Economy Minister Luis Caputo attacks opponents: 'Kirchnerism is hell, Kicillof is the antichrist’

Economy Minister Luis Caputo compared Buenos Aires Province Governor Axel Kicillof to the “antichrist” on Tuesday in an extraordinary personal attack delivered during a speech to business executives.

“Kirchnerism is hell and Kicillof is the antichrist,” Caputo said at the CFO Summit 2026, organised by newspaper El Cronista. “That’s really how he is seen, and I understand that people see him that way because, effectively, he is.”

The comment came as Caputo was discussing concerns among investors about Argentina’s 2027 presidential election and the possibility of a return to power by the Peronist opposition. He said the prospect was deterring investors from backing Argentina.

Caputo, President Javier Milei’s top economic official, went on to accuse Kicillof of wanting Argentines to remain poor and of disliking the fact that they travel abroad.

He also reserved some choice words for businesspeople who have called for a devaluation of the peso, describing them as “mummies” or “miserable people” who wanted a poor, closed Argentina where they could pay lower wages and profit from subsidised prices.

Caputo’s remarks came in the middle of an otherwise conventional defence of the government’s economic programme. He argued that Argentina had sufficient reserves and other safeguards to prevent major currency volatility ahead of the 2027 elections, and said the Central Bank could potentially buy between US$20 billion and US$30 billion in reserves in the coming months under favourable conditions.

He also defended the government’s record on inflation, pensions, poverty and fiscal policy, and rejected the prospect of what he called a “plan platita” – a pre-election spending spree. 

Kicillof, a former economy minister and prominent Peronist, is widely regarded as one of the leading figures in the opposition to Milei. He is widely seen to be a presidential candidate in next year's election, though he has not confirmed his intention to run.

– TIMES/NA