Published October 14, 2023
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.
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SOURCE: https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/10/banana-republic-argentinian-presidential-front-runner-javier-milei/
RELATED: Prosecutor files case against Argentina’s frontrunner Javier Milei days before presidential election
A prosecutor has launched a criminal case against Argentina’s frontrunner in this month’s presidential elections, accusing Javier Milei of deliberately causing a sharp drop in the Argentine currency when he encouraged citizens not to save in pesos. Milei has denounced the move as political persecution, just days ahead of the Oct. 22 election. President Alberto Fernández had called for the investigation in a complaint filed Wednesday. The president says that the right-wing populist candidate was trying to scare the public and that his actions were “a severe affront to the democratic system.” A prosecutor referred the case Friday to a federal judge for a possible indictment.
Presidential hopeful of the Liberty Advances coalition Javier Milei waves to supporters during a campaign rally in Salta, Argentina, Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023. Elections are set for Oct. 22. (AP Photo/Javier Corbalan)
Published October 14, 2023
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — A prosecutor launched a criminal case Friday against Argentina’s frontrunner in this month’s presidential elections, accusing Javier Milei of deliberately causing a drop in the Argentine currency when he encouraged citizens not to save in pesos.
Milei denounced the move as political persecution, just days ahead of the Oct. 22 polling.
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 is considered the frontrunner in the Oct. 22 election, after rocking Argentina’s political landscape when he unexpectedly received the most votes in August primaries that are widely seen as a massive poll of voter preferences.
He 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.”
In a post on social media, Milei added: “Nothing will prevent the beating we’re going to give them at the polls.”
In a news conference earlier this week, Milei said those who criticized him were trying to “tarnish the electoral process or even forcibly ban the most popular political force … because they know we’re just a few points away from winning.”
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SOURCE: https://thepublicsradio.org/article/prosecutor-files-case-against-argentinas-frontrunner-javier-milei-days-before-presidential-election
RELATED: Javier Milei: The Argentine presidential candidate wants to abolish the country’s central bank and move to the U.S. dollar
Ultra-right libertarian candidate Javier Milei celebrates the results of Argentina’s primary elections, Aug. 13, 2023.
Published October 14, 2023
A leading presidential candidate in Argentina has drastic changes in mind for the national economy.
Javier Milei shocked the South American country — and the world — after he garnered the most primary votes of any candidate in the presidential primary election. His platform includes switching the country’s currency from the Argentine peso to the U.S. dollar and removing the country’s central bank.
The ultra-right libertarian candidate’s next big test comes later this month with the general election, though there could be a run-off election in November. But Milei’s unexpected popularity has already put Argentina’s fiscal policy community on alert and sent ripples through the economy.
“People are looking for another alternative,” said Alejandro Werner, director of the Georgetown Americas Institute and co-author of “Argentina at the Fund,” a book about the country’s economy. “Argentina is an economy that has been at best stagnant in the last two decades.”
