President Javier Milei’s decision to appoint the head of the Argentine Army, Lieutenant General Carlos Presti, as his new defense minister has caused a stir across many sectors. 

From human rights groups to defense experts and top military brass, concerns regarding the participation of an active military member with the federal government are broad and go beyond the country’s polarized politics.

Presti will succeed Luis Petri, who will leave the post to become a deputy on December 10, after winning the seat in October’s parliamentary election. 

In order to understand the controversy, we have to go over the country’s recent history and the army’s role in it. 

The designation is unprecedented in modern times. The end of the last military dictatorship brought on a consensus that the head of the defense department must be a civilian. Human rights organizations estimate some 30,000 people were disappeared during the last military regime, between 1976 and 1983.

The president’s office defended its decision to break with convention in a statement announcing the appointment.

“For the first time since the return of democracy, a person with an impeccable military career who has reached the highest rank in his hierarchy will be at the head of the ministry in charge of national defense and the armed forces, inaugurating a tradition that we hope the political leadership will continue from now on and putting an end to the demonization of our officers, non-commissioned officers, and soldiers,” it read.

Since his........

© Buenos Aires Herald