The president of Argentina, Javier Milei, has been pelted with stones while campaigning near the capital Buenos Aires by demonstrators protesting about allegations of corruption involving his influential sister.
The far-right leader, who was whisked from the scene by his security detail, sustained no injuries after his motorcade was attacked, presidential spokesperson Manuel Adorni wrote on X.
As Argentina prepares for legislative elections in October, Milei’s campaigning has been overshadowed by his administration’s worst alleged corruption scandal .
For more than a week, the country’s news agenda has been dominated by the repercussions of leaked audio recordings in which a former government official can be heard discussing the alleged payment of bribes linked to the purchase of medicines for people with disabilities.
In the recordings, Diego Spagnuolo, head of the National Disability Agency and a former Milei lawyer, claimed that Milei’s powerful sister, Karina Milei, pocketed 3% from each contract.
On Wednesday, Milei and his sister were riding in the back of a pickup truck and greeting supporters in Lomas de Zamora, 20km (12 miles) south of Buenos Aires, when protesters began throwing plants, rocks and bottles at their vehicle.
The vehicle quickly left the scene. Afterwards, scuffles broke out between supporters and opponents of the libertarian leader.
Shortly afterwards, Milei posted on his social media a photo showing a stone flying just above his head, accompanied by the words: “CIVILISATION OR BARBARISM. KIRCHNERISMO NEVER AGAIN,” a reference to the opposition led by former president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.
The justice minister, Patricia Bullrich, wrote on her social media that the attack had been organised by Fernández’s supporters.
But others suggested that the stone-throwing was a reaction to the alleged corruption scandal.
Minutes after the incident, the Buenos Aires governor, Axel Kicillof, a former economy minister under Kirchner, said at another campaign event: “Milei, the people have already seen through you: fraudster, liar” – though he did not mention the stone-throwing.
Shortly before the attack, Milei broke his silence on the corruption allegations, telling reporters: “Everything [Spagnuolo] says is a lie … We are going to bring him to justice and prove he lied,” referring to the man who, according to Argentine media, was once close to Milei and a frequent visitor to the Casa Rosada.
Karina Milei has not addressed the allegations. The president’s sister assumed the post of secretary general of the presidency after Milei scrapped a decree barring relatives from public office, and she is widely seen as the “chief architect” behind her brother’s rise to power.
Known as El Jefe (the male boss) by insiders including the president himself, Karina Milei is said to decide his agenda, political alliances and which journalists he will or will not speak to.
The scandal allegations, which public prosecutors are investigating, represent what could be a major threat for Milei in the run-up to the provincial legislative elections in Buenos Aires – which account for almost 40% of the electorate – on 7 September, and the national elections on 26 October.
The vote will be the first big test of his support since the libertarian economist took office in December 2023 on a promise to revive Argentina’s ailing economy.
Lara Goyburu, a political scientist and executive director at the consulting firm Management & Fit, said the scandal could affect voter turnout because it appears closer to the “old-fashioned corruption” Milei had promised to fight.
