Rousseff arrives late, misses Macri's inauguration at Argentine Congress

The swear-in ceremony of the new Argentine president Mauricio Macri was marked by a series of mishaps. Disagreement in the event organization marred the arrival of international delegations. Courts were called in to decide how and where the ceremony was to take place, and even which of the presidents was to choose. When she was told that her tenure would officially end at midnight Wednesday (Dec. 9)—rather than Thursday at noon (the time Macri was due to take the oath of office) – Cristina Kirchner decided she would not attend the inauguration.

Kirchner left the government along with her cabinet on Wednesday evening without signing the no-fly decree for easier landing of presidential aircraft Thursday. President Dilma Rousseff, who was supposed to landed in Buenos Aires at 11:20 am, arrived late and missed the ceremony in Congress, because her plane was forced to fly over the Argentinian capital for 20 minutes before it could land on the military air base.

Still, Rousseff was able to have a bilateral meeting with Macri at the Pink House before the second part of the ceremony, when the new president received the presidential sash and baton of office. Brazil was the first country he visited as a president-elect after November 25. Besides Rousseff, the presidents of Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay attended the inauguration.

Dilma returned to Brazil shortly after the ceremony at the Pink House.

Translated by Mayra Borges