Argentine Jewish Association: Presidential candidate is a threat to democracy

Buenos Aires – Argentina’s Jewish Association has urged voters not to vote in next week’s second round of presidential elections for a candidate it says threatens the democratic system and basic constitutional rights. Although this civic association did not name anyone, according to local media, it is clear that they had in mind the extravagant economist Javier Milei, who is also referred to as an extreme right-wing populist. The Télam agency informed about it today.

The Argentine Jewish Appeal Association said in a statement that one of the candidates, “whose name does not need to be named”, seriously threatens the democratic system, social peace and fundamental rights guaranteed by the constitution with his behavior. It urged voters not to vote on November 19 for a candidate they say would set Argentina back several decades in the field of basic civil rights. Milei will face current economy minister Sergio Massa in the second round of the election.

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“We cannot remain silent when our country is in such great danger if a leader with these fascist attitudes comes to power,” the Argentine Jewish Association also said. Already in August of this year, Mileia was criticized for abusing Judaism for political purposes. “Milei represents an ultra-liberalism bordering on fascism and abuses the symbols of Judaism to justify his totalitarian political proposals, while invoking the Torah and the Talmud, two of the central texts of the Jewish spiritual tradition,” the Argentine Jewish Challenge said in August.

Also in September, in an open letter to 4,000 Argentine Jewish artists and intellectuals, they said Milei was exploiting Judaism for political purposes and raised concerns about his campaign statements, which they said were hateful towards women or people of minority sexual orientation. They also condemned Milei’s criticism of Pope Francis, which they said had offended millions of believers. Milei, who is Catholic, has made several derogatory comments about Pope Francis, who is of Argentine descent, in previous years. For example, in 2020 he called him an “imbecile” and last year he said of the head of the Catholic Church that he “always stands on the side of evil”. He also called the Pope a “disgusting leftist”.

In the election campaign, Milei stated that he was considering converting to Judaism and becoming the first Jewish president of Argentina in its history.

Miley’s performance, which some have compared to US President Donald Trump, was accompanied by verbal aggression and theatricality in the campaign before the first round of elections. To demonstrate how radical change he intended to bring about, he sometimes appeared at meetings with a chainsaw. Among other things, Milei claims that he will significantly reduce the expenses of the state, which is the most indebted country to the International Monetary Fund.

Fifty-three-year-old Milei is also referred to as an anarcho-capitalist. He criticizes the representatives of the main political parties that have been in power in recent years for being corrupt and blames them for the current state of the Argentine economy. Milei promised voters in the campaign that he would replace the domestic currency of the peso with the US dollar, abolish the central bank and call a referendum on the abolition of the legalization of abortion. He also advocates for easier gun ownership and says the trade in human organs should be legal.

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Author: ČTK Date: November 10, 2023 Photo: Wikimedia Commons – Buenos Aires