Cristina Kirchner and Milei engage in a dispute over politics and economics that leads to personal attacks

Javier Milei and Cristina Kirchner exchanged attacks and counterattacks throughout this Friday. The verbal dispute between the current Argentine president and the two-time president (2007-2015) focused on the economy, but was spiced with personal accusations. Kirchner reminded Milei of the accusations of plagiarism in his books and questioned him for “fooling around” [perder el tiempo] on social media, where he is often very active. Milei criticised her for “not understanding” economics and revived the doubts that had been spread years ago about her law degree.

It all started with a public letter The text was released by Kirchner “nine months after Milei and the forces of heaven” came to power. In the text, he stated that “reality prevails over extravagant theories, incendiary speeches and marketing phrases” and pointed out that, despite his “libertarian” preaching, Milei “not only intervenes and controls, but also decides three of the four fundamental prices of the economy,” referring to the dollar, the peso and salaries. The Government, he continued, “has only freed the fourth price of the economy, that of goods and services, although with certain limitations.” For Kirchner, this is a “lethal combination,” due to an “inconsistent” fiscal adjustment, obtained “from the non-payment of debts due to the central administration and the withdrawal of the State from the functions essential for the very survival of the country as a Nation.”

That scenario, the former president concluded, “in the context of a bi-currency economy such as Argentina’s, has led to a brutal fall in economic activity and has caused our country to be more expensive in dollars today than the developed countries of the world. This turns the inflation rate of 3% or 4% per month, which Milei and her ineffable Minister of Economy want us to believe is a success, into a true social tragedy as it occurs in the context of a deep economic recession.” with increasing unemployment and poverty.

President Milei quickly responded on his social networks: “I know that you don’t understand much about economics,” he said, and maintained that this had been demonstrated because he surrounded himself with “numerically illiterate officials who destroyed the country with their economic shamanism.” And he concluded: “If you want to learn a little, turn on the TV today at 7 p.m. and I will be giving you a private class ad honorem.” He was referring to the speech he would give later at the summit of the Argentine Institute of Finance Executives (IAEF), in the province of Mendoza.

Cristina Kirchner’s response was not long in coming. “Talking about the economy, saying anything on television sets, or writing plagiarism from books is one thing, and governing Argentina is quite another. And from the way Argentines are living, it’s clear as day that you don’t have a clue,” she said on the X network. “Whenever you want —because you have time… and you spend it messing around on the networks— I’ll wait for you at the Patria Institute and I’ll explain a little bit to you. Kind regards… To you and to all the ‘forces of heaven’. My God!”

The back and forth on social media continued. “Cristina, don’t be so nervous, you’ll like my class… At the same time, you should review the intellectual property issues and show us your law degree… Regarding governing, if the model is yours, I’ll pass. I came to rescue the country, not to sink it. Ciao!” wrote Milei.

“Oh, President!” Kirchner replied. “You see that I am right! You only continue to confirm what I said: you spend your time fooling around on social media. Get off Twitter and start managing the State, because Argentines are having a very, very hard time.”

The last chapter of the exchange, for now, was Milei, when she spoke at dusk on Friday in Mendoza. In a speech that lasted about an hour, the president dedicated several sentences to the former president. “Greetings, Cris, this is for you,” he said at the beginning. He assured that Kirchner’s public letter showed “aberrations and inconsistencies” and pointed out that the former president “forgot to say” that “one of her ways of fighting inflation was to lie about it,” due to the manipulations in the National Institute of Statistics and Census. “At least, madam, if you want to make criticisms, start by making a self-criticism that is costing the country dearly for having lied about the numbers.” Between long technical explanations, he described the conditions in which he received the country last December, when he took office: “We were facing what was going to be the worst crisis in Argentine economic history.” […] “Everything was set up for disaster.” And he blamed Kirchnerism for the situation: “We did not generate inflation, but rather these twenty years of wild populism.”

As Kirchner had been busy recalling the accusations of plagiarism against her, Milei insisted on evoking the accusations against her for the possible usurpation of a university degree. “She is supposed to be a lawyer, but she does not show the degree either,” she said. In fact, the matter was settled in 2016 by the Court, which recognized the validity of the degree obtained by Kirchner at the National University of La Plata.

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