Argentina’s Milei rushed from campaign event as protesters throw rocks at car
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Argentinian President Javier Milei speaking to members of the media during his Aug 27 rally.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Follow topic:
- President Milei was evacuated after protestors threw rocks at his vehicle during a campaign event in Buenos Aires.
- The crowd chanted anti-government slogans; Milei's spokesperson claimed the opposition "attacked" the caravan.
- The incident occurred amid a corruption scandal involving Milei's sister and chief of staff, Karina Milei.
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BUENOS AIRES - Argentine President Javier Milei was rushed out of a public event by his security team in Buenos Aires province on Aug 27 after protesters threw rocks and other objects at his car, according to Reuters witnesses.
The president was standing in the back of a moving pickup truck with security team members and his sister, Ms Karina Milei, who is also his chief of staff, while campaigning for upcoming local and midterm elections.
Some people in the crowd began throwing things, with at least one rock hitting the hood of the truck.
Other items were seen being thrown over the president’s head.
The pickup truck sped away from the crowd, which was yelling anti-government chants like “Get out, Milei.” People within the crowd were also fighting each other.
Mr Milei’s spokesperson, Mr Manuel Adorni, said on X that members of the opposition “attacked” the president’s caravan and that there were no injuries.
Several people in Mr Milei’s inner circle, including his sister, are currently embroiled in a corruption scandal over allegations of bribery in Argentina’s agency for the disabled.
After the incident, Milei posted a picture of himself giving a thumbs up alongside his sister and a congressman, and said the opposition “throws stones empty of ideas, turning once again to violence.”
Mr Milei’s caravan was moving through streets of Lomas de Zamora, a district in Buenos Aires province, which is traditionally a stronghold of the Peronist opposition movement.
Argentine authorities on Aug 22 raided a series of properties as part of a criminal investigation into an alleged kickback scheme related to Mr Diego Spagnuolo, who headed the disability agency.
Local media published audio recordings in which a voice that sounds like that of Mr Spagnuolo can be heard discussing bribery within the agency and alluding to Ms Karina Milei taking payments.
Mr Milei’s government last week fired Mr Spagnuolo “as a preventive measure,” it said in a statement.
At the Aug 27 event, Mr Milei publicly addressed the scandal for the first time.
Speaking to journalists following his caravan, he lashed out at Mr Spagnuolo, according to local media.
“Everything he says is a lie. We’re going to take him to court and prove he lied,” he told reporters.
The president’s strict austerity measures, aimed at taming inflation, have brutally cut funding to many public services, angering many Argentines and denting support over his so-called “chainsaw” approach, recent polls have shown.
Local pollster Synopsis recorded a six percentage point increase to 54.2 per cent in Mr Milei’s negative image among Argentines in August, compared to June.
Local elections in the province of Buenos Aires on Sept 7 and midterm elections on Oct 26 are both crucial opportunities for Mr Milei to expand his government’s power and fight harder against opposition attempts to reign in his spending cuts, which he hopes will attract international investment and boost trade. REUTERS
