Antarctica. Some years ago, I had the initiative to propose to Argentina to join efforts to carry out a scientific mission.”