Emotional Moment for Argentine President Milei as He Sees His Portrait in Madrid

Argentine President Javier Milei could not hold back tears when his portrait was unveiled in Madrid. This emotional moment marked Milei's return to Spain on Friday, just weeks after a previous visit to Madrid exacerbated a diplomatic crisis between the two long-standing allies.

Unlike his three-day stay in May, Milei's latest trip did not include meetings with senior Spanish officials. Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares characterized the visit as private, and the Argentine president's office did not list it as an official engagement. Nevertheless, Milei met with Madrid's influential right-wing regional president, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, a vocal critic of Spain's socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.

During his last visit, Milei only engaged with Sánchez’s harshest critics, members of the hard-right, anti-immigrant Vox party. He went as far as accusing the Spanish prime minister’s wife of corruption and labeled socialism as “cursed and carcinogenic.” Spain responded by officially withdrawing its ambassador from Buenos Aires, a move Milei dismissed as "nonsense typical of an arrogant socialist."

Since becoming president last December, Milei has sparked numerous diplomatic disputes with his provocative style and controversial opinions. The feud with Spain could have significant economic consequences for Milei, who is striving to reduce Argentina's triple-digit inflation. Spain is Argentina’s second-largest foreign investor after the United States, with Spanish companies investing 140 million euros in the country in 2022. Additionally, there are 495,000 Spaniards residing in Argentina, while 97,000 Argentines live in Spain.

Following his visit to Spain, Milei was scheduled to travel to Germany on Saturday and to the Czech Republic on Monday. Initially, Milei planned to meet German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, whose centre-left politics and style differ greatly from Milei's, on Sunday. However, plans for a greeting with military honors and a joint news conference were later canceled. Scholz’s spokesperson, Steffen Hebestreit, noted on Friday that the visit would be a "very short working visit, expressly at the wish of the Argentine president," adding that Milei had "clearly refused" to hold a news conference.

Why This Matters: The ongoing diplomatic tensions between Argentina and Spain highlight the broader implications of Milei's confrontational approach to international relations. This could impact economic ties and investments, critical for Argentina's struggling economy.

Key Takeaways

• Argentine President Javier Milei became emotional during a portrait unveiling in Madrid.
• Milei’s visit to Spain did not involve meetings with senior Spanish officials.
• Milei has strained diplomatic relations with Spain, leading to the withdrawal of Spain's ambassador from Buenos Aires.
• Spain is a significant investor in Argentina, with potential economic repercussions due to the diplomatic rift.
• Milei's planned meetings in Germany and the Czech Republic also faced disruptions.

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