Inflation in Argentina just hit a record-high 138%. It has continued to skyrocket since the country defaulted on a record-setting $57-billion “relief package” issued by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2018. A payment default in May of 2020 couldn’t have come at a worse time. As country’s were shutting down for the global “pandemic”, Argentina failed to make a $500-million loan payment and cut the country off from access to many finance options.
The people of Argentina, in a testament to sweeping change, have latched on to the populist candidate, Javier Milei. Milei has been compared to Donald Trump and former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, often referred to as “the Trump of the Tropics.” And for this reason, the Mockingbird Media outlets immediately labeled him things like “far-right”, “ultra-right libertarian”, and “Trump fan” as reported by The Gateway Pundit.
And now add another notch to that comparison: he’s also under criminal investigation, just days before the country’s elections on October 22nd.
Prosecutors in Argentina have launched a criminal investigation into the presidential front-runner Javier Milei for encouraging Argentinians not to save money in the Argentinian peso. As the candidate to receive the most votes of any other during the presidential primary, and running on a platform that involves adopting the US Dollar as their currency, this would seem like a logical encouragement. After all, it seems he’s the likely replacement for President Alberto Fernandez, who, according to the AP, called for the investigation himself. Fernandez is not seeking re-election.
From the AP:
President Alberto Fernández had called for the investigation in a complaint filed Wednesday, saying that the right-wing populist candidate was trying to scare the public and that his actions were “a severe affront to the democratic system.”
Prosecutor Franco Picardi on Friday referred a criminal case to a federal judge, going off Fernández’s accusation that claimed Milei and other candidates on his party’s ticket were inciting public fear — a charge that carries possible prison terms of up to six years. Federal Judge María Servini will later decide whether there is enough evidence to indict.
[Milei] pushed back against the criminal case Friday, characterizing the prosecutor as an ally of the government and saying that Picardi is “persecuting the political option most voted by the Argentine people.” (sound familiar?)
In a post on social media, Milei added: “Nothing will prevent the beating we’re going to give them at the polls.”
Milei is being investigated for saying that the “peso is the currency issued by the Argentine politician, and therefore it is not worth crap.” With only 8 days left until the election, this investigation could have unintended consequences for President Alberto Fernandez, who called for the investigation. President Trump raised in two weeks ($15.4M) almost what he raised the entire previous quarter ($18.8M).
When inflation is at a record-high and the people are desperate for change, prosecuting your political rival is not typically a winning strategy, assuming elections are free and fair.
The populist candidate appeared on Tucker Carlson last month, as reported by The Gateway Pundit. In that interview, Milei ripped on current Argentinian government structure, the Pope, and Communism.
On Argentina’s current system he said
Argentina is a country that has embraced socialist ideas. The rebellion always comes from the youth, and the youth found in me someone who spoke about free market, against the status quo
He also claimed the Pope “plays politics” and has an “affinity for dictators like Castro and Maduro.” He also pledged that he would not do business with China or “any communist!”
No wonder they have to get this guy out of the way!
