Argentina’s president Milei pelted with rocks on campaign trail amid corruption scandal linked to sister
The president of Argentina, Javier Milei, was pelted with stones while campaigning near the capital Buenos Aires on Wednesday by demonstrators protesting about a corruption scandal.
The far-right leader, who was whisked from the scene by his security detail, sustained no injuries after his motorcade was attacked, presidential spokesperson Manuel Adorni wrote on X.
Milei, who is campaigning for October midterm elections, was riding in the back of a pickup truck and greeting supporters in the city of Lomas de Zamora, 20km south of Buenos Aires, when protesters began throwing plants, rocks and bottles at his vehicle.
The vehicle carrying the president and his sister, Karina Milei, along with other officials, quickly left the scene.
Afterwards, scuffles broke out between supporters and opponents of the libertarian leader.
The skirmishes arose amid a scandal in Argentina over alleged corruption at the public disability agency involving Milei’s highly influential sister who works closely with the president, Karina Milei.
“Milei came to provoke. And well, he had to leave, as was fitting,” Ramon, a retiree who preferred not to give his last name, said, describing Lomas de Zamora as an opposition stronghold.
Ariel Ferrari, a communications expert who supported the president, said he came to “defend the ideas of Javier Milei … to free Latin America and the entire world from socialist, Marxist ideas which never worked”.
Minutes before, the president had addressed the scandal that has erupted after the leak of audio recordings by the former head of the disability agency, Diego Spagnuolo.
In the recordings, which have received wall-to-wall news coverage in Argentina for days, Spagnuolo claimed Karina Milei pocketed funds destined for people with disabilities.
President Milei on Wednesday broke his silence on the affair.
“Everything [Spagnuolo] says is a lie,” he told reporters in Lomas de Zamora before the protests erupted, adding: “We are going to bring him to justice and prove he lied.”
The incident underscored the potentially damaging nature of the scandal for Milei in the run-up to the legislative elections.
The vote will be the first big test of his support since the libertarian economist took office in December 2023 on a promise to revive Argentina’s ailing economy.
The 54-year-old has managed to lower stubbornly high inflation and produce a budget surplus by making large budget cuts, including on spending for services for people with disabilities.