Every July 9, Argentina commemorates the Declaration of Independence, one of the most momentous events in its history. On the 210th anniversary of that historic day, we remember the decision made by the representatives of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata to establish themselves as a free and sovereign nation, definitively severing ties of dependence on the Spanish Crown and all other forms of foreign domination.

The Act of Independence was adopted on July 9, 1816, during the Congress convened in the city of San Miguel de Tucumán, where delegates from various provinces debated the country’s political course amid major internal and external challenges. Independence represented a fundamental step toward consolidating a national project based on the exercise of sovereignty and the self-determination of the people.

The decisions made at the Congress of Tucumán gave continuity to the process begun with the May Revolution of 1810 and laid the foundations for the nation’s institutional organization. From that point on, the United Provinces affirmed their determination to build a free state, capable of determining its own destiny.

210 years after that historic event, Independence Day invites us to remember the commitment and determination of those who made the consolidation of our nation possible and to renew the values of freedom, unity, and sovereignty that inspired that historic July 9, 1816.