Argentina’s presidential candidate, Javier Milei, called President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) a “socialist with a totalitarian vocation” and treated Mercosur as a “commercial failure”.
The statements were made by the far-right candidate of the Libertad Avanza coalition in an interview with the English publication The Economist.
After being asked about what his relationship with China would be like if he were elected, Milei said that he does not like “dealing with communists because this is not a system that leads to the improvement of goods”. “No communist system leads to freedom. In fact, it destroys it, so I cannot have relations with communists,” he added.
See also: Analysis: Proposals like Javier Milei’s don’t usually work out
Then, responding about what his relationship with Lula would be like, the Argentine candidate declared: “Look at the aberrations he is committing in his government. I cannot support such matters.”
Milei alleged that the Lula government is “usurping press freedom” and “persecuting the opposition”: “It is a regime that is not in accordance with the ideas of freedom.”
At another point, the Economist asks the Argentine how he would define Lula, since Milei does not see him as a democratic president.
“In the case of Lula it is more complicated… because he has a much more marked totalitarian vocation. In other words, he is not just a socialist. He is someone who has a totalitarian vocation,” he stated.
He demonstrated a diametrically opposite opinion when asked about former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL).
“Bolsonaro fought a worthy fight against socialism. Afterwards, the ballot box did not go with him, but he is a person who fought a fight worthy of recognition”, said Milei.
A CNN sought out Palácio do Planalto to comment on Milei’s statements about Lula.
Mercosur is a “commercial failure”, says Milei
Given his ideological position, the candidate was asked whether he would not advance free trade agreements through Mercosur due to Brazil’s involvement.
Milei said that, in his view, “free trade does not include the State”. “It’s a private decision, so you can trade with whoever you want,” she continued.
“Free trade does not include government interference in private decisions. What I will have influence on is geopolitics, strategy in terms of geopolitics,” she added.
See also: Analysis: Javier Milei’s plans for the Argentine economy
In response to what he thinks of Mercosur, Milei stated that the economic bloc “is a commercial failure that has not surpassed the category of a customs union that only generates commercial diversions and damages for all those who live in the region”.
“I am aligned with [o presidente uruguaio Luis] Lacalle Pou, to the extent that I believe that Mercosur is a failure. It did not serve the people, it only served business between politicians and businessmen”, he continued.
Asked whether, if elected, he would try to remove Argentina from Mercosur, he replied: “It seems that Mercosur does not work and I am in favor of a unilateral opening agenda. Once the reforms associated with this unilateral opening are completed, I do not believe the government will manage trade.”
Regarding the agreement being negotiated between Mercosur and the European Union, the Argentine candidate said that “Argentina would follow its own path”.
Source: CNN Brasil

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