Milei administration intensifies offensive against press

President Javier Milei’s government and the Casa Rosada are seeking to shift the focus. The La Libertad Avanza leader’s attack on the press is not just intimidation — they form part of a broader strategy and narrative. The intensity shown this past week by Argentina’s President towards the press is aimed at creating “a new caste” to confront.

It is, in effect, a move intended to sideline the opposition’s political leadership as the government’s natural enemy. In doing so, Milei directs his criticism and accusations at journalists and media outlets, avoiding direct confrontation with leaders from other political forces.

The strategy is thought to have been crafted by the government’s all-purpose star adviser, Santiago Caputo. Some observers suggest the manoeuvre is “no stroke of genius” but rather a tactic already used by other leaders with similar profiles to Milei. Examples include Viktor Orbán, the prime minister of Hungary; Giorgia Meloni, the prime minister of Italy; and Jair Bolsonaro, former president of Brazil. Not to mention Milei’s idol, US President Donald Trump, who also employs this approach.

There are voices within the libertarian movement who attribute the move to a survey Santiago Caputo is said to have commissioned back in January, which asked respondents whether they would be willing to live “in a country with an authoritarian government that delivers good economic results.”

Over the past week, Milei has focused on harassing journalists and media outlets. He singled out the La Nación newspaper and journalist Carlos Pagni in particular, claiming he would take him to court over an article that linked the President and Nazism.

He also published alleged chat conversations with journalists, who supposedly admit to being “part of a strategy” used by street reporters “to provoke” interviewees. “MORE THAN EVER we don’t hate journalists enough…,” concluded the head of state in a social media post.

The President also shared a message from the president of the La Fundación Faro libertarian thinktank, Agustín Laje, referencing the “END OF THE JOURNALISTIC TRUTH REGIME” – he is one of the President’s main ideologues and has close ties to Mauricio Novelli, the tech businessman and entrepreneur at the centre of the ‘$LIBRA’ cryptocurrency scandal.

Libertarian influencer Daniel Parisini, better known as ‘Gordo Dan,’ went a step further and suggested the President imprison journalists by decree, targeting Gabriel Levinas directly and also attacking economist Roberto Cachanosky.

In recent days, there has been a visible radicalisation of the entire libertarian-aligned digital front, including both official government accounts and unaffiliated ones, against journalists and journalism in general.

Along the same lines, Economy Minister Luis ‘Toto’ Caputo claimed this week that journalism “is a profession on the verge of extinction,” as he commented on a survey showing low credibility for political journalism.

The President has never expressed solidarity with, nor taken responsibility for, the cowardly attack on left-wing journalist Roberto Navarro, who was struck from behind by attackers. 

Milei recently urged society to “hate” the press more.