© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Argentina’s presidential candidate Javier Milei addresses supporters as he reacts to the results of the presidential election, in Buenos Aires, Argentina October 22, 2023. REUTERS/Matias Baglietto/File Photo
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexico’s leftist leader on Friday recommended that Argentines peacefully protest the new government of radical libertarian President Javier Milei, who took office last week promising deep budget cuts in a bid to tame triple-digit inflation.
President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who has often criticized foreign calls to action against his own government’s policies, told a press conference that Argentine citizens should embrace “peaceful civic resistance” and avoid any temptation to oppose Milei’s policies with violence.
“What I will say to the Argentine people … is don’t be provoked, that non-violence is politically effective,” said Lopez Obrador, who himself has pursued wide-ranging cuts to government spending that does not align with his priorities.
Milei’s press office did not immediately repsond to a request for comment.
After Milei’s triumph in a run-off election last month, Lopez Obrador dismissed the win as an “own goal”, saying he was not in favor of “racist, classist governments.”
His foreign ministry did, however, congratulate Milei, saying Mexico would seek constructive relations.
This week, Milei’s economic chief rolled out an initial set of policies, including a sharp devaluation of the local peso currency plus major spending cuts, aimed at staving off hyperinflation and fixing his country’s worst crisis in decades.
Milei’s predecessor, center-left President Alberto Fernandez, had much warmer relations with Lopez Obrador.