Argentine President Javier Milei was safely evacuated from a campaign rally in Lomas de Zamora, Buenos Aires, on Wednesday after violent leftist rioters threw rocks and other objects against him.
Security Minister Patricia Bulrich described the incident as an “organized attack” against Milei by socialist Kirchnerist individuals.
Milei led a caravan in Lomas de Zamora atop a pickup truck alongside his sister Karina Milei, Congressman José Luis Espert, and other members of the ruling Liberty Advances party ahead of the upcoming September 7 Buenos Aires legislative elections and the October 26 national midterm legislative elections. Lomas de Zamora is a city located in Buenos Aires province, currently under a leftist government led by Mayor Federico Otermín.
During the rally, a group of leftist rioters snuck past the crowd and assaulted Milei’s caravan, throwing stones, bottles, and other objects. Footage from local news channels shows some of the leftist rioters attempting to climb the vehicle and assault Milei. The Argentine president was safely evacuated, and no injured were reported according to local reports.
“In Olivos [Presidential residence] with Professor Espert and ‘El Jefe’ Karina Milei after passing through Lomas de Zamora, where the kukas [slang term for kirhnerists] threw stones lacking ideas, they resorted to violence again. On 9/7 and 10/26, let’s say at the polls: KIRCHNERISM NEVER AGAIN,” Milei wrote on social media, followed by “VLLC,” an abbreviation for his catchphrase, “Long live liberty, damn it!”
Hours later, Security Minister Patricia Bullrich told the newspaper La Nación that law enforcement identified some of the individuals responsible for the attack against Milei and is considering filing a criminal complaint.
Bullrich, who described the incident as an “organized attack” by Kirchnerist leftists against Milei in a social media post, detailed to La Nación that officials from Mayor Otermín’s administration were among those identified, as well as “councilors” and members of the Barras Bravas (“Brave Groups”), violent soccer hooligans known for their decades-long track record of involvement in criminal incidents. Bullrich also pointed out that leftist groups are also involved in the incident and detailed that a member of the leftists HIJOS group is among the detained.
“The secretary of security for Lomas de Zamora was stirring things up. That is to say, the secretary of insecurity,” Bullrich said. “Councilman Claudio Morell, councilman for Mayor Otermín, was there. He says he went to see what was happening.”
“There are detainees; there are Temperley soccer fan clubs that work in the municipality; a member of the Arsenal fan club, who is also banned from entering the stadiums for being violent,” she added.
Bullrich praised the actions of the local police officers who acted quickly when the riots began and positioned themselves as a protective “barrier” between the rioters and Milei.
“We congratulate them for protecting the country’s institutions, which is the President,” Bullrich said.
Congressman Espert, who accompanied Milei at the Lomas de Zamora rally, was also a victim of leftist violence in June after a group of individuals — including officials from the capital city of Buenos Aires’s far-left autonomous government — vandalized and threw feces at his residence in June.
“The Argentina that normalizes aggression, refusal to debate, stone throwing, and miserable living can come to an end. Everyone vote on September 7 and October 26. NO MORE KIRCHNERISM,” Espert wrote on social media.
Sources from the Liberty Advances party told the local news channel Todo Noticias that “everything will remain the same” and there will not be changes in the party’s campaign events following the attack on Milei. The sources emphasized that the Argentine president will continue leading rallies ahead of both September and October’s upcoming elections.
“They won’t stop us. When there are no arguments left, they resort to violence. And that’s what Kirchnerism demonstrated today. In a year and a half, we have reduced poverty from 52 to 31-percent. In other words, we have lifted 12 million people out of poverty. 12 million people who are no longer slaves to politicians. That’s why they’re so nervous, because they know that the system they built is over,” Liberty Advances wrote in a social media post.
“On one side are those who throw stones, who left 52% of the population in poverty and 54% monthly inflation. On the other are those of us who reduced public spending, ending the fiscal deficit, lifting 12 million Argentines out of poverty, and eliminating inflation. On September 7, the polls will make it clear: No more Kirchnerism,” the party added.
Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.
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