BUENOS AIRES.- The diplomatic tension between Argentina y Spain was revived this weekend and threatens to escalate, after at a Vox event in Madrid, the president Javier Miley referred to the wife of President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchezas “corrupt”, and that the latter demanded an apology from the Head of State of the South American country and assured that if it does not occur there will be a response on par with Spain.
At the “Europa Viva 24” convention, which on Sunday brought together right-wing leaders from Spain and other European countries, Milei attacked, without naming them, against Sánchez and his wife, Begoña Gómez.
“They don’t know what type of society and country (socialism) can produce and what kind of people screwed to power and what levels of abuse it can generate. Even if he has a corrupt wife, he gets dirty and takes five days to think about it,” he said, referring to the period in which the president of the Spanish government reflected on his continuity in office after the corruption accusations against his wife. of the.
His comments caused the Spanish government to call for consultations with the Ambassador of Spain in Argentina, María Jesús Alonsoand described the situation as the most serious moment in relations between both countries.
Sánchez, who has demanded a public rectification from Milei, said on Monday that Milei’s statements “were not up to the task” of a head of state and stated that his government’s reaction will be in accordance “with the dignity that Spanish democracy represents.” and to the ties of brotherhood that unite” the two countries.
In response to these statements, Milei reposted the message made by one of his followers on against Milei. He also apologized for it.
Additionally, Milei wrote on the same social network: “Hello everyone! The lion is back, surfing on a wave of socialist tears.”
En defense de Milei
Argentine officials defended the president in the context of one of the worst diplomatic crises of his administration that began in December.
Presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni said that Milei has no reason to apologize for his statements and that, in any case, he should be the Spanish government whoever does it because of the “endless” “attacks” that he has been launching for weeks against the leader of the Freedom Advances.
Adorni maintained that what happened does not represent a diplomatic conflict and that the relationship between peoples “is far above” what he considered discrepancies “between people.”
“What we did was, without mentioning anyone, talk about corruption and they felt offended,” Adorni said at a press conference.
“Everything falls on a minor reaction from our president; but let’s not forget that the origin of all this was a cataract of insults from the Spanish government that has not apologized… and continues to treat us as haters, as anti-democratic and as people who We do not respect forms, when we are quite the opposite,” said Adorni.
The spokesperson stressed that the conflict between the two countries began on May 3 when the Spanish Minister of Transport, Oscar Puente, suggested that Milei used drugs by stating that she had “ingested substances.”
From there, according to Adorni, there was a wave of attacks by other Spanish ministers and Sánchez himself against the Argentine Executive.
Milei’s statements during his recent stay in Spain reignited the diplomatic storm between Buenos Aires y Madridwhich had been toned down after Minister Puente admitted that his statements were a “mistake” and the Argentine presidential spokesperson ended the issue.
Adorni also downplayed the questions of the president of the Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations, Antonio Garamendi, to Milei’s statements. “They are nothing more than opinions that do not affect the people, the investments,” he said.
While these arguments were going on, the Argentine Presidency confirmed this Monday that Milei maintains her plan to travel to Madrid again on June 21, to receive an award from the liberal studies group Instituto Juan de Mariana for his “exemplary defense of the ideas of freedom.” The event will take place at the Madrid Casino.
Opposition criticism
In Argentina, opposition politicians targeted Milei. The president of the Peronist bench in the Senate, Juliana di Tullio, stated in X that the president “is not only a national shame, he is a great danger for our beloved country.”
Other opponents reproached Milei for his tendency to generate bilateral problems, recalling the one he had with Colombia after he crossed out the President Gustavo Petro of “terrorist murderer”, in reference to his past as a member of M19, a defunct leftist guerrilla. This led to the announcement from Bogotá that he was going to expel the Argentine diplomats and the call for consultations from his ambassador in Buenos Aires. Finally both countries overcame their differences.
The Argentine president has also maintained strong verbal exchanges with his Mexican counterpart, Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
During his three-day visit to Madrid, Milei did not have official meetings but he did meet on several occasions with the president of the far-right Vox party, Santiago Abascal, whom he described as his “friend.”
Sánchez’s wife has been the target of criticism from Vox and other leaders of the Spanish right after she was the subject of a legal investigation following the complaint by the conservative group Clean Hands that she had used her position to influence business agreements. Later, Clean Hands acknowledged that the lawsuit was based on media reports and the Spanish prosecutor’s office indicated that it should be dismissed.
The leader of the French National Rally participated in the meeting of far-right extremists in which Milei was received as a star, Marine Le Pen; the first minister of Italy, Giorgia Meloniand the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, among others. The event took place on the eve of the elections European Parliament that will be held between June 6 and 9 in the 27 countries of the European Union and in which analysts expect a growth of the extreme right.
Source: With information from AP / Europa Press
