scandals’ fervor
However, gaining support has proved challenging due to Milei’s and his party’s high approval ratings being affected by a number of high-level scandals.
For instance, Jose Luis Espert, a leading candidate for Milei, suspended his campaign on October 6 after being accused of money laundering.
According to the prosecution, Espert paid Argentinian businessman Federico Andres Machado, who is being detained in the US on suspicion of drug trafficking and fraud, at least $200,000.
Prior to those allegations becoming public, Espert had been a strong candidate to represent Argentina in the Chamber of Deputies.
Espert himself has denied any wrongdoing, despite Milei’s accusations that it was a “malicious operation” to “smear” the candidate.
However, Espert is not the only person in Milei’s inner circle to face controversy.
Diego Spagnuolo, the former head of Argentina’s National Disability Agency, was accused of asking Karina Milei, the president’s sister, of demanding kickbacks from pharmaceutical companies by leaked audio a few weeks earlier.
Milei, who appointed his sister as the presidency’s secretary-general, has also refuted those claims.
He described the leaked audio as “an orchestrated and planned disinformation campaign” aimed at “maliciously influencing the electoral process.”
However, Argentina’s Congress publicly criticized Milei’s platform following the scandal.
Source: Aljazeera
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