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The Argentine ultraliberal, Javier Milei, a deputy for the far-right party La Libertad Avanza, raffled his public salary this Thursday among more than a million registered for the raffle. Milei promises to do the same thing every month, although she faces a complaint for violating the Argentine data protection law.
Javier Milei is a strident guy. He stands out for his thick black hair, reminiscent of hairstyles from decades past. Times in which he performed as a soccer goalkeeper and even as a singer of a heavy metal group. Milei is now an economist, he defines himself as ultraliberal and even anarcho-capitalist and appeared in Argentine politics with an “anti-caste” discourse.
His way of acting, his speech and his manners – with phrases like “shitty lefties, they are losing the battle”, in reference to the left – are reminiscent of other political figures such as Donald Trump or Jair Bolsonaro. Milei does not shy away from the comparison. Since last December 10, he has been a deputy for the province of Buenos Aires with the extreme right-wing party “La Libertad Avanza”.
This past Wednesday, he carried out his last stridency. Among more than a million registered, he raffled his first public salary as a deputy among more than a million registered in the raffle. The draw was held in Mar del Plata, a coastal city that in these summer months is a favorite destination for many Argentines for their summer vacations.
The website created for the event registered a total of 1,040,625 people registered. The winner, a 40-year-old man, won a total amount of 205,000 Argentine pesos, about 1,979 US dollars. From yesterday you will have 10 days to prove your identity. Otherwise, the raffle will be repeated.
Accusations of populism amid criticism of the government
“We are not going to give you the fish, we are going to teach you how to fish. I hope that after this many Argentines wake up and do not confuse populism and distribute others’ money with returning the money to those who honestly generated it,” Milei snapped at the viewers in one of his usual “open classes” that he usually does before his audience.
These words were understood as a response to the criticism of populism unleashed by the raffle and he did not miss the moment to also express his discontent with the government. Mirlei also received criticism for the mere fact of dividing her salary. On January 6, the deputy of Together for Change, Sabrina Ajmechet, wondered on Twitter about how Milei lives if she donates her salary.
Milei’s diet donation leads me to a specific question and a general reflection
1) What does Miley live on? How do you pay your bills?
2) in favor of a political leadership that lives off their salaries. But only the rich could do politics, how it happened in general in the s. 19th
— Sabrina Ajmechet (@ajmechet) January 6, 2022
“In favor of a political leadership that lives off their salaries. But only the rich could do politics, how it happened in general in the s. XIX”, he added. In an interview with the Argentine newspaper Clarín, the deputy of the Unity Left Front, Nicolás del Caño, also harshly attacked Milei.
“Characters like Milei, who talk about ‘shitty lefties’, don’t deserve any respect,” he said. And he added that “with that he is showing that the only ones who can be legislators and intervene in politics are businessmen, or people who have a guaranteed livelihood and who do not work.” I also accuse him of winning a database with the contest.
Complaint from the Agency for Access to Public Information
The same idea that Nicolás del Caño seems to have the Public Information Access Agency (AAIP), which days ago announced an official investigation to investigate the legality of the draw. According to the agency, the Argentine data protection law could have been violated.
No section based on data protection appeared on the draw website. There was also no specification on the destination of the data provided or whether the registered could exercise their right of control contemplated by law 25,326 on the matter.
In a radio interview after the raffle, Milei assured that “nobody is at gunpoint, they put the data voluntarily. They are basic data, they do not fall into the category of sensitive data, they are data that you contribute in any social network”. It will be the justice who will decide if this draw and the others planned are in accordance with the law.
With EFE and local media.
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