Milei calls Sánchez a ‘disgraceful dictator’ and urges Spaniards to oust PSOE

Speaking at a breakfast event organised by Nueva Economía Fórum on Wednesday, Milei called on supporters of liberalism to ‘kick the socialists out’ at the November election. Neither the senior leadership of the right-wing People’s Party (PP) nor that of the far-right Vox attended the event.

The visit – his seventh to Spain since taking office in December 2023 – brings the Argentine leader into Spain’s political debate less than six weeks before polling day. Argentina’s government had announced that the trip would include support for right-wing parties ahead of the election.

Yet the reception has been more restrained than on previous visits. Vox leader Santiago Abascal is away campaigning, while Madrid PP regional president Isabel Díaz Ayuso’s office initially declined to confirm a meeting listed in Milei’s programme before announcing an appointment for Wednesday afternoon.

Sánchez and the PSOE, meanwhile, have used the visit to reclaim the term zurdo, literally ‘left-handed’, which Milei frequently employs as a disparaging term for people on the left.

Praise for Ayuso and Abascal, but no meeting with Sánchez

Milei defended his relationships with Ayuso and Abascal, presenting both as politicians capable of reversing what he described as Spain’s decline.

‘I am friends with Santiago Abascal and I am friends with Isabel Díaz Ayuso, and I believe they have sound and positive ideas for pulling Spain out of decline,’ he said.

He ruled out meeting Sánchez, whom he called a ‘criminal’.

‘I visit them because my commitment and my love for Spain lead me to support those who will bring greater well-being to Spaniards, and not those who will seek to drag them down and replace them with other cultures that will exterminate them,’ he added.

In subsequent comments to reporters, Milei also named PP leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo alongside Ayuso and Abascal as Spanish advocates of the ideas of freedom he promotes in Argentina. He described himself as a staunch libertarian liberal and Spain as the ‘cradle of liberalism’, while accusing socialists of suppressing freedom and being potential dictators.

His speech included a wider attack on the European left, which he blamed for economic stagnation and immigration policies he portrayed as allowing an ‘invasion’.

Abascal defends his absence — and Milei’s criticism

Abascal said he had explained in a telephone conversation before the trip that his campaign commitments would take him to A Coruña in Galicia and Avilés in Asturias on Wednesday.

Calling Milei his ‘friend’ and ‘political ally’, the Vox leader played down their failure to meet.

‘On this occasion I have a priority, which is to be with Spaniards in A Coruña and Avilés,’ he said, adding that he would be in contact with the Argentine president.

Milei’s programme instead included a meeting with Vox secretary-general Ignacio Garriga and Jorge Martín Frías, director of the party-linked Disenso Foundation.

Abascal also backed the substance of Milei’s attack on Sánchez, saying his remarks were ‘not far from reality’.

‘I myself have called him a tyrant and an autocrat, and I stand by that. He is a danger to Spain, a danger to national interests, a danger to pensions, a danger to coexistence …’ he said.

Turning to the socialists’ publicity surrounding the visit, Abascal remarked that it was the PSOE that had welcomed Milei by displaying a banner.

‘The PSOE have done more for this visit than they have done for Ceuta,’ he said.

Ayuso meeting confirmed after uncertainty

Madrid’s regional government confirmed that Ayuso would meet Milei at 5pm on Wednesday at the Canal de Isabel II premises.

The venue was also being used for the regional cabinet meeting, which had been moved from its usual location at Puerta del Sol because of the housing protest encampment there.

Regional government spokesman Miguel Ángel García Martín rejected suggestions of secrecy over the arrangements, saying there had been ‘complete transparency’ and that the meeting had been announced as soon as the schedule was finalised.

‘They have met on other occasions; this afternoon we will continue strengthening the ties that unite us with Argentina,’ he said.

Ayuso’s previous encounters with Milei include the presentation of Madrid’s International Medal to him in June 2024 at the Real Casa de Correos, during a period of diplomatic tension between Spain and Argentina. They also met during his participation in the Madrid Economic Forum the following year and at the Casa Rosada in Buenos Aires in January this year. ALSO READ: Argentine President Javier Milei makes new attack on Spain’s Pedro Sánchez.

Before Wednesday’s appointment was confirmed, PP parliamentary spokeswoman Ester Muñoz defended the prospect of a meeting. She described Argentina as a ‘sister nation’ and pointed to Spain’s economic, social, cultural and emotional interests in the relationship.

Milei’s other engagements included the presentation of a university master’s programme at Rey Juan Carlos University.

No royal audience amid continuing diplomatic friction

No meeting with King Felipe VI was scheduled, although the Argentine government had informally expressed Milei’s interest in seeing him.

Sources at the royal household said the usual arrangements for visits by foreign heads of state had been reiterated: any audience with the monarch must be accompanied by a meeting with Spain’s prime minister. ALSO READ: Argentina’s Milei insults Pedro Sánchez again, referring to him as a ‘local bandit’.

Milei has repeatedly visited Spain without meeting Sánchez. Their relationship deteriorated sharply after remarks at a Vox event in Madrid in which the Argentine president insulted the Spanish leader and called his wife ‘corrupt’. ALSO READ: Spain recalls ambassador after Argentina’s Milei calls Sánchez’s wife ‘corrupt’.

Spain recalled its ambassador from Buenos Aires during the resulting diplomatic dispute. A new ambassador was appointed five months later. ALSO READ: New Spanish ambassador to Argentina appointed, ending spat over Sánchez’s wife.

Ceuta becomes a focus of Milei’s immigration attack

Milei also targeted the socialist government over the large-scale migrant crossings into Ceuta on 30-31 July, alleging that they had been encouraged for electoral advantage.

He said the events were neither an accident nor a coincidence and accused the socialists of promoting what he called an ‘invasion’ of the Spanish autonomous city. ALSO READ: Spanish court to investigate deadly Ceuta migrant surge as possible ‘hybrid warfare’ operation. 

‘That is why they encourage the invasion we see in Ceuta. Every immigrant is a vote, and if the price is the total destruction of the country, they are more than willing to pay it,’ he said.

Milei linked immigration to worsening public safety, particularly for women, claiming that streets had become more dangerous.

‘The streets have become more unsafe, especially for women, who can no longer even go out walking alone at night in many neighbourhoods of the main cities,’ he said.

The remarks were allegations made by the Argentine president; the reports supplied no evidence establishing his claims about electoral motives or the connection he drew between immigration and crime.

Socialists turn Milei’s language into a campaign message

The PSOE responded to the visit with a banner at its headquarters in Calle Ferraz and a matching message on X, presenting its supporters as proudly left-wing.

‘Milei, we proud left-wing women and men welcome you to the fastest-growing country in Europe,’ the party’s message read, accompanied by the Spanish hashtags #ZurdasyOrgullosas and #ZurdosYOrgullosos.

Sánchez made the same theme the centre of a video posted on X (see below), rejecting the idea that being described as zurdo should be an insult.

‘If raising pensions means being left-wing, I am left-wing; if giving fathers and mothers more time to enjoy being with their children means being left-wing, I am left-wing too; if raising the minimum wage is left-wing, I am left-wing; if defending women’s right to abortion means being left-wing, I am left-wing; if defending ‘no’ to war and ‘yes’ to peace means being left-wing, I am left-wing,’ he said.

‘So yes, I am left-wing, and proud of it.’