What does Javier Milei's victory in a country like Argentina mean for the movement and right-wing parties?
I believe it has an international scope for several reasons. Firstly, because it occurs in a country where the left had been established for a long time, causing very serious social and economic problems and yet did not lose power. Secondly, because of the way in which Javier Milei has done it, with a very, very daring, very natural, very direct style when qualifying and disqualifying his opponents, which I believe is very typical of the situation. from a country like Argentina, where the population has suffered a lot in recent years as a result of the economic disaster. And perhaps, for these reasons, it has a reach not only in Argentina, but also internationally.
In what sense?
I think that the way in which Javier Milei has waged the cultural and political battle against the left has been very important, because a long time ago the left was the one that dictated morality in politics, who had legitimacy and who did not. And the traditional right has not been able to confront that. They were dedicated solely to economic management and had surrendered the entire cultural, political and substantive issue to the left. Others of us have done it in other places, but Javier Milei has done it successfully in Argentina and, therefore, it seems to us to be a great reference.
How would you define Javier Milei?
Endearing. She is an emotional and good person.
And how do you see that the democratic right like those of Macri, Piñera, Duque and so many others do not last in power as if the left lasts even if it governs badly?
I want to speak with great caution. I can talk about Spain. You have mentioned a traditional right in Ibero-America and I could equate it to the traditional center-right in Spain, which has a problem: the left has taken its measure. He knows how to compete with that kind of politics. And that type of right has compromised, it has lowered its flags. She has felt self-conscious about the left and that is what had to change. Javier Milei has changed it by kicking the board. I understand that there are people who may say that this style is inappropriate. But it has been successful because it has given value and legitimacy to people who thought differently from the left. And that was something that did not happen practically anywhere in the world, especially at the level of what has happened in Argentina, with support from 56% of the population.
Do you think that Milei's victory will facilitate private and Spanish investment in Argentina, which has been hit hard? To begin with comes a hard adjustment
Yes (refers to the investment) An adjustment is coming and Milei himself has stated it and it will not actually be immediate (the investment). But I am convinced that when there is legal certainty, when it is understood that those who create prosperity and provide jobs cannot be robbed with abusive taxes, then in the end the investment comes.
What learning does Milei's victory give you?
The way in which he has confronted the left is unique. We do not know if this is due to the special circumstances of Argentina. Economical. But Spain is suffering from very serious problems in the economic field and, above all, in the political field and constitutional legality. We have a government that has agreed with all the enemies of the unity of Spain, with separatism, with terrorism. He has introduced communism into the Government. It has ministers who do not condemn the Hamas terrorist attacks, which are the most horrifying thing we have seen in our present. And a government like that has to be qualified in a very harsh way. We have accused the Government in Spain of a coup d'état because according to us and according to the right-wing and left-wing judges, the Government in Spain is abolishing the Rule of Law, it is suppressing the Judiciary, it is attacking the Constitution.
You talk about Sanchez's amnesty law for those prosecuted for the separatist referendum like Puigdemont...
And that he has ended the equality of Spaniards before the law, approving an amnesty law that he assumes he gives. So, he forgives the crimes of politicians who have committed the worst crimes that a public representative can commit, but he does so in exchange for votes to remain in power. There is an act of major corruption. I don't know whether to call them shitty lefties, whether to call them scoundrels or how to describe them, but of course that has to be described in a very harsh way, in an implacable way, because the truth must be told. Javier Milei, with a crude tone and style, has told the truth in Argentina. So, I think that style is debatable, it is not the most important thing. In one place it may work, in another it may not. But telling the truth is essential. Javier Milei has told the truth.
Do you compare the "campaign of fear" that Milei denounced in the ruling party to what they said about you in Spain?
I don't know what the campaign of fear they have carried out against Javier Milei is, but I imagine it is comparable, because we have suffered that campaign of fear. But the left has not done it to us, the right has done it to us, the Popular Party. And the media that editorially defend the Popular Party have done it to us. And what has that meant? For the right to shoot itself, it disqualifies itself from coming to power.
But what have they lied about? Let's agree that there is a right that does not like the conservative part of Vox, denying climate change or being against abortion...
They lied, using the same issues to delegitimize as the left, saying that we justify or do not combat violence against women, when we are the party that demands greater criminal penalties for rapