“Argentina will be a beacon of freedom,” said Javier Milei’s government at the Summit of the Future, within the framework of the 79th General Assembly of the United Nations, in a statement that decided to disassociate itself from the global initiative supported by 193 countries. Other countries that opposed or were absent from the vote on the agreement were Russia, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Iran, Venezuela and North Korea.
According to the UN, the ambitious agreement seeks to implement reforms in international institutions and establish commitments aimed at ensuring the economic, political and social development of future generations. This agreement includes 56 concrete actions and more than 100 proposals, especially around the Digital Pact, which seeks to regulate social networks and artificial intelligence.
However, for the Argentine government, certain aspects of the pact do not align with its principles and needs. While many countries continue to support the proposed measures, The nation led by Javier Milei has been the only one to distance itself from this global consensus.
This was precisely what Argentine Foreign Minister Diana Mondino said, highlighting the country’s desire to “work within a framework of freedom” and criticising the fact that several proposals in the pact do not conform to national interests.
In his speech, Mondino expressed that The country prioritizes a framework of economic freedomarguing that “hunger ends by ensuring more trade and not less.”
«Freedom for individuals to make their own decisions and be responsible for their actions under equal rules for all. We want to confront the challenges of terrorism, threats to territorial integrity, democracy, international security and economic development. To do so, we take as our guide the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations.»
Diana Mondino, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Argentina.
The central argument of Javier Milei’s government is based on the fact that many of the Pact’s proposals are not aligned with national priorities and could compromise Argentina’s autonomous developmentAccording to Mondino, the provisions linked to the 2030 Agenda and the regulations on artificial intelligence and social networks threaten the freedom of countries, which, from the liberal perspective of the current government, is unacceptable.
Milei’s government has repeatedly made clear its message of “developing wings to grow without external regulations.” It is thus seeking a path that highlights its commitment to national sovereignty, prioritizing economic growth based on market freedom over international agreements.
This strategy of the Argentine government is framed within a global context in which many countries face similar dilemmas on how to balance international regulations with their own internal policies.
A digital pact for what?
One of the main components of the new UN agreements is the “Digital Pact”, which focuses on regulating the use of social networkstechnology companies and artificial intelligence (AI) to mitigate the risks associated with these emerging technologies.
The Digital Pact highlights the importance of “promoting an inclusive and safe digital space” as well as the need for governance around artificial intelligence to ensure that its applications benefit humanity, while respecting cultural and linguistic diversity and helping developing countries build capacity in this area.
However, Javier Milei’s government questions several elements of the Pact related to state intervention and the progressive approach of the UN, aligning itself more with a philosophy of economic freedom.
In point 23 the agreement states: “We will strive to achieve a future without terrorism,” but Milei’s government is concerned that there is no specification of how such an agreement will be reached.
«Argentina is convinced that an agenda should not be limited to mere declarations; we must say how we will achieve it. And in this sense, we believe that the model that can do this is that of economic freedom. Hunger ends by guaranteeing more trade and not less. Development is achieved by deepening respect for institutions, fundamentally prioritizing respect for private property. Our young people will have a better future by respecting life and freedom.»
Diana Mondino, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Argentina.
In the past, the president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, specifically in the year 2022, asked at the 77th UN General Assembly that countries and organizations respect the freedom of his country, including its financial freedom. There he criticized the world powers and called them “powerful” who ignore the right of his country to be free, independent and sovereign, as reported by CriptoNoticias.
Bukele has also criticized the powerful elites who are willing to “fight, lie, discredit, destroy, confiscate, publish and do whatever it takes to maintain and strengthen their control about ‘the truth’, about everything and about everyone,” as he wrote in an opinion article published in Bitcoin Magazine.
