Javier Milei (La Libertad Avanza), Sergio Massa (Unión por la Patria), Patricia Bullrich (Juntos por el Cambio), Juan Schiaretti (Hacemos por Nuestro País) and Myriam Bregman (Frente de Izquierda) defended their proposals through presentations and rounds of cross-questioning for nearly two hours.
Bregman denounced the crimes against humanity perpetrated by the last civil-military dictatorship in Argentina (1976-1983) and reminded that over 30 thousand people were detained and/or disappeared during that period, a figure that Milei refuses to acknowledge. “I am outraged that denialist ideas are returning and that those who justify kidnappings and concentration camps talk about freedom,” the candidate said.
She also advocated for gender equality, comprehensive sexual education, expelling the IMF out of the country, the fight against poverty and respect for workers’ rights. “You always fight for the right. Not a step back,” she asserted.
Massa accused former president Mauricio Macri of contracting the worst debt in Argentine history with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and opted to renegotiate the agreement with the organization to end a situation that he described as criminal. He also stressed that if he wins at the elections, he will call for a government of national unity, in which the best will participate, regardless of their political affiliation. “Argentina has three paths: a return to the past, a leap into the void and madness, or a program based on production, work, income distribution, and federalism. Let us go to the polls, not with anger or hatred, but rather with hope,” he said.
Milei stressed the need for a “liberal revolution” that ends inflation and the political “caste.” He also proposed carrying out a profound reform of the State, drastically reducing public spending, carrying out privatizations, opening the economy and eliminating ministries, among other actions criticized by his opponents. Moreover, he rejected the creation of the University of the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo and once again defended the “theory of the two demons” that seeks to equate the crimes of the dictatorship with the fight of guerrilla organizations.
Bullrich, repeated his intention to put an end to Kirchnerism (followers of Néstor Kirchner and Cristina Fernández), assured that he has “the courage and strength to make the necessary changes and impose order,” and said that he will eliminate protests and the alleged indoctrination of unions. He also sent a hug to the gendarmes involved in the disappearance and murder of Santiago Maldonado (1989-2017), which Bregman strongly questioned, and defended the repression of the people of Jujuy by Governor Gerardo Morales.
Schiaretti, on his part, urged respect for institutions and democracy, seeking fiscal balance and a single exchange rate, correcting asymmetries between the country’s jurisdictions and allowing the plurality of ideas.
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