The definitive withdrawal of the Spanish ambassador in Buenos Aires, after the Government confirms that Argentine President Javier Milei will not apologize for calling Begoña Gómez “corrupt”, is a measure with few precedents. The last time this diplomatic instrument was used was in November 2020, the Government of Pedro Sánchez withdrew its ambassador in Venezuela in protest over alleged electoral irregularities. To find another similar case, we must go back to 2016, when Spain withdrew – but temporarily through a call for consultations – its ambassador in Caracas due to the diplomatic crisis unleashed by statements by President Nicolás Maduro in which he called Mariano Rajoy “corrupt garbage.” The decision adopted this Tuesday represents an escalation in the conflict with Buenos Aires, although not a break in diplomatic relations.
The call for sine die consultations by the Spanish ambassador in Argentina, María Jesús Alonso, has become a definitive withdrawal, although the Spanish legation in Buenos Aires will continue to function. Now the number two at the Embassy will be in charge of attending to the interests of the Spaniards residing in the country – a colony that in 2023 was approaching half a million – and looking after the interests of some 300 Spanish companies settled in Argentina. It will be a situation created in 2020 after the withdrawal of the ambassador from Caracas. From that moment on, the head of the mission was a chargé d’affaires, who was in charge for two years. Spain did not name a new ambassador until December 2022.
One of the differences between the call for sine die consultations and the definitive withdrawal is in the way of reversing the situation. In the first, the diplomatic representative can return to his legation when the country considers it appropriate, while with the second the procedures to restore normality are more laborious. If the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, and his Argentine counterpart consider the crisis resolved, the Council of Ministers should appoint the new ambassador and ask Argentina for approval. Something that, in these moments of tension, seems discardable.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, has not ruled out taking new steps in this diplomatic crisis, although he has not revealed what they may be. Diplomatic sources explain that after the final withdrawal there could be two measures that would represent a good escalation of the conflict: the expulsion of the Argentine ambassador in Spain or the breaking of diplomatic relations, which date back to 1860. Never before had such a point of friction. The same diplomatic sources rule out a new twist that would add more tension to the situation.
To gauge the magnitude of the decision adopted yesterday, it is enough to resort to the lack of precedents for this measure. Not even after the Russian invasion of Ukraine did Spain withdraw its ambassador from Moscow. After the outbreak of war, Russia and Spain mutually expelled diplomats who were installed on their borders, but the ambassadors remained in foreign territory. Spain called its ambassador to Russia, Marcos Gómez, for consultations, but he returned to Moscow. A reciprocal situation, since the Russian ambassador currently remains in Madrid, which is in line with the actions of the rest of the European countries.
While waiting for Argentina to react in the same way, definitively withdrawing its ambassador in Spain, the Government could expel her. Something that, a priori, the same diplomatic sources consulted rule out. Although there are precedents. In 2011, the Government of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero expelled the Libyan ambassador to Spain in its intention to break with the Gaddafi regime. In 2012, with Mariano Rajoy already at the head of the Executive, the Syrian ambassador was expelled. And in 2017, the North Korean ambassador was also expelled in response to the nuclear and missile tests carried out by the Kim Jong Un regime.
