Milei tells Kicillof to resign over ‘bloodbath’ in Buenos Aires Province

In an extraordinary intervention into federal politics, President Javier Milei has called on Buenos Aires Province Axel Kicillof to resign and let the national government intervene in the running of the region.

Milei, seeking to score political points amid further revelations from the so-called ‘Cryptogate’ scandal, said in a post on social media that Kicillof is “incompetent” and failing to tackle what he described as a “bloodbath” in Buenos Aires Province.

The remarks come just a few days after seven-year-old Kim Gómez was killed in a car robbery in La Plata, prompting residents to take to the streets to demand greater security measures.

Gómez died after two thieves stole the car she was travelling in and set off without realising she remained in the car. She suffered fatal wounds in the incident as the assailants attempted to eject from the vehicle as it travelled at high speed.

The shocking case has reignited debate about insecurity in areas of Buenos Aires Province, especially the notorious ‘Conurbano’ ring that encircles the nation’s capital.

Milei, who came in for criticism this week as he launched an attempt to bypass Congress and impose two Supreme Court justices by decree, highlighted the case in his call for Kicillof’s resignation.

The governor, declared the President, “cannot solve the problem of insecurity” and should step down.

“If you are interested in the welfare of the people of Buenos Aires [Province], get out of the way (i.e. resign) and let us intervene in the province. In one year we are going to put an end to violence,” Milei declared.

“‘Given that the Province is a bloodbath … our vision on how to tackle the problem is so different and you clearly cannot solve it,” said the head of state.

The La Libertad Avanza leader argued that policies that painted “criminals as the victims” were responsible for violent crime and accused Kicillof of pushing a “pro-crime doctrine.”

Speaking a day earlier, Kicillof acknowledged the horror of Gómez’s death, yet warned against those attempting to use the case for political gain. 

“Today is a sad day. I know that some people are using this to win a vote, to profit from the pain and see if they can gain an advantage,” said the governor.

Kicillof said that “those responsible must be punished,” adding that “the response must be the support of the state.”

“All limits have been crossed. We have seen some political leaders do things that are not politics,” he said.

Provincial officials complained this week that funding cutbacks from Milei’s national government have left people in the region "abandoned."

Opposition Peronists condemned Milei’s intervention, describing the remarks as an “absolute lack of respect for democracy.”

The National Partido Justicialista, led by former president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, said in a statement that Milei’s remarks were a “serious” threat to democratic institutions.

Calling for intervention from the national government shows an “absolute lack of respect for democracy,” said the party, slamming Milei’s “state of desperation in the face of public and notorious scandals.”

“He is attempting an institutional coup against the province and its governor Kicillof,” read a statement.

The party’s regional chapter, headed by lawmaker Máximo Kirchner, Fernández de Kirchner’s son, accused the government of using the crisis for electoral purposes. 

“In a new act of institutional gravity, the president of the nation, Javier Milei, in a new act of institutional gravity urges the governor of Buenos Aires Province, Axel Kicillof, to resign from his post to intervene in the province,” complained a statement.

“How far will the president of the delegated powers continue to attack the people of Buenos Aires Province, who have democratically elected their representatives?” it concluded.

– TIMES/NA/AFP