ARGENTINE president Javier Milei branded Pedro Sanchez a ‘disgraceful dictator’ as he sought to rally support for his Spanish right-wing allies ahead of the upcoming election.
During a visit to Madrid on Wednesday, the populist leader urged the conservative Partido Popular (PP) and far-right Vox to ‘kick the socialists out of government’ at the ballot box on November 29.
Milei’s appearance at the Nueva Economia Forum sparked furious criticism from the Spanish government, with the foreign ministry issuing a statement to defend prime minister Sanchez shortly after the outburst.
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“It is shameful that the leader of a sister nation should visit our country with the sole aim of fuelling polarisation and violence among Spaniards and between Spain and Argentina,” the statement read.
The visit marked Milei’s seventh trip to Spain since taking office as Argentine president in December 2023.
He has never met Sanchez, and a rift between the two has been widening since Milei branded the socialist PSOE leader ‘incompetent, a liar and a coward’ in May 2024.
However, Milei has twice appeared at Vox rallies, in 2022 and 2024, and has developed a close relationship with the party’s leader, Santiago Abascal.
With Abascal busy campaigning in northern Spain, the two did not meet in person on Wednesday, instead speaking by video call.
Abascal posted footage of their conversation on X, showing Milei declaring: ‘There is nothing more fun than kicking lefties up the backside.’
The Argentine president did, however, meet other senior Vox figures, including secretary-general Ignacio Garriga and Jorge Martin Frias, director of the party-linked Fundacion Disenso.
Milei also met Madrid regional president Isabel Diaz Ayuso, of the PP, who greeted him with an affectionate hug before the pair held a meeting lasting almost two hours.
They discussed international politics, immigration, Spain’s middle classes and the upcoming election, with Ayuso among the Spanish right’s most prominent allies of the Argentine leader.
An economist and former television pundit, Milei rose to power in 2023 promising to dismantle Argentina’s political establishment and slash public spending.
His radical austerity drive has become synonymous with the chainsaw he brandished during his presidential campaign, a symbol of his pledge to cut government spending.
Milei and Vox share a fierce opposition to socialism and what they describe as excessive state intervention, while both champion conservative cultural positions and attacks on the political establishment.
Abascal backed Milei before his presidential victory, and the pair have since appeared together at international right-wing gatherings, presenting themselves as allies in a wider fight against socialism.
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