“I did not advertise anything, I only made it available” – He was defending himself. Javier Milei after most likely the hottest weekend since he took office. In February, a threat of impeachment was hung over the Argentine head of state.
Cryptogate, like baptized Its Argentine media, broke out on Friday February 14. In the evenings of Milei on his X-net profile, where it is watched by 3.8 million users, he advertised a fresh cryptocurrency of $LIBR. He besides posted a link to cryptocurrency websites with the slogan "The full planet wants to invest in Argentina". The name cryptocurrency is not accidental, as it refers to the political organization of Mileia, La Libertad Avanza.
Thousands of people immediately began to invest in the alleged “memecoin”. The value of cryptocurrency is so immediately increased Up to $5, then dropped rapidly. According to experts, this could lead to fraud specified as “rug pullIt’s okay. ” Then Milei rapidly erased his post and later apologized for making it available.
"I didn't know the details of the project, and as shortly as I learned more about it, I decided not to advance it anymore," the president added.
Investigation of ‘accidental advertising’
However, the case did not end there. Argentinian prosecution Investigationswhether the president has committed fraud and even – whether he has been active in illegal collusion. Sam Milei saysthat “there is nothing to hide [before investigators]”. He besides added that transactions related to the cryptocurrency of $LIBRA were carried out by “people who were aware of the risks” and a number of “robots”.
"I wanted to give the Argentines a helping hand, for which they got in my face," the president noted, pointing out that those investing in cryptocurrency "are well aware of the risks they are at, as are the gamblers "in the casino."
At the same time, Milei claimed that he was not known to the creators of the fraudulent cryptocurrency and that he had nothing to do with them. But that's not precisely true. In 2024 Milei He met During the Tech Forum in Buenos Aires with Julian Pehem (the head of KIP Protocol, a company behind cryptocurrency), and they talked there about the future of artificial intelligence and tiny businesses.
According to the diary “La Nación” this same week held respective rounds of talks between the Mileia government and most likely the main individual liable for the creation of the LIBR cryptocurrency. Associates of the Argentine president reportedly discussed with Hayden Davis a strategy on how to get out of the full case. According to sources, the Argentine organization promised Davis that he would avoid prosecution in exchange for not speaking to the media. In the following week, 1 of Mileia's associates was besides to arrive at Davis himself.
According to the specialist platform The Solana Post due to cryptocurrency collapse pain About 75,000 brokers who lost $286 million. However, according to the Argentine media, losses may be respective times higher. NGO Observatorio de Derecho la Ciudad, who herself filed a suit against Mileia, estimatesthat the full harm amounted to nearly $4 billion (about PLN 15 billion).
Meanwhile, the investigation besides active the Argentine National Anti-corruption Office, whose task is to find "if a associate of the government, including the president himself, has committed illegal activity". Prosecutors saythat Mileia's cryptocurrency ad was surely not random, as the president himself suggests, due to the fact that from the minute the token was launched to the posting by Mileia only 3 minutes passed.
Impeachment
Moreover, with respect to the Cryptogate, the Argentine president is facing not only a criminal case, but besides an appeal. The opposition perónist coalition Unión por Patría announced the initiation of the impeachment procedure.
"It's a scandal that shames us internationally, which is why we request to bring the President's impeachment to us" – argued opposition MP, Leandro Santoro.
The President's dismissal as 1 of the 3 scenarios presently considered seems to be the least likely. The number perónists are improbable to gain support for a step that would lead to political chaos. The another options in the game are to set up an investigation committee or call Milei before Congress.
Milei repeatedly attacks both chambers of the Argentine Parliament, calling them ‘rat nest’. And it is legislature that frequently opposes the President, who does not have adequate representation, which is why he resorts to power through decrees.
"Milei must answer to Congress. We want to find out, step by step, who has benefited and how” – explained Myriam Bregman, a socialist leader, demanding a public proceeding in Congress.
