Argentina's President Javier Milei denounced what he called "satanic" and "cancerous" socialism in a speech on the first day of his visit to Spain Friday, where he was criticised by a member of Spain's left-wing government.
"Let us not let the dark, black, satanic, atrocious, horrible carcinogenic side that is socialism prevail over us," he said, in a talk about his books on libertarian ideas.
Earlier Friday, Spanish Labour Minister Yolanda Díaz accused Milei of sowing "hatred," weeks after a diplomatic clash between the nations.
"There aren't many who sow hate, but they make a lot of noise and flood everything," Díaz, who is also one of three deputy prime ministers, told a forum at her ministry.
"Milei and other governments of hate are back with their austerity measures and authoritarianism," she added.
Diaz leads the far-left party Sumar, one of Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's junior coalition partners.
Milei did not directly respond to her comment, but he did say his policies were putting Argentina back on track "after a decline of more than 100 years."
Diplomatic row
Milei won elections last November vowing to reduce the Argentine deficit to zero.
To that end, he has instituted an austerity programme that has seen the government slash subsidies for transport, fuel and energy, even as wage-earners lost a fifth of their purchasing power.
Milei, who began his visit to Spain on Friday, will not be meeting either Sánchez or King Felipe VI.
This is his first trip to Spain since taking office in December. On Saturday he will meet with businesspeople. According to the Spanish press, senior executives from the banks Santander and BBVA, Telefónica and airline Iberia, among others, will attend.
On Sunday, he is scheduled to take part at a gathering of Spanish far-right party Vox alongside other hard-right leaders such as France's Marine Le Pen and Chile's José Antonio Kast, an admirer of late Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet.
The Europe Viva 24 summit – described by Vox as a "convention of European patriots" in the run-up to the European elections on March 9 – will feature pre-recorded video speeches from Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orban.
Milei and Abascal are on good terms, describing each other as "dear friends" often on social media.
After Sunday's event, Milei will return to Argentina.
'Substances' mistake
His visit comes after Spanish Transport Minister Óscar Puente had to apologise after sparking a row with Buenos Aires by suggesting Milei was on drugs.
"I saw Milei on television" during the campaign, Puente told a Socialist Party conference. "I don't know if it was before or after the consumption... of substances."
Within hours, Milei's office issued an official statement lambasting Sanchez's leftist government, accusing it of putting "the middle class in danger with his socialist policies that bring only poverty and death."
Puente later said he had made a "mistake", saying he was not aware of the repercussions his comments would have, and Buenos Aires said the dispute was "over."
"There are conflictive attitudes on both sides that are accelerating a certain deterioration" of Spanish-Argentine relations, said Carlos Malamud, a specialist on Latin America at the Real Instituto Elcano think-tank.
Malamud cited Sánchez's support for Milei's rival in the election campaign, Sergio Massa, and the Argentine President's visit to Spain without meeting with the highest authorities as proof.
– TIMES/AFP
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