Author: Techub Hot News
Interview media: Todo Noticias
Compiled by: Tia, Techub News
Editor's note: The controversy over Argentine President Javier Milei and the LIBRA token incident has not subsided recently. From his public support for the project to the widespread attention caused by the tweet controversy, a complex political and economic game is taking place in Argentina. At the same time, the flow of funds involved in the incident, the scope of participants, and the subsequent public opinion response gradually revealed the intricate inside story. In an interview, President Milei responded to the relevant controversy candidly and expressed his profound insights into the current economic and political situation in Argentina. This interview not only involves the causes and consequences of the LIBRA token incident, but also reveals the strategic thinking and challenges of the Milei government in a complex political environment.
Johnny: Mr. President, thank you very much for your interview during this turbulent time. First, I would like to ask you to explain the current situation.
President Milei: This interview was arranged two or three weeks ago, and what was promised must be fulfilled. I have nothing to hide, so I can face it openly. I understand that at some point, politicians may choose to avoid it, but I have nothing to hide, so I am happy to talk.
I think promises must be kept. Especially when it's controversial, avoidance is not the answer. I think transparency is essential. You know what's going to happen in the end? The truth will come out, all the evidence will come out. You'll see the meanness and the pathetic nature of traditional politics. They're nervous now because the polls show we're way ahead and the economy is clearly recovering. If we get to the second quarter economic data and the growth rate is at least 7%, inflation is down to 1%, and poverty is down to below 35%, then they'll be even more anxious. Because they know that if this government does well, their position will no longer exist. So they'll do whatever it takes to undermine us.
Johnny: Regarding the LIBRA token, can you explain what happened?
President Milei: Of course. When you look at entrepreneurs who are working with digital technology, artificial intelligence, system development, etc., you will find that most of them are in a non-normal economic situation. Because Argentina has been mismanaged for the past 100 years and does not have a mature capital market. Many of them only declare a minimum income and therefore cannot get financing. In the United States, you can finance these projects through venture capital, and even if only one project succeeds, the investors will get a return. But in Argentina, this does not exist. So when someone proposed to me to set up a structure to finance these entrepreneurs, I thought it was an interesting idea. We are very committed to promoting the development of technology and artificial intelligence, and I think this is a good way to help those who cannot get financing.
Johnny: What’s with that LIBRA promotional tweet you posted on Friday?
President Milei: When the Libra project became public, I promoted it because I thought it could help Argentines who needed financing. My tweet was to let more people know about the project.
Johnny: Do you regret posting that tweet? Because you later deleted it.
President Milei: No regrets, let me explain.
After I posted the tweet, some people started spreading rumors that my account had been hacked.
This is fake and I have nothing to hide.
I posted the tweet because I’m passionate about technology and I thought it was a great opportunity to help entrepreneurs, but when I saw the negative comments growing, I decided to delete the tweet.
I don’t normally delete tweets, but I chose to retract them this time.
Johnny: More than 40,000 people invested in this project, involving more than 80 million US dollars, and many people lost a lot of money. What do you have to say to them?
President Milei: First of all, I want to clarify that there are not actually 40,000 people involved, many of whom are robots. The real participants may be only about 5,000 people, and most of them are highly professional investors who know very well what they are doing. These people participate voluntarily and understand the risks very well. It's like when you go to a casino, you know you may lose money, but you still choose to participate. This is a transaction between individuals, and the state is not involved.
Johnny: Do you feel like you made a mistake in this matter?
President Milei: Under the circumstances at the time, I don’t think I made a mistake. I was well-intentioned and wanted to help entrepreneurs who couldn’t get financing. But now it seems that I may need to learn some lessons from it.
Johnny: What did you learn from this?
President Milei: I realize that as president, I need to be more cautious. I thought I could be as open and transparent as before, but now I understand that I need to set up more screening mechanisms and not let people get close to me easily.
Johnny: You mentioned setting up a screening mechanism. Can you talk about it in detail?
President Milei: For example, I need to make sure that the people who make proposals to me are well screened. For example, people like Davis, I met through Noveli, who organized that technical conference, and I met a lot of interesting people there. I thought it was a great opportunity at the time, but now it seems that I need to be more cautious.
Johnny: Do you think this incident has any impact on your international reputation?
President Milei: I don’t think so. Because this is a technology-related event, it has its own dynamics. My credibility comes from the fact that I delivered on my promises, such as we stopped issuing currency, reduced inflation, and achieved a fiscal surplus. These are the things that really give me credibility.
Johnny: What do you think about the calls for impeachment?
