Javier Milei, Ben Shapiro, Lara Trump and a surprise from María Corina Machado: The best of CPAC's debut in Argentina

The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) arrived for the first time in Argentina. National and international speakers from the conservative community arrived in Buenos Aires, including Lara Trump, Ben Shapiro, Kari Lake and Javier Milei, president of Argentina, who was in charge of closing a day that had the defense of the West and the free market as protagonists.

Outside the United States, CPAC has been held in Hungary, South Korea, Australia, Japan, and Brazil. This is the first time it is being hosted in Argentina, precisely to celebrate President Milei's election and management.

The speakers also included many influential names from the region, including locals Patricia Bullrich and Luis Caputo, Eduardo Bolsonaro from Brazil, Pablo Viana from Uruguay and María Corina Machado of Venezuela, who joined virtually.

The event began at 11 a.m. local time, with a welcome from Matt and Mercedes Schlapp, who greeted those present. "We are very committed to advancing freedom, protecting our families and defeating communism in the United States, Latin America and around the world," Mercedes Schlapp said before introducing the first speaker of the day, Lara Trump.

Lara Trump: "America and Argentina will inspire the world"

The co-director of the Republican National Committee (RNC) and possible replacement for Marco Rubio in the Senate paired the paths of Argentina and the United States under the leadership of Milei and Trump, respectively.

"Argentina and the United States are together at this crossroads, two nations ready to shed the policies of failure, two peoples united in the struggle for freedom. The leftists have stopped winning," she began.

Lara concluded with a hopeful message of prosperity for both countries. "We are the people trying to build the dream and we are putting our countries back on their feet. Together, our nations, America and Argentina, are going to inspire the world. As Argentina rises, America rises; as we prosper, you prosper, and from La Pampa to the Colorado Canyon, we are going to make our countries great again," she concluded.

She was followed by Soledad Cedro, CEO of CPAC Argentina, who lifted the audience and then gave way to Steve Bannon's  video. The former Trump official praised the local president, describing him as a "symbol of resistance" against forces that seek to "perpetuate statism and stifle individual freedoms" in Latin America.

"The fate of South America is in the hands of Javier Milei and the patriots of Argentina. They have a long struggle ahead of them. I am very much involved in this global cause, in the fight against popular movements," she added.

Ben Shapiro defined Milei's Argentina as "the most important economic experiment in modern history"

Ben Shapiro, the famous conservative presenter, stepped on Argentine soil for the first time and decided to defend capitalism and the free market. "Free trade is the only moral system. Individual freedom is the main product of a free economy," Shapiro began, stressing the importance of protecting private property.

He then referred directly to the situation in Argentina and the new possibilities President Milei's administration opened up.

"This is the starting point: free markets are good, socialism is bad. Free markets bring prosperity, socialism generates misery. And that is why what is happening in this country is the most important political event on planet Earth right now. For too long, Argentina has been ruled by scavengers. Scavengers are people who believe they can expropriate anything. They don't have to produce anything. They expect to be able to destroy the work of the lions. But now, Argentina is regaining its place as the leader of the lions. That's because the people in this country stood up and said 'enough,'" Shapiro continued.

Getting down to specifics, he remarked on the reduction of ministries, the elimination of middlemen in the social welfare system and firing employees in the public sector.

"Milei is the over-caffeinated version of Donald Trump"

Kari Lake, former Republican Senate and gubernatorial candidate in Arizona, was also part of the Buenos Aires CPAC.

Lake recalled that in 2023 Argentina was "struggling" with "12 billion in Central Bank debt and 50% poverty." "Then an outsider, a citizen, stood up and said 'maybe I can help.' That outsider is now a phenomenon, an agent of change," the Republican continued. She described Argentina's president as "the highly caffeinated version of Donald Trump."

María Corina Machado: "Venezuela will be free and a great ally of democracies"

Unexpectedly, as she was not announced in the program, María Corina Machado, leader of the Venezuelan opposition to Nicolás Maduro's regime, was part of CPAC. Soledad Cedro was in charge of presenting her virtually.

"Nicolás Maduro has accused me of terrorism and said I must spend the rest of my life in prison. Diosdado Cabello has ordered to look for me. Maduro had a monumental defeat, our victory was gigantic and represented the collapse of Chavismo," she expressed, referring to the July elections.

"This reaction is not a show of Maduro's strength but of desperation. He is isolated. The pressures for him to leave power are happening every day. The regime is weaker than ever. If Maduro postpones the transition with violence, this could mean that 5 million more Venezuelans leave the country. It would be a tragedy (...) We are going to turn Venezuela into the energy hub of the Americas. We can do it soon. We will never give up. Venezuela will be free and a great ally of democracies," she stated.

Cedro took the floor again after the video and thanked the Venezuelan leader, who continues to hide from her country for fear of being arrested. "You will always count on us to be the voice and to take your message wherever you want it to go. You will not be silenced", she added.

Javier Milei closed the first edition of CPAC Argentina

The president spoke for more than an hour before a full auditorium. He began with a "reflection" on CPAC's work around the world, highlighting the importance of the cultural battle.

The Argentine president assured that the world is facing a "historic opportunity," given that the world is "breathing new winds of freedom," especially from the hand of leaders such as Donald Trump and Nayib Bukele. "It is not enough to manage well, it is necessary to fight the cultural battle. In that CPAC has a fundamental role," he continued.

Finally, Milei elaborated on ten points as a decalogue for Argentina’s present and "those who share our ideas in the rest of the world."