In extraordinary remarks aired just days before a crunch election, President Javier Milei said Wednesday that Argentina's main opposition movement will go to any lengths to destroy his government – including an attempt on his life.
During an interview with Louis Sarkozy, son of former French president Nicolas Sarkozy, Milei accused the opposition of working to destabilise his government ahead of Sunday’s key election in Buenos Aires Province, the nations’ largest region.
Asked about ongoing political tensions in the build-up to the vote, Milei responded bluntly: “It's all or nothing. Kirchnerism’s strategy is to destroy the economic plan in Congress, incite violent protests, or try to kill me.”
He said the opposition is employing a “Hernán Cortés-style strategy – burn the ships, all or nothing.” He added that this also involves “spreading lies to try to discredit me.”
The interview was published on Wednesday, just hours before Milei and his sister, Presidential Chief-of-Staff Karina Milei, are due to attend La Libertad Avanza’s final campaign event in Moreno, Buenos Aires Province.
Government officials say the event, set to take place at the Club Atlético Villa Ángela, is subject to heightened security concerns after threats of violence.
At an event in Lomas de Zamora last month, critics of the President and his administration hurled rocks at his caravan, forcing the head of state and other officials to flee the scene.
On Tuesday, Buenos Aires Province Security Minister Javier Alonso warned the President’s security team in a letter that attending the event came with “risks” and stating that he could not guarantee there will be “no acts of aggression.”
Governor Axel Kicillof, who hails from the opposition Peronist movement, said in a statement published Wednesday that he would hold Milei responsible for any “disorder or violence” at the events.
He called on local residents not to attend and accused the national government of “provoking unrest to create a distraction” from developing corruption allegations.
He described the choice of venue as “very strange and suspicious”, criticising the choice of a venue lacking proper infrastructure and referenced “alarming security failures” at previous events in Lomas de Zamora, Junín, and Corrientes, which were overseen by federal forces.
In another part of his interview, Milei defended his sister against the recent corruption allegations, which have dominated the media in recent days.
Last month, audio recordings attributed to the former chief of the ANDIS national disability agency were published by local media outlets, implicating Karina Milei in a bribery scandal.
“We managed to build a political party in record time – something nearly impossible in Argentina. That’s largely thanks to my sister, who has done phenomenal work,” said President Milei.
Milei then intensified his criticism of the opponents and ruled out any negotiation. “You can’t give an inch to someone who wants to kill you. When they’re in opposition, they try to destroy the government, and when they’re in power, they destroy the country,” he stated, describing them as “psychopaths.”
– TIMES/NA
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