Argentina and Spain are experiencing the worst diplomatic crisis in their recent history, with no short-term solution in sight. “It can last a lifetime because the ideas of Pedro Sánchez will probably never be compatible with the ideas of Javier Milei,” he said. Argentina's presidential spokesperson next Tuesday, Manuel Adorni. From Buenos Aires they reject that it is a diplomatic conflict and they are considering it 'a strictly personal subject', framed in 'a discussion about conflicting ideas'. For this reason, the Spanish ambassador in the Argentine capital, María Jesús Alonso Jiménez, sharply criticizes the final withdrawal. “It is nonsense typical of an arrogant socialist,” Milei responded when asked about the decision of the president of the Spanish government. The confrontation has helped Argentina's president cover up his internal fronts, starting with the government's difficulties in passing its law to dismantle the state within the deadlines set.

Milei goes on the offensive to defend herself against the criticism she has received since calling Sánchez's wife, Begoña Gómez, “corrupt” at a Vox event in Madrid on Sunday. His statements were rejected by the socialist government, by the Spanish businessmen he had met the day before and also by the Argentine opposition. Milei is deaf. Where many see a diplomatic clash that endangers the relationship between two countries, he sees a personal problem. “[Sánchez] He is so deadly arrogant that, regarding a personal problem, he felt like in a sentence without a name. Then the problem lies with Mr. Pedro Sánchez, and from there he makes an absolutely pointless diplomatic escalation,” he added. 'Does he think he is the state? That is very totalitarian and very socialist,” Milei continued.

Argentina's Foreign Minister Diana Mondino has followed the same line as her political boss. “It's an anecdote,” she replied when asked about the conflict with Spanish authorities. Buenos Aires refuses to call its ambassador in Madrid, Roberto Bosch, for consultations, or to respond with similar actions. He hopes that Spain will reconsider and withdraw.

However, the tension does not diminish and is fed daily with new verbal arrows from Milei. She refuses to apologize, as Sánchez demands, because she sees herself as a victim and not an aggressor: “I'm not going to apologize from any perspective. How am I going to apologize if I was the one who was attacked? The ultra-president says Sánchez has “an inferiority complex” and considers him a coward: “He is so cowardly that he had to let me be beaten in front of women,” he said, referring to criticism from some foreign ministers. the Spanish government against the statements made by the Argentine leader last weekend. Late on Tuesday, at the end of a business meeting, Milei addressed Sánchez again: “I have a 'match point' with Pedrito, despite what the media says.”

Recession and social protests

According to Milei, Sánchez's response is part of a political strategy to divert attention: “He has problems in Spain and needs to polarize.” Argentine opposition leaders believe that Milei is doing the same thing he criticizes: he is using the battle with Spain to cover up the major economic recession Argentina is experiencing – with a decline of 3.2% year-on-year – and the increase in poverty. and unemployment recorded at the start of his mandate.

The confrontation has left an unprecedented police protest in northeastern Argentina virtually unnoticed. The men in uniform camped out in the middle of a central avenue in Posadas, Misiones province, last week to demand salary improvements. Efforts to reach an agreement have failed and the protest continues to grow: the number of street closures has increased and, in addition to the police, civil servants, teachers, agricultural producers and prison staff have joined them.

Unlike his predecessors, Milei traveled to Spain as president without greeting Sánchez or King Felipe VI, with whom he had had a cordial meeting in Buenos Aires in December when he attended his inauguration ceremony. The original purpose of the trip was to support the launch of the Vox campaign for the European elections, although a meeting with Spanish businessmen was arranged at the last minute.

Analyst Carlos Pagni argues that Milei's actions are more like those of the head of a faction, La Libertad Avanza (LLA), than those of a president. “He is behaving as part of an international group of factions in support of a party and a leader, Santiago Abascal, who, he says, recognized him when no one else did. Something very constant in Milei's thinking: thanking those who put him in the spotlight or distinguished him, while others did so bullying”, Pagni wrote in the diary The nation. The rise of Milei, a 53-year-old economist, was dazzling. He jumped from television sets to politics in 2021, winning an alternate seat for a new party. Just two years later, Argentinians elected him president in the second round with 56% of the vote.

A frustrated May pact

The struggle with Sánchez has breathed new life into the Argentine government. It is besieged by new obstacles in the adoption of the law on the demolition of the state that he presented at the beginning of his mandate. Milei will not be able to celebrate that legislative victory this Saturday with a big May pact, as had been proposed. After receiving the support of the Chamber of Deputies, the initiative failed in the Senate. The ruling party has only seven of the 72 seats and faces a divided opposition. The hardest wing, Kirchnerism, looks for votes to reject the law; The dialogueists, on the other hand, are putting pressure on the government to allow some changes.

Milei leaves the political negotiations to his ministers and is convinced that they will eventually achieve this. “We will not give up on making Argentina the freest country in the world,” Milei reiterated. He will sell that hope this Wednesday in the most emblematic stadium of Buenos Aires, Luna Park. There he will present his latest book in front of 5,000 people, and at the end a musical show will begin with him as the singer and protagonist. “He doesn't celebrate anything. He is at an event that he finances himself,” Adorni argued when asked about the event. The world looks in disbelief at this president with a thousand faces.