President Javier Milei led the main event for the 213th anniversary of the Battle of San Lorenzo at the historic Campo de la Gloria. During a ceremony steeped in historical and political symbolism, he returned the saber of General José de San Martín to the Regiment of Mounted Grenadiers and delivered sharp criticism against sectors he claimed have “defunded and discredited the Armed Forces.” Milei described the return of the saber as “an act of justice” and stated it is the “most powerful symbol of the Argentine nation.” In his speech, the president highlighted the Sanmartinian feat as a true revolution that allowed, for the first time, the united provinces to stand up during the nation-building process. The head of state arrived at Campo de la Gloria after 7:15 PM, accompanied by his sister, Karina Milei. After touring the grounds, he took his place in the official box to watch the historical reenactment of the battle fought on February 3, 1813, as well as the parade and drills of the Grenadiers, the central figures of the day. The transfer of the curved saber from the National Historical Museum to San Lorenzo was one of the most sensitive axes of the event. The ceremony had a strong popular imprint, with a massive presence of families and the general public attracted by the battle reenactment and traditional military liturgy. The President followed each segment of the tribute, which lasted nearly an hour, reaffirming the symbolic weight of the Grenadiers as a historical and ceremonial body of the Argentine Army. The event also exposed political tensions with Santa Fe governor Maximiliano Pullaro, who did not participate as a speaker. The presidential protocol's decision to reserve the word exclusively for the head of state deepened the distance between the Casa Rosada and the provincial government in a context of recent clashes between the national administration and Santa Fe over economic and productive issues. In that context, he criticized what he defined as “royalists” who, throughout different administrations, promoted the weakening of the military instrument and the abandonment of the country's founding traditions. “The saber that today returns to the hands of the Grenadiers is the same one that brought freedom to lands that only knew suffering,” Milei stated to a crowd that filled the venue. The artifact was transported by helicopter and received by the Grenadiers at the same place where Juan Bautista Cabral lost his life saving San Martín during the battle.