President Milei: This is the seventh time that someone has called for my impeachment. What's interesting is that those who are calling for my impeachment, such as the Kirchner faction, have a lot of things that they themselves have not explained. For example, they never explained where the $60 billion of the Santa Cruz Fund went. I find it ironic that they are now asking me to explain.
Johnny: You mentioned that the Kirchner faction has many problems. Can you elaborate on them?
President Milei: For example, they tried to take $10 billion from the Central Bank for their election campaign, which led to the dismissal of Martin Redrado. They also caused $25 billion in losses through the dollar futures market. These were major mistakes during their administration. In contrast, the adjustment we made was the largest in history, but we succeeded in reducing inflation and the economy began to recover.
Johnny: You mentioned that the Kirchner faction has a lot of problems, but you yourself are facing pressure for impeachment. How do you think the calls for impeachment this time are different from previous ones?
President Milei: The difference this time is that the people who are calling for my impeachment have a lot of unresolved issues themselves. For example, they never explained where the $60 billion in the Santa Cruz Fund went. I find it ironic that they are now asking me to explain.
Johnny: When you called Davis last Friday, did you tell him what was going on here?
President Milei: My reaction at the time was that I needed to stay calm in the face of the situation. If there was any doubt, I would choose to step back and protect myself.
Johnny: Did you write that tweet?
President Milei: Yes, but at the time someone was spreading rumors that my account was hacked. It was false, I was not hacked. So I pinned the tweet to prove that I had posted it. But then I saw more and more negative comments, so I decided to delete it. I usually don't delete tweets, but this time I chose to retract it.
Johnny: So will you tweet less, or will you continue to use Twitter as before (X)?
President Milei: I am a fanatic and I will continue to use Twitter. I am not sure how I will do it, but I do know that I will improve the screening of who can reach me.
Johnny: Have you talked to your sister Karina about this? What does she think?
President Milei: No, I will not talk to my sister.
Johnny: Have you decided to stop living the way you did before and stop allowing people to get to you so easily?
President Milei: Yes, we decided not to live like before. We understand that there must be a filter for our role. We want to continue to live like ordinary people, but reality does not allow it.
Johnny: It's about the atmosphere of social media. I'm not sure if people really care about this shit?
President Milei: That's why you have to see how people react. If you're in a complicated situation where you can't go out on the street, then we do cause some problems for the security personnel. The other day I went to Federico's department with Nick. When I left, I had to throw some stuff in the trash. I found a place where no one was around, but then a lot of people came up to me and took selfies. I have to accept that life is not as simple as it used to be.
Johnny: Sometimes you don't realize you're the president.
President Milei: I don't see myself as a president, I see this as a job. I describe my job as lowering inflation, lowering insecurity, and promoting economic growth. These are my goals.
Johnny: In the bill, engaging in cryptocurrency-related fraud is an extremely serious crime, which is an unprecedented scandal. We in the House of Representatives have decided to move forward with the request for a political trial against the president.
President Milei: Let’s move forward. In fact, I have asked the Anti-Corruption Office to investigate all of us, including myself. We have a team that is looking into this.
Johnny: Be prepared, they will unite all forces against you.
President Milei: You know what, Johnny, we are ending the chaos in Argentina. Argentina went through a real Ponzi scheme that took the country from one of the richest countries in the world to a situation where nearly 60% of the population is in poverty. This is the reality. We are doing expansionary adjustments because we are targeting the government system, which will reduce the burden on the political side.
I said one thing before I became a candidate about the information leak. We adjusted for it, but it was not a recessionary adjustment because we returned the money to the private sector. In fact, I am not afraid of it because I am doing what the Argentine people asked me to do, but the problem is on their side. Because we enter the election process this year, the economy is growing by 78% and inflation is 1%, and they know they have no chance of winning, so the defenders of the status quo will fight back. In addition to that, listen, first of all, they are politicians, this is the first point, if you like peaches, you have to accept the fluff on it, since you enter this field, you have to know these things. Second, Argentine politicians are unscrupulous people. Third, I have been fighting against them, starting from exposing the truth, and I have been cutting their benefits. These people have gnashed their teeth at me, so they will take any opportunity to deal with me.
You are ending all the courses in politics, ending the real Ponzi scheme in Argentina, which has turned Argentina from a rich country into a country with a poverty rate close to 60%. We are making expansionary adjustments because we are putting the adjustment on the country, on the corruption of politics.
Johnny: Was this a wrong move?
President Milei: Well, with all the attacks, I have to re-examine some things.
Johnny: Senator Lufton?
President Milei: He’s the 1:25 guy, and this has nothing to do with raising taxes.
Johnny: This is a fraud. I got confused, there is a fraud equivalent to 12 López bags here.
