Two months before the presidential elections, the tension rose several levels on Tuesday night in Argentina, with dozens of arrests after looting of businesses in the suburbs of Buenos Aires and accusations by the government against Javier Mileythe surprising winner of the primaries.
“This is an operation carried out by Javier Milei’s people whose objective is to generate destabilization,” said the presidential spokeswoman, Gabriela Cerruti, on social networks, in the middle of a night of confusion for the government. “We have already seen this film a lot of times,” insisted Cerruti, who accused Milei’s supporters of being “deeply undemocratic.”
At least three supermarkets of the Spanish chain Día were attacked and looted in different towns on the outskirts of the Argentine capital, in a context in which several others were vandalized and destroyed in Buenos Aires and in provinces such as Neuquen, Mendoza y Córdoba. Police arrested 56 peoplea relatively low figure if one takes into account the number of vandalized businesses and people involved in the looting.
The events took place a week after the devaluation of the peso by 22 percent, which triggered an inflationary flash in a country that already has a 120% annual inflation and poverty above 40 percent.
The devaluation occurred a week after the victory of Milei, a populist ultra-liberal, in the presidential primaries with 30% of the votes, against 28.7 of the Together for Change (JxC) coalition, which has as a candidate for Patricia Bullrichand 27.7 of Sergio Massa, Minister of Economy and Peronist candidate. The presidential elections will be held on October 22.