THE GUARDIAN: Turning from his ferocious attacks on domestic opponents, Javier Milei aims his scorn at the heads of Brazil and Bolivia
On the campaign trail, Argentina’s showman president, Javier Milei, brandished a chainsaw to highlight plans for ferocious spending cuts. In office, the rightwinger has apparently decided to take the power tool to foreign relations as well.
In recent days, Milei has busied himself losing friends and alienating people with a series of verbal attacks on the leftwing leaders of Argentina’s two biggest neighbours, Bolivia and Brazil.
First came Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, whom Argentina’s far-right libertarian leader had called a corrupt communist during last year’s election. Last week, when Lula suggested Milei should apologize for talking “loads of nonsense”, the Argentinian quickly scotched the idea.
“Since when do you have to say sorry for telling the truth?” the television celebrity turned politician said of his attack on the president of Argentina’s top trade partner. “Have we become so sick with politically correctness that you can’t say anything about the left even when it’s true?” » | Tom Phillips, Latin America correspondent, and Facundo Iglesia in Buenos Aires | Tuesday, July 2, 2024
