Argentinian President Javier Milei, who made shockwaves after taking power in his country and dealing with deep economic crisis, now faces severe backlash for a growing bribery scandal involving his sister.
Milei has denied any wrongdoing and has labeled the issue “the most rancid political tricks.”
The accusations alone would be enough to rock his presidency, but the timing also threatens to deeply undermine him with two key elections scheduled in the next two months and his popularity cratering among the electorate.
Milei on Wednesday had to leave a rally early after protesters started throwing small rocks, bottles, and other objects at the pickup truck on which Milei and his sister stood.
Juan Mabromata/AFP via Getty Images
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Milei, a populist and self-declared “anarcho-capitalist” who has allied closely with President Donald Trump, fired the director of Argentina’s disability agency Diego Spagnuolo after he Spagnuolo was caught in recorded audio reportedly discussing a kickback scheme that handed Milei’s sister and close adviser Karina Milei and other senior officials as much as $800,000 a month.
The audio leaked to local media and has inflamed outrage against the embattled presidency, which swept into power and won plaudits for a daring approach to the country’s economic problems, but now faces heavy criticism as those fortunes have stalled.
Argentina faces two key elections in the coming months: Local races in Buenos Aires on September 7, and midterm elections on October 26, which will see half of the Chamber of Deputies and a third of the Senate up for re-election – a virtual referendum on Milei’s government.
Milei’s spokesman Manuel Adorni posted an image to X and highlighted an object that appeared to be hurtling towards Milei, writing, “They could have killed anyone. They don’t care about human life, much less are they going to care about the country.”
“Militants of the old politics, pure Kirchnerism, and a model of violence that only the cavemen…
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