President Milei: But if there was fraud, let the judiciary prove it. The thing is, he is strong compared to López. Lutón must make some effective slogans, why doesn't he count all the money he could have stolen from the Argentines? Why doesn't he count all the damage he has done to the Argentines every time he raises his hand to vote to increase his salary?
Johnny: You mentioned the guillotine, whose head will be chopped off by Karina’s guillotine?
President Milei: If the judiciary proves that there is something that requires beheading, then do it, no doubt about it.
Johnny: Don't you suspect that someone in the government made a mistake?
President Milei: No, in principle I don't doubt it. If the judiciary later tells me that someone made a mistake, I will accept it.
Johnny: Andrés Siro from Lice said that they have too many lies, too much crypto, too much freedom. What happens when you have a conflict with an artist or certain artists?
President Milei: I don't have anything against artists. In fact, I celebrate through art. I used to have a rock band, so I have nothing against artists. What I say is that if you are an artist, you should live by providing your product, not by state subsidies. If you need state subsidies to live, then you are a civil servant. If you also become a tool for political propaganda, then you are doing politics, not art.
Johnny: Why is Lali doing politics?
President Milei: Isn't she funded by Quintela? Isn't she funded by the guy on the yacht?
Johnny: Quintela? Is he the government of La Rioja?
President Milei: Yeah, he did some shows for the guys on that yacht.
Johnny: But does Lali Expósito need state funding?
Milei President: Mainly because she did those shows, yes.
Johnny: What about María Becerra?
President Milei: She surprised me too. She went to a place funded by the state and then criticized the state. And the worst part is, she lied about the fire.
Johnny: About the fire.
President Milei: Yes, during Kichnerism, the fires were handled badly. We reorganized all the fires. And the national and provincial governments acted together to provide financial support to those who lost their homes. She is spreading lies and criticizing us with lies.
Johnny: But are you handling it well? I'm not sure who the deputy environment minister is, Adorni said the other day that he hasn't been appointed yet. He said mistakes were made in terms of fire prevention.
President Milei: Well, that may be his opinion. He may not have enough information or he may have made a mistake.
Johnny: Will you eventually appoint that deputy minister?
President Milei: If the person in charge wants to stay on, I have no problem with that. My direct contact is with the ministers. I will not appoint anyone because if I appoint your secretary, what will you do?
Johnny: So let me build the team.
President Milei: Okay, but you have to understand that if I demand results and you don’t get them, I will fire you. You appoint the team you want, I don’t interfere.
Johnny: Aren't you worried about the wave of violence in Buenos Aires Province?
President Milei: In a federal state, who is responsible for education, health and security?
Johnny: In the provincial government.
President Milei: Yes, so these security issues are all Kichilov's responsibility. As the President of Argentina, I am worried about the situation in the province of Buenos Aires. But the problem is that Kichilov is part of the problem, not the solution. He follows the Zafaroni doctrine, which treats the criminals as good guys and the victims as bad guys. We follow the Julian doctrine, whoever commits the crime must be punished.
Johnny: Is Macri part of the problem or part of the solution?
President Milei: In what respects?
Johnny: In terms of the political leadership of the country.
President Milei: When he needed help, he helped. He will help now.
Johnny: How is your relationship with him?
President Milei: The last time I messaged him was on his birthday. I have no fundamental disagreements with him. If everyone thinks the same, then no one is really thinking.
Johnny: On a scale of 1 to 10, what are your chances of reaching a strong agreement with the Liberal Progressive Party?
President Milei: My goal is 10.
Johnny: You want 10 points?
President Milei: Yes, my goal is 10 points.
Johnny: Patricia Bullrich, she's running as a candidate in the city.
President Milei: I think she's doing a great job. If she's the candidate, she's going to sweep everything.
Johnny: But will you lose her as a minister?
President Milei: It depends on Patricia's wishes. She has said that she does not want to run, and I am very satisfied with her work as Minister.
Johnny: You can have her do two things at once.
President Milei: Yes, she can be where she wants to be.
Johnny: Will you file a spontaneous statement?
President Milei: Legal issues are not my expertise and I should not disclose them in advance. Our Attorney General will handle them.
Johnny: Will you continue to push for the "clean records" bill?
President Milei: Yes, we promised. We have submitted the bill, the House of Representatives passed it, and now it depends on the Senate. We will try to pass it.
Johnny: Mr. President, thank you for spending over an hour talking about all the topics, especially on Libra.
President Milei: You are welcome, and I think the Argentine people should be completely assured that I have always acted in good faith and will continue to do so. Because sooner or later the truth will come out.
Johnny: Thank you, President.
President Milei: Thank you, Johnny.
