Buenos Aires, Argentina — Argentine President Javier Milei and his team were attacked on August 27 while campaigning in Lomas de Zamora, on the southern edge of Buenos Aires, amid corruption allegations involving his sister and presidential general secretary, Karina Milei.
The attack, which caused no serious injuries, came days before a local election in Buenos Aires province that poses a challenge for the libertarians.
The president was traveling on a truck with his sister, Karina, and José Luis Espert, who is running for a seat in Congress representing the Buenos Aires Province. As the caravan moved along Hipólito Yrigoyen Avenue, the main street in Lomas de Zamora, rocks were thrown at the vehicle. No officials were injured, but presidential security rushed Milei and his sister from the scene. Espert left separately with the help of a motorcyclist.
The attack followed a tense lead-up. Milei has been campaigning in Buenos Aires province’s most populated urban districts, which hold local elections September 7. While the vote will decide only seats in the provincial legislature, it is seen as a likely indicator for the October 26 midterms.
Recent polls show a difficult outlook for Milei’s party, La Libertad Avanza, weighed down by Argentina’s economic downturn in the second quarter of 2025. The slump has hit especially hard in the already struggling Buenos Aires suburbs.
The party is also facing corruption allegations against Karina Milei, considered the most influential person in Milei’s cabinet – the president has referred to her as “the boss.” Argentine media published audio recordings of Diego Spagnuolo, former head of the National Agency for the Disabled, suggesting Karina’s aides collected kickbacks (“coimas” in Buenos Aires’ slang) from health providers in her name.
The revelation drew widespread attention in Argentina’s media, coinciding with Javier Milei’s veto of a bill that would have declared a national emergency in disability services. The measure aimed to raise subsidies for beneficiaries and improve payments to providers. During a congressional debate, police clashed with protesters, including people with disabilities and their families, outside the legislature.
After the recordings surfaced, Diego Spagnuolo was removed as head of the agency and later detained. Investigators seized his phone but believe he erased compromising conversations. Authorities also detained brothers Emmanuel and Jonathan Kovalivker, owners of the Suizo-Argentine pharmacy chain and suppliers to the National Agency for the Disabled. Police said they found envelopes containing more than $200,000 in Emmanuel’s home in the upscale Nordelta neighborhood.
“Kirchnerism, never again”
In the lead-up to Milei’s rally in Lomas de Zamora, a district long dominated by the Justicialist Party, several protests were organized to challenge the caravan.
Videos on social media showed Milei confronting demonstrators who shouted “corrupt” at him. Ahead of the event, Mayor Federico Otermin posted on X rejecting the caravan but urging protesters to express themselves “without any kind of violence.”
After the attacks, the president posted a photo with Karina and Espert back in the Olivos presidential residence. “In Olivos with the Prof. Espert and THE BOSS Karina Milei after visiting Lomas de Zamora, where the kukas (a demeaning name for kirchnerists), lacking ideas, resorted once again to violence,” he said.
“On Sept. 7 and Oct. 26, let’s say with our votes KIRCHNERISM NEVER AGAIN. VLLC!,” the president concluded.
Indeed, after running his presidential campaign in 2023 in opposition to “the caste”, an idea similar to Donald Trump’s “swamp”, Javier Milei is now antagonizing mostly former president Cristina Kirchner and her allies, which have led the Judicialist Party for the past 20 years.
Featured image credit:
Image: Javier Milei’s campaign caravan in Lomas de Zamora
Author: Santiago Oría on X
Source: Santiago Oría on X
