President Javier Milei reignited his ongoing battle with the media over the weekend, lashing out at critical journalists and branding them “hitmen” and “lying trash” in a post on social media.
“I think people don’t hate these hitmen with press credentials enough. If they knew them better, they’d hate them even more than politicians,” Milei wrote in a Saturday night post on the X social network.
It’s not the first time the La Libertad Avanza leader has launched an attack on the press. He has repeatedly vilified journalists who question his administration, accusing them of being “on the take” and describing them as “criminals with microphones.”
In his latest escalation, Milei singled out Joaquín Morales Solá, a veteran columnist for the conservative La Nación daily.
Milei accused the journalist of “poisoning Argentines with his pen” and spreading lies under the guise of journalism.
Other posts included a barrage of derogatory language, with terms like “imbecile,” “liars,” and other regular insults from his repertoire.
Since taking office on December 10, 2023, the President has not held a single press conference.
He has only granted interviews to a small, carefully chosen circle of journalists — almost always in pre-recorded formats rather than live broadcasts.
Milei’s constant attacks have drawn criticism from press freedom advocates. Both Argentina’s National Academy of Journalism and the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) expressed alarm over Milei’s rhetoric, warning against the dangers of stigmatising the media.
The IAPA urged him to adopt “a more tolerant tone” and uphold democratic standards in his communication with the press.
Milei’s latest outburst followed coverage of his remarks about the farming sector. He had urged agricultural exporters to accelerate the liquidation of their foreign currency earnings — a move aimed at strengthening Central Bank reserves and easing pressure on the exchange rate.
“I’d thought the press had reached its peak as lying trash with their coverage of poverty reduction,” he said. “I was wrong. I underestimated them. They’ve outdone themselves by claiming I threatened the farming sector.”
He was referring to recent official data showing that poverty levels in the second half of 2024 had returned to 2023 levels — 38 percent.
In January, the President temporarily reduced export taxes on agricultural goods until June 30.
Last week, he warned the measure would not be renewed — a signal interpreted by both the press and the sector as pressure to prompt immediate export sales from an industry that brought in US$25 billion in 2024.
“Someone tell the farming sector — if they need to liquidate, they should do it now, because in July export duties are coming back,” Milei told the El Observador radio station.
On Tuesday, the government received US$12 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), part of a US$20 billion loan programme to shore up reserves. The Central Bank’s holdings have now risen to US$38.6 billion.
Under the IMF agreement, Milei lifted currency controls that had been in place for six years and introduced a managed float system, allowing the peso to trade between 1,000 and 1,400 per US dollar.
The government is relying on strong reserves to keep the exchange rate near the bottom of that band — a strategy to contain inflation, which remains the backbone of Milei’s public support and his most valuable political asset heading into the legislative elections on October 26.
– TIMES/AFP/NA
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