The director of the National Historical Museum, María Inés Rodríguez Aguilar, presented her irrevocable resignation this Tuesday after the national government ordered the transfer of the curved saber of General José de San Martín to the Regiment of Mounted Grenadiers. The measure was confirmed through Decree 81/2026, published in the Official Bulletin and signed by President Javier Milei and Minister of Defense, General Carlos Presti. The decree establishes that the historic piece will leave the National Historical Museum to be under the custody of the 'General San Martín' Mounted Grenadiers Regiment, based in the City of Buenos Aires. Rodríguez Aguilar confirmed her decision in statements to the newspaper Clarín, where she stated that the transfer responds to a 'very original' interpretation of the donation process of the saber. 'This conflict is not new in the Nation, it happened in 1844 when San Martín donates it to Rosas, then when Sarmiento intervenes. It is part of the extreme sectarianisms of society,' she affirmed. The now former director had taken the helm of the museum, located in Lezama Park, in August 2025, after serving as national director of Museums. She replaced Gabriel Di Meglio, who left the position amid complaints about the lack of budget. The resignation comes in a context of growing political and cultural controversy. In recent days, reactions have been registered on social networks, and, according to museum workers denouncing, an irruption of young people who identified themselves as libertarians and angrily demanded the return of the saber to the regiment, with slogans linked to previous administrations. The official decree emphasizes that the curved saber 'integrates the historical heritage of the Argentine Nation' and is one of the most representative symbols of independence and national sovereignty. Recall that the piece was donated to the State in 1897 and suffered two thefts while it was in the museum, in 1963 and 1965. The delivery of the saber will take place this Saturday in the Campo de Gloria, in San Lorenzo, Santa Fe, in a ceremony that once again places one of the most emblematic relics of Argentine history at the center of the public debate.
