Javier Milei has been the center of international attention in recent weeks, though not exactly in the way he would have liked. The president of Argentina is under investigation both in his country and in the United States due to the $Libra cryptocurrency scandal, an alleged fraudulent scheme that reportedly caused losses of up to 300 million dollars to investors.
While he and his cabinet try to evade the accusations, Milei is pushing an aggressive agenda to isolate the opposition, monopolize political initiative, and leave the scandal behind. His strategy includes confronting Argentina's main media and telecommunications groups, promoting more privatizations, and forcing Supreme Court nominations.
Despite his efforts, his tactic of bombarding with new and controversial measures does not seem to be benefiting his public image. According to a recent survey by the consulting firm Delfos, negative perception of Milei in Argentina increased by 5 percentage points, while his popularity fell by 3 points.
$Libragate
The scandal erupted on February 14, when Milei posted a message on social media promoting an alleged private project aimed at boosting the growth of the Argentine economy, financing small businesses and local ventures. The message included the name $Libra, linked to a website called Viva La Libertad Project, along with a cryptocurrency wallet address.
Following the president's post, the value of $Libra skyrocketed to $5 within minutes, only to plummet to just a few cents in less than an hour. Critics denounced it as a fraudulent maneuver, sparking rumors that Milei's account had been hacked, which was quickly denied by official sources.
A few hours later, Milei deleted the post and stated that he had only supported an alleged private project with which he obviously had no connection. He claimed he was not familiar with the project's details and for that reason decided to stop promoting it.
However, suspicions grew when photos of Milei with Julian Peh, founder of Kip Protocol, a company mentioned on the Viva La Libertad project website, began circulating. That company denied any link to the $Libra token.
Likewise, the president had been photographed weeks earlier with Hayden Mark Davis, from the company Kelsen Ventures, responsible for the launch of $Libra. Davis presented himself as Milei's advisor on tokenization issues and, after the scandal, stated in a video that the president deleted the original message despite prior agreements. He also declared that the 300 million dollars invested in $Libra belonged to Argentina and that he was awaiting instructions on what to do with the funds.
The scandal triggered a wave of complaints from the opposition, with more than 100 cases filed in Argentine courts. All of them fell under the jurisdiction of federal judge María Romilda Servini, who delegated the investigation to prosecutor Eduardo Taiano.
On the other hand, the law firm Moyano & Asociados filed complaints against Milei with U.S. authorities.
Milei tries to leave $Libragate behind
The government hoped that over time the scandal would lose impact. However, constant revelations have kept the issue at the center of the media agenda. On February 20, the ruling party narrowly avoided the Senate forming a special commission to investigate the case, blocking the measure by a single vote.
At the end of February, Milei traveled to the United States, where he met with figures such as Elon Musk, officials from the International Monetary Fund, and former President Donald Trump, trying to show that the scandal had not isolated him on the international stage.
After returning to Argentina, the president has tried to regain political initiative with a series of measures. Among them, he signed a decree to privatize Banco Nación and a state-owned coal mining company. Additionally, his government has announced a review of the agreement that allowed the company Telecom to acquire the Argentine operations of Spain's Telefónica, in a transaction valued at over 1.2 billion dollars. This stance has generated tensions with the Clarín group, owner of Telecom and one of the country's main media corporations.
Another controversial decision was the nomination of Ariel Lijo and Manuel García-Mansilla to the Supreme Court through a decree, after failing to secure Senate support. Lijo, a federal judge, has faced multiple complaints before the Council of the Judiciary, while García-Mansilla, a conservative academic, lacks support outside the libertarian sector.
This measure was harshly criticized by the opposition, and although the Constitution allows the president to make these appointments under certain circumstances, the decision is unlikely to succeed in Congress.
Milei's next challenge will be the opening of the legislative year on March 1, a key moment to set the course of his government. His speech before Congress is anticipated as a significant event, given that he has promised new initiatives that could have an impact similar to decree 70/2023 signed in his first weeks in office.
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