Milei lands in Spain in the middle of the pre-campaign for 29-N

MadridSeven months have passed since Javier Milei's last lightning trip to Spain. Back then, he met with Santiago Abascal (Vox) and participated in the second edition of the Madrid Economic Forum –an ode to the wildest capitalism–. This Tuesday evening, he has landed again, coinciding with the electoral pre-campaign of November 29th. This time, Milei will not meet with the Vox leader –he will do so with other figures from the party and their think tank–, but he will meet with the president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso (PP). Before that, however, he will offer an informative breakfast at the Real Casino, a few meters from the Puerta del Sol, where the protest against the housing crisis continues, and he will participate in economic events. For example, he will speak at the university master's degree in Austrian School economics at the Rey Juan Carlos University.

Who he will not meet with is Pedro Sánchez, with whom he has had more than one confrontation: "unpresentable," Milei snapped at him last March. Sánchez, for his part, does not hesitate to point out the evils of those who champion the policies of the "chainsaw," in reference to the Argentine leader. Sources from the Spanish government remind that this is not a State visit. "He has not shown any willingness to meet either," they indicate.

This Wednesday's visit is relevant because Milei is one of the world leaders behind the cultural battle against the left worldwide and it is assumed that in an electoral pre-campaign context like the one Spain is experiencing, he will not hesitate to promote this framework. He has already done so in Brazil, against Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, where the second round of the general elections is being held this Sunday. Before coming to Spain, Milei visited the United States, where on October 13 he participated in a gala linked to the Hispanic community. In fact, it is the country he has visited the most since he became president of Argentina.

Balancing acts of the PP and Vox

But Milei's arrival in this context has not been received by the right and the far-right in the same way as on other occasions. With the exception of Ayuso, who is usually a loose cannon within the PP when it comes to meetings with conservative and liberal leaders from Latin America, neither Génova nor the leader of Vox will let themselves be photographed with him.

Milei arrives at a time when his measures to achieve the goal of zero deficit and reduce inflation have triggered an increase in social inequality, a drop in consumption, and high levels of poverty that have led the economy to slow down. The left takes advantage of this to contrast models, but is forced to strike a balance with someone they have presented on other occasions as an economic guru.