Milei administration intensifies offensive against press

ARGENTINA | Yesterday 10:23


President Javier Milei’s government is presenting the media and journalists to voters as the “new caste” and has decided to ramp up its attacks on reporters; New attack attempts to associate them with “lies” and “defamation,” with one online ally even calling for one journalist to be jailed.

Pablo Varela



President Javier Milei appears on a streaming programme alongside Daniel 'Gordo Dan' Parisini. | Screenshot


President Javier Milei’s government and the Casa Rosada are seeking to shift the focus. The La Libertad Avanza leader’s attack on the press is not just intimidation — they form part of a broader strategy and narrative. The intensity shown this past week by Argentina’s President towards the press is aimed at creating “a new caste” to confront.

It is, in effect, a move intended to sideline the opposition’s political leadership as the government’s natural enemy. In doing so, Milei directs his criticism and accusations at journalists and media outlets, avoiding direct confrontation with leaders from other political forces.

The strategy is thought to have been crafted by the government’s all-purpose star adviser, Santiago Caputo. Some observers suggest the manoeuvre is “no stroke of genius” but rather a tactic already used by other leaders with similar profiles to Milei. Examples include Viktor Orbán, the prime minister of Hungary; Giorgia Meloni, the prime minister of Italy; and Jair Bolsonaro, former president of Brazil. Not to mention Milei’s idol, US President Donald Trump, who also employs this approach.

There are voices within the libertarian movement who attribute the move to a survey Santiago Caputo is said to have commissioned back in January, which asked respondents whether they would be willing to live “in a country with an authoritarian government that delivers good economic results.”

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https://www.batimes.com.ar/news/argentina/milei-administration-intensifies-offensive-against-press.phtml