Argentinian far-right presidential candidate Javier Milei carries a chainsaw during a campaign rally in La Plata, Argentina, September 12, 2023. Photo: Natacha Pisarenko/AP.
Argentina’s extreme-right presidential candidate for La Libertad Avanza party, Javier Milei, took a hard line against Pope Francis and said that “he is on the side of bloody dictatorships.”
In an interview with US journalist Tucker Carlson, broadcast on social media on Thursday, September 14, the far-right libertarian was asked about his comments on Pope Francis, whom he had described as “the representative of the evil on earth.” In this new interview, he answered, “The Pope plays politics, has a strong political influence and has shown, in addition, a great affinity for dictators like [Raúl] Castro or [Nicolás] Maduro. That is to say, he is on the side of bloody dictatorships.”
He continued: “He has an affinity for the murderous communists… He endorses all leftists, even if they are real murderers.”
Milei said that, by having “social justice as a central element of his vision,” Pope Francis endorses “theft” and that “is a violation of the biblical Ten Commandments. It is stealing the fruit of one person’s labor and giving it to another. To endorse social justice is to endorse theft.” He added that it also implies “unequal treatment before the law, and I do not think it is fair that some are rewarded, and others are punished from a position of power such as that of the State, which has a monopoly on violence,” he said, ignoring social differences or what many call “white privilege.”
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He said that Pope Francis promotes “an agenda that defends murder, theft, envy. The answer should be given by him. Because in the light of the debate, of the empirical evidence, he is the one who has to give explanations as to why he defends an economic organization that leads to poverty, misery, violence, decadence, and that if they were left, they would destroy the world,” Milei concluded with an apocalyptic tone.
Liberal but not so liberal
In the interview, Milei reiterated his contradictory idea of promoting liberalism while subordinating trade relations to his political imagination. “Not only will I not do business with China, I will not do business with any communist. I’m an advocate of freedom, peace and democracy. Communists don’t go in there. The Chinese don’t go in there. [Russian President Vladimir] Putin doesn’t go in there. Lula [da Silva] does not enter there. We want to be the moral beacon of the continent. We want to be defenders of freedom, democracy, diversity. Of peace”, emphasized Miley, a politician with deep connections to the bloody Argentinian dictatorship.
Before Tucker Carlson, with whom he spoke for about 30 minutes, Milei gave the reasons why he believes he has a good reach among citizens: “From my point of view, there are two reasons that explain my popularity. One has to do with my background, with the fact that I have been a soccer player and a rock and roll singer, and I am also an economist. I think that combination is attractive in terms of media product.” He added, “young people found someone who spoke to them about liberalism and rebelled against the status quo.” In reality, many analysts expect Milei—in the case he wins—to be the continuation of the disastrous government of Mauricio Macri.
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Before concluding, he repeated his thoughts about the supposed national wealth at the beginning of the 20th century, wasted because “Argentina began to embrace socialist ideas more than 100 years ago.” He also reiterated his points against feminism, stating that “abortion is a murder aggravated by the relationship [between victim and victimized],” and, after criticizing the Ministry for Women, he asked, “Why is there no Ministry of Men?”
Mexico’s AMLO disgusted by Milei’s attack on Pope Francis and media indifference
This Thursday, September 14, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador dedicated a section of his daily morning press conference to the far-right presidential candidate Javier Milei. López Obrador described Milei as a “vulgar” part of the “extreme right-wing current” sweeping Latin America and Europe. He showed two sections of an interview with Milei and asked Mexicans “not to be fooled.”
Mexico's AMLO presented on his daily press conference (Mañaneras) excerpts from an interview with Argentine presidential frontrunner Javier Milei, in which the far-right candidate disparaged Pope Francis and made disparaging remarks about social justice.#AMLO #MileiPresidente pic.twitter.com/cN71S24GiO
— Orinoco Tribune (@OrinocoTribune) September 14, 2023
“No, no. The Pope, yes, I will say it straight, is the representative of the evil on Earth, sitting on the throne of God’s house. Did you know that the Pope promotes communism? With all the disasters it has caused, and that goes against the sacred scriptures… This country has passed through so many years of social justice, so what is social justice? It is envy, hatred, resentment. Let’s see; envy was originally a capital sin. It might be necessary to inform that dumbass in Rome, who defends social justice, to know that it is a robbery and that it is against the commandments…” said Argentina’s presidential front-runner in the interview.
“He went so far as to go against Pope Francis. No one had ever dared to insult the Pope without basis. Don’t think there is a difference between Milei and other conservatives,” said López Obrador before showing a fragment of Milei’s interview with journalist Viviana Canosa, in which Milei called Pope Francis “the dumbass who is in Rome” and attacked the concept of “social justice,” claiming it is “a robbery and goes against the commandments.”
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Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/SF
