Concepción M. Moreno
Buenos Aires, May 4 (EFE).- After some frenetic last hours of Friday, in which the Argentine Presidency reacted virulently against the Spanish president, Pedro Sánchez, in a statement of “repudiation” for some statements by the Minister of Transportation and Sustainable Mobility, Óscar Puente, against Javier Milei, Argentina remained calm this Saturday.
With the Argentine president about to participate in an important economic forum in Los Angeles (United States), on the sidelines of which he will meet, among others, the billionaire Elon Musk and the president of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, and the other matters of domestic life, the Spain-Argentina crisis has been relegated to a lower level after the Spanish Government appealed to the ties that unite both countries.
It all started this Friday, when Puente participated in Salamanca in an event on social networks, in which he said that he had seen the libertarian make some strong statements during the electoral campaign “when he came out, I don’t know in what state and before the intake or after the intake of what substances”, without giving more details.
His demonstrations provoked a statement of “repudiation” from the Office of the President, which took the opportunity to attack Sánchez: “He has more important problems to deal with, such as the accusations of corruption that fall on his wife (Begoña Gómez), an issue that even led to his resignation being evaluated.
“For the good of the Kingdom of Spain, we hope that justice will act quickly to clarify such a corruption scandal that directly affects the stability of your Nation and, consequently, relations with our country,” the text continued.
He also said that the socialist “has endangered the unity of the Kingdom, making agreements with separatists and leading to the dissolution of Spain; he has put Spanish women at risk by allowing the illegal immigration of those who threaten their physical integrity; and he has put in danger danger to the middle class with its socialist policies that only bring poverty and death.
The Spanish Government, through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “flatly” rejected the text and described the terms as “unfounded” because they do not correspond “with the relations of two brother countries and peoples.”
In an Executive – starting with President Milei – that reacts mainly on social networks, the Argentine Foreign Minister, Diana Mondino, avoided any diplomatic response and only reposted the statement from the Presidential Office.
The Argentine Interior Minister, Guillermo Francos, called for the “resignation” of Puente, whom he described as “irresponsible” for his “lack of respect” for Milei.
“I find it outrageous. I listened to that kind of ‘stand up’ (monologue show) that this man did. He seems irresponsible to me; he cannot expose the Government of a country that is important to Argentina for its traditions, for the number of descendants who live in our country, for the help that Argentina has provided,” he told Radio Miter.
Also the Argentine Secretary of Tourism, Environment and Sports, Daniel Scioli, expressed his “strong rejection.”
“I express my most energetic rejection of the outrageous statements made by Minister Óscar Puente of the Government of Pedro Sánchez, in reference to our president Javier Milei,” he wrote in X.
As for the press, which exploded late this Friday when the case became known, it has other issues on its main covers and relegated the crisis to the background.
The newspaper La Nación explains that “the government of Spain reacted to the Casa Rosada statement due to Minister Puente’s statements” and adds that “it issued a brief text, and advocated for the historic and friendly relationship between both countries.”
The Infobae portal reflects that Sánchez’s Executive “flatly rejected Javier Milei’s criticism” for not corresponding “with the relations of two brother countries.”
The digital edition of Clarín talks about the “crisis with Spain” and dedicates a piece to analyzing “who is Óscar Puente”, who comments that he is known in Spain “for his provocative occurrences.”
The website of the newspaper Página 12 reports that “the Spanish government responded to the Casa Rosada’s statement against Pedro Sánchez” and recalls the Foreign Affairs text about the “harsh statement that the Casa Rosada had issued.”
Milei is a politician very close to Vox, to the point that on May 18 he will participate in an event of his in Madrid.
He is not scheduled to meet with Sánchez or King Felipe VI, who attended his inauguration on December 10 – as did the president of Vox, Santiago Abascal.
For his part, Sánchez supported the Peronist Sergio Massa, then Minister of Economy, in the last elections, and did not congratulate Milei when he won the elections. EFE
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