By Obinna Uballa
Anger and condemnation have trailed a violent protest that forced Argentina’s President Javier Milei to flee a campaign rally in Lomas de Zamora, a suburb of Argentina, on Wednesday.
The incident occurred when Milei, accompanied by his sister and presidential aide Karina Milei, was greeting supporters from the back of an open pick-up truck.
Protesters reportedly hurled stones, bottles and other objects at the vehicle, prompting security operatives to speed the convoy away from the crowd.
Videos circulating on social media showed his pick-up truck accelerating to escape as objects flew through the air. In one viral image shared by presidential spokesperson Manuel Adorni on X, a rock could be seen mid-flight towards the president.
“They could have killed anyone,” Adorni wrote. “They don’t care about human life, and they’ll care even less about the country. The end.”
One Milei supporter was hospitalised with rib injuries after clashes broke out, but no government officials were harmed in the attack. Protesters also brandished placards mocking the president and his sister, while some chanted, “Out with Milei!”
Meanwhile, using the incident as a rallying point ahead of crucial elections, Milei lashed out at his opponents in a series of posts on social media.
“The empty-headed nutters throwing rocks resorted to violence again,” he wrote. “On September 7 and October 26, let’s say at the polls: KIRCHNERISM NEVER AGAIN.”
In another post, he framed the stakes in stark terms: “Civilisation or barbarity.”
Reports say the attack underscores growing public anger over Milei’s sweeping austerity programme, which he argues is necessary to stabilise Argentina’s crisis-hit economy.
His administration has implemented deep cuts to social programmes, laid off thousands of public workers and pushed through deregulation measures, reports said.
Media reports suggest that while official figures suggest inflation is slowing, poverty and unemployment have surged, fuelling discontent among low-income Argentines.
Milei’s critics also point to a bribery scandal involving his sister Karina, who serves as general secretary to the presidency. Recordings recently surfaced of Diego Spagnuolo, a former head of the country’s National Disability Agency and a close Milei ally, alleging that Karina took a percentage from government contracts intended for disability services.
The president has dismissed the allegations as false and vowed legal action against Spagnuolo after sacking him. “Everything he says is a lie,” Milei told reporters at Wednesday’s rally before the violence erupted.
The chaos comes as Milei prepares for two pivotal votes: local elections in Buenos Aires province on September 7 and nationwide midterms on October 26, where half of the 257-seat Chamber of Deputies and a third of the Senate will be contested.
Seen as a referendum on his radical economic reforms, the elections analysts say, could determine whether Milei strengthens his grip on power or faces a legislative blockade at the midpoint of his four-year term.
