Chau Evita? Milei officials eye demolition of iconic Buenos Aires building

President Javier Milei’s government is evaluating the future of an iconic building in the centre of Buenos Aires that formerly housed government ministries and has a 31-metre-high artwork featuring Peronist icon Eva ‘Evita’ Perón.

In a recent interview, Cabinet Chief Guillermo Francos said that the so-called ‘Edificio MOP,’ or Public Works Ministry building – an enormous tower in the middle of the 9 de Julio Avenue – could be demolished entirely, removing one of Buenos Aires’ most iconic images from the City skyline.

He put its potential destruction down to the building’s elevated "costs of functioning … since it is not in good condition."

Francos said the decision would be taken by Human Capital Sandra Pettovello, who he said is “analysing all her Ministry’s infrastructure” and whether “the building is needed or not.”

"It’s a building which is not only in bad condition but which also hampers traffic in a central thoroughfare of the City," pointed out the official. 

Pettovello’s portfolio was founded by President Javier Milei last December upon taking office. Nicknamed a ‘super-ministry’ due to the amount of other departments it assumed control of, the building falls under the Human Capital Ministry’s remit.

The MOP building most recently housed the former Social Development Ministry, which Pettovello absorbed into her portfolio.

Not the first attempt

The building has already been subjected to an identical debate – during the 1989-1999 Carlos Menem presidency – but has remained functioning. 

In 2011 Kirchnerism added enormous iron portraits of Eva Perón to its northern and southern facades, with one extending more than 30 metres.

For now, the decision technically depends on Pettovello, but government sources expect an issue of this magnitude will be decided by President Javier Milei and his sister, Presidential Chief-of-Staff Karina Milei. 

Francos himself observed that the idea "is not new" since that idea has been around for "decades," through successive administrations.  

"The demolition of the building, which is in the middle of [Avenida] 9 de Julio, is nothing new. We’ve heard talk about it for decades. I remember when I was a City councillor in the 1990s, it was an issue always under discussion," recalled Francos.

Emblematic building

The well-known MOP building, designed in rationalist style, was inaugurated in 1936 as the headquarters of the then-Public Works Ministry. At the time, it was the first and only skyscraper to be constructed on Avenida 9 de Julio, the capital’s main throughfare.

Its style and privileged view converted the spot into an iconic part of the City landscape, although its location in the Monserrat neighbourhood interrupts the traffic flow.

An antenna was installed which permitted the country’s first television transmission in 1951.

On August 22 of the same year, on a platform raised next to this building, Eva Perón confirmed her vice-presidential candidacy to a crowd, though she would renounce it just a week after for different motives, among them illness. 

She would die on July 26 the following year

Four years later the Public Works Ministry was the victim of bombing at the same time as the Plaza de Mayo. 

In 1991 the building was transferred to the Health Ministry. Four years later, then-President Menem proposed the demolition of the building, considering it a hindrance for traffic. 

But in 2002 it was declared a National Historic Monument. Eight years later, its façade and terraces were restored, maintaining its style, similar to that of the Kavanagh building and the Gran Rex cinema.  

Anti-Peronist crusade

The potential demolition of the building is part of a cultural battle being undertaken by the Milei administration, which is seeking to strip out tributes and references to Peronist leaders at government buildings.

The Human Capital Ministry is advancing in a "process of reordering its public spaces," said Pettovello recently, referring to the removal of posters, photos and images of Eva Perón at state offices.

"Public buildings belong to all Argentines," affirmed the minister, who last Saturday shared a video on social media showing her removing such items. 

The portfolio issued a communiqué detailing that "the Human Capital Ministry has initiated a process of reordering its public spaces with the objective of guaranteeing partisan neutrality and avoiding political propaganda out of respect for the diversity of thinking."

Milei’s government recently renamed the Centro Cultural Kirchner, rebranding it as the Palacio de Libertad – using one of the three words that make up the President’s party, La Libertad Avanza.

– TIMES/PERFIL