The presidential candidate, Álvaro Delgado, and the vice-presidential candidate for the National Party (PN), Valeria Ripoll, will participate in the Parliamentarians’ Forum against Terrorism that will be held in Buenos Aires. This invitation comes from the World Jewish Congress and the Chamber of Deputies of Argentina, who have invited them to join this event of international relevance.
Delgado and Ripoll will travel to the Argentine capital in the next few hours to attend the Forum, which will take place on Wednesday, July 17 and Thursday, July 18. The letter inviting Ripoll to join the event was received before his confirmation as a presidential candidate, and is signed by the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Martín Menem, the executive vice president of the World Jewish Congress, Maram Stern, and the executive director of the Latin American Jewish Congress, Claudio Epelman.
On Thursday, the candidates will join the President of the Republic, Luis Lacalle Pou, the Argentine President Javier Milei and the Paraguayan President Santiago Peña at the central event for the 30th anniversary of the attack against the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA), which occurred on July 18, 1994. However, according to campaign sources, the PN formula will not travel with the president.
The commemorative event will take place at the tribute mural at Pasteur 633, and will be organized by AMIA itself, the victims’ families and the Delegation of Argentine Jewish Associations (DAIA). Luis Lacalle Pou has participated in previous tributes organized by the Jewish community in Montevideo, such as the commemorative event for Holocaust and Heroism Day and the commemoration of Kristallnacht.
Chronicle of the AMIA attack
On July 18, 1994, Buenos Aires witnessed one of the most devastating terrorist attacks in Argentine history. At 9:53 a.m., an explosion rocked the Once neighborhood.
The headquarters of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA), located at Pasteur 633, was reduced to rubble. A Renault Trafic van loaded with explosives was responsible for this tragedy that claimed the lives of 85 people and injured more than 300.
AMIA, a central institution for the Jewish community in Argentina, was in full swing when the attack occurred. The victims included employees of the association, visitors, and passers-by who were passing by at the time of the explosion.
The blast wave caused significant damage to surrounding buildings and left a crater in the street that remained as a scar in the country’s collective memory.
Immediately after the attack, rescue teams, firefighters and volunteers were deployed to the site in a frantic effort to find survivors in the rubble. The tragedy united the nation in grief and the search for justice, but also unleashed a series of controversies and theories about who was responsible for the attack.
Over the years, investigations have pointed to extremist groups and international connections, but progress in the case has been slow and plagued by suspicions of cover-ups and corruption.
The AMIA attack is one of the darkest chapters in the fight against terrorism in Latin America and represents a tragic milestone in the history of global anti-Semitic attacks.
Every year, as the anniversary of the tragedy approaches, commemorative events bring together relatives of the victims, members of the Jewish community and authorities, reaffirming the commitment to keep the memory alive and demand justice.
The upcoming event, marked by the presence of high-ranking officials from several countries, will be especially significant given the 30th anniversary of the attack.