Even Mileia's allies supported the investigation. The PRO organization under the leadership of erstwhile president Mauricio Macri considered the case to be ‘very serious’, or even ‘distorting the credibility of the full country’.
"There is no uncertainty that the president has found himself at the heart of a fraud that many have suffered. A very serious investigation is needed on this matter" – says Macri.
The biggest criticism was given by erstwhile president of Argentina, Cristina Fernández de Kirschner. "You advertised a private cryptocurrency created by no 1 knows who on your own authoritative X account. You pumped its value utilizing your position as president. And on top of that, you say you didn't know them [the creators of cryptocurrency]! From a self-appointed global leader to a crypto-frauder’ – cast was the head of the present state.
What about Trump?
So just before visiting the US, where Milei went in the second half of February, in front of our eyes, in the case of a suspicious cryptocurrency another point common between the presidents of both countries came out. How frequently Reminds me Anglo-American media, Mileia presently has akin criticisms as for Donald Trump, who, along with taking the position, advertised his cryptocurrency $Trump. As in the case of $LIBRA, besides the value of $Trump fired up, after which it noted a flash drop.
However, this is not the only and most likely not the last similarity between Argentina and the United States. Milei clearly revived with Trump's return to the White House, especially as regards the ideological part of his policy. Milei, like Trump, announced this year a plan to retreat from the global wellness Organization.
"President Milei instructed abroad Minister Gerard Werthein to decision Argentina out of WHO" – reported in early February, spokesperson Manuel Adorni.
Milei he criticized wellness organisation in January of that year erstwhile cast WHO "failure in mastering the COVID-19 pandemic and inability to deal with another global crises, as well as inability to adopt the essential reforms and inability to prove its independency from the influence of associate States".
A strong U.S. alliance with Argentina was observed even before the January inauguration of Donald Trump, in which Milei participated as 1 of the fewer planet politicians. The Argentine president was first a statesman who visited the returning American head of state after winning the election. Moreover, between the elections and the inauguration of Milei, he inactive made it meet with abroad Minister Mark Rubio and respective times with billionaire Elon Musk, who as Minister of Efficiency wants to be inspired by Argentine libertarian.
Milei and his men planned a gathering with the richest man in the planet besides during a February visit to the US. [It was then that Milei handed Musk a chain saw—ed.] In connection with the Munich conference, attention was besides focused on Argentine abroad policy. Buenos Aires is fundamentally the only Ally Ukraine in Latin America.
Feminicide disappears from the penal code
Milei imitates Trump besides on cultural issues. An outrage of the public and opposition to the governments of Mileia caused not only the Cryptogate affair. Minister of Justice Mariano Cúneo Libarona statedthat the government wants to remove from the penal code the notion of "feminicide", that is, the gender-based execution of a woman. According to Libaron, feminism has “extended the concept of equality”.
"Our government defends equality before the law, governed by our national constitution. No life has more value than others," added the Minister. The womanicide was incorporated into Argentine criminal law as an aggravating condition in 2012. By reports In 2024, a full of 296 murders were committed in the country to defend human rights.
And this is just the latest of a series of attempts by the current government to undo the liberal transformation of Argentina in fresh years. In 2020, the local Green Wave movement helped in the country which introduced parliamentary quotas for women in 1991, implement the right to a safe abortion.
However, Milei included cultural election themes already in his campaign. In 2022 statedthat he “will not apologize for having a penis” besides caught voters opposed to abortion liberalisation. After taking up functions, among others. reduced programmes offering support to victims of gender-based force search to repeal labour quotas for sexual minorities or government introducing mandatory sex training for public administration staff. Thus in November Argentina as only The country voted against the UN General Assembly resolution on preventing and eliminating all forms of force against women and girls.
**
Tomáš Trněný is simply a journalist, publishes on Alarm and Voxpot services. He deals with Latin American countries.
The article was published on Denik Alarm. From Czech she translated Dorota Blabolil-Obrębska.
