A suitcase is held in front of Argentine President Javier Milei as protesters throw bottles and rocks at the vehicle. Photo: Reddit.
The Argentine president is facing provincial elections at the most critical moment for his popularity.
Javier Milei’s far-right government is experiencing one of its most critical moments since he took office as president of Argentina in 2023. According to a poll by Torcuato di Tella University, the executive branch’s popularity and trust ratings have plummeted in recent weeks.
On August 27, the president and other senior officials, who were campaigning for the September 7 provincial elections, had to be evacuated from a public appearance after being insulted by several protesters.
Some even threw objects at the president, forcing the vehicle they were in to flee from the crowd. Milei accused Kirchnerism, a left and pro-sovereignty political trend in Argentina led by former presidents Néstor and Cristina de Kirchner, of being behind the attack.
The decline in popularity of the libertarian leader follows several leaked audio recordings. These recordings allegedly reveal a corruption network benefiting several government officials, including Karina Milei, secretary of the presidency and sister of the president.
An alleged corruption network: “Karina takes 3%”
On August 29, journalist Mauro Federico’s outlet Data Clave broadcast two alleged audio recordings of Karina Milei. In the first recording, according to the media outlet, Karina Milei states, “We can’t get into a fight with each other. We must be united.”
In the second audio recording, the Secretary of the Presidency apparently says: “So, not even here. In truth, they don’t have to be here 24 hours a day. I come in at 8 in the morning and leave at 11 at night from the Casa Rosada.”
Although the audio recordings do not reveal anything truly compromising, except for an apparent division within the executive branch, they do show a clear security breach within Javier Milei’s inner circle, as these are not the first recordings to be leaked.
These audio recordings are in addition to those that were leaked in previous days, in which Diego Spagnuolo, then director of the National Disability Agency, can be heard talking about an alleged corruption scheme involving laboratories and service providers linked to public health care for people with disabilities.
According to Spagnuolo, the kickbacks were paid through the Suizo Argentina drugstore, which pressured certain suppliers to apply surcharges and secure contracts in favor of the state.
In addition, Spagnuolo accuses Karina Milei and Eduardo Menem, a former senator, of benefiting from the scheme in the audio recordings. Menem allegedly took 1% of the profits, and “Karina takes 3%,” said Spagnulo.
Following the leak of the audio recordings, Spagnuolo was dismissed, but not before announcing that he had already informed the president of the corruption scheme. Days later, the lawyer for former president Cristina Fernández, Gregorio Dalbón, filed a complaint about the alleged corruption plot.
Three Years Since the Attack on Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
The government’s reaction: denial and prosecution
Despite his sister’s silence, President Javier Milei has categorically denied the accusations and blames the opposition for initiating them. “Everything [Spagnuolo] says is a lie; we are going to take him to court and prove that he lied … They are coming for the freedom of all Argentines,” said the president in response to the scandals plaguing his government.
For its part, the executive branch said that the dissemination of Karina’s audio recordings is historic, as recordings of conversations that took place in the Casa Rosada had never been released before: “If this is a real audio recording, it was obtained illegally inside the National Government House, creating an unprecedented event in national history.”
In addition, presidential spokesperson Manuel Adorni said he would file a complaint with the courts over what had happened: “The government has reported to the federal courts an illegal intelligence operation aimed at destabilizing the country in the midst of an election campaign. Private conversations between Karina Milei and other officials were recorded, manipulated, and disseminated to influence the executive branch. This was not a leak. It was an illegal, planned, and direct attack.”
Russia behind the leak? Argentine courts ban the dissemination of Milei’s audio recordings
For now, the government’s move to stop further dissemination of the audio recordings has worked. The Argentine courts have banned the continued dissemination of the audio recordings in which Karina Milei can be heard, on the grounds that it would be an attack on the “privacy and honor” of the official, as well as putting Argentina’s “institutional security” at risk.
In its complaint, the far-right government said that this was an “illegal intelligence operation” that sought to destabilize democracy. But what is most surprising is that, according to the government, those who leaked the audio recordings are “people linked to Russian intelligence services with influence in Venezuela.”
Several experts have criticized the court’s decision, considering it an attack on freedom of expression. According to them, the honor of the Secretary of Government has not been endangered, and that the decision is rather aimed at censoring new recordings. However, he states that a court order of this type cannot be issued before the content of the undisclosed audio recordings is known.
For now, the government is seeking to resolve the problem it finds itself in, which has paralyzed its control of the public agenda. Amid rumors of more audio recordings allegedly featuring government officials, Argentine public opinion is eagerly awaiting developments. Milei’s government will face a real test in the September 7 elections, from which it could emerge stronger or deeply wounded, even compromising its possible reelection.
