In a sentence that no-one had previously considered writing prior to the 2023 election campaign, Argentina’s leading presidential candidate has denied having sex with his sister, hating traditional music from Córdoba and talking to his dead dogs.
The denials are just two from a 26-point list of “fake news” items that La Libertad Avanza candidate Javier Milei said were lies on Friday.
Published on social media just two days before a crunch debate, libertarian Milei – one of the two remaining hopefuls in the running for the Casa Rosada, alongside Peronist hopeful Sergio Massa – aims to sway undecided voters as the November 19 run-off draws near.
Most of the items on the“fake news list” are rumours about the populist libertarian, who has caused constant controversy on the campaign trail with a series of outrageous remarks.
Among Milei’s flagship policy proposals are vows to dollarise Argentina’s troubled economy and dynamite the Central Bank – and these are the ones he actually believes in.
Despite the blanket denial of the allegations on Friday, most of the rumoured claims or policies that Milei rejected in a post on social media were in fact created by statements he previously made – such as his stated desire to allow human organs to be sold on the free market (an idea he says in not on La Libertad Avanza’s manifesto), slash public transport subsidies and end diplomatic relations with “communist” nations like Brazil and China.
The claims that Milei denied are, as previously trailed, not the norm for a presidential candidate… here’s the list in full:
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Selling of organs = FALSE
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Selling of children = FALSE
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Free carrying of arms = FALSE
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Privatisation of healthcare = FALSE
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Privatisation of education = FALSE
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Train fare to 1,100 pesos = FALSE
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Bus fare to 700 pesos = FALSE
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Milei is a “NAZI” = FALSE
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Milei fucked his sister = FALSE
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Milei is “caste” = FALSE
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Milei is anti-democratic = FALSE
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With Milei, workers will “earn less” = FALSE
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Milei has psychological problems = FALSE
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Milei hates ‘el cuarteto’ [reference to Córdoba music genre] = FALSE
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Milei is against equal marriage = FALSE
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Milei will remove pensions = FALSE
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He will cut the ‘aguinaldo’ bonus and holiday pay = FALSE
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Milei will dollarise with people’s savings = FALSE
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Milei will hand over the Malvinas Islands = FALSE
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With Milei, trade with Brazil and China ends = FALSE
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Milei vindicates the dictatorship = FALSE
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Milei is going to disintegrate national industry = FALSE
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Milei talks with dead dogs = FALSE
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Milei hates and mistreats women = FALSE
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Milei is Macri’s puppet = FALSE
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[Billionaire businessman Eduardo] Eunekian finances Milei = FALSE
Right unites for Milei
Over the weekend, Milei received the support of a number of right-wing Spanish-speaking former heads of state.
Former presidents Mauricio Macri (Argentina), Felipe Calderón (Mexico), Iván Duque (Colombia), Mariano Rajoy (Spain), Jorge Quiroga (Bolivia), Sebastián Piñera (Chile), Vicente Fox (Mexico), Andrés Pastrana (Colombia), Luis Fortuño (Puerto Rico) and Mario Vargas Llosa (Peru) were among those who co-signed a statement slamming Milei’s rival, ruling coalition candidate Sergio Massa.
The authors said that Massa represents "the continuity of a broken corporatist economic model" and that Argentina should vote "against economic populism, authoritarianism and political corruption.”
The statement also highlights that Kirchnerism, the predominant political force in the country in the 21st century, is seeking to obtain a fifth mandate with Sergio Massa as its candidate.
"Massa's project is nothing more than the original project of Néstor [Kirchner] and Cristina [Fernández de] Kirchner: to achieve political hegemony," the communiqué states.
"The cost of these perverse economic policies has been galloping inflation, widespread poverty and the economic anguish of millions of Argentines who see their standard of living collapsing daily,” it continues.
And they expressed their support for the libertarian: "Faced with this threat is the option of Javier Milei, a candidate who is new to politics, with whom we certainly have many differences, but who believes in the ideas of freedom and has a very accurate diagnosis of the country's economic problem.”
CNE slaps down fraud claims
In recent weeks, Milei has begun warning about the possibility of electoral fraud in this year’s election, telling Peruvian writer and journalist Jamie Bayly in an interview that there were “irregularities” in the October 22 first-round vote.
Electoral officials have rejected those remarks, with National Electoral Chamber (CNE) Secretary Sebastián Schimmel saying over the weekend that there is “zero percent chance of fraud."
Expressing “concern” over Milei’s comments, Schimmel said that the libertarian’s claims had not been matched by legal complaints from his party.
"There is 0% chance of fraud. It is a system with so many crossed controls, there is citizen intervention, reciprocal control from the political groups," said the Cámara Nacional Electoral Secretary official.
He stressed that "there have been no allegations of fraud, raising or challenging the outcome of the election.”
CNE chief Schimmel stressed that, on the contrary, there was "acceptance and approval from the different political forces" that took part in the elections.
"These statements are not supported by what happened on election day and the lack of complaints" from La Libertad Avanza, said the head of the electoral watchdog.
– TIMES/NA
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