Reeling from a week of political, economic and financial setbacks in Argentina, President Javier Milei now faces a fresh corruption scandal linked to a top government official.
Milei fired Diego Spagnuolo, director of Argentina’s disability agency, Andis, on Wednesday after local media published leaked audio messages allegedly discussing bribery in his organization, which he links to the president’s sister, Karina Milei. On Friday, judicial authorities confiscated two phones from Spagnuolo’s home, as well as a cash counting machine, according to La Nacion newspaper. In total, a judge ordered 15 raids to obtain more evidence.
The scandal risks denting the libertarian president’s approval rating, which has proved surprisingly resilient despite his aggressive spending cuts. It could also sap some of the momentum he’s trying to carry into two crucial electoral challenges.
“It’s very hard to imagine this won’t affect Milei’s approval rating,” said Lucas Romero, director of Synopsis, a political consultancy. “This episode strikes at the core of his public image, that of an outsider who came to correct the corrupt practices of politics.”
Residents of the province of Buenos Aires, who make up nearly 40% of Argentina’s population and have consistently voted for Milei’s Peronist rivals, elect new local councils and provincial legislators on Sept. 7. That vote will be a key signal to investors of what’s to come in late October, when all of Argentina heads to the polls to renew half of the lower house of Congress and a third of the Senate.
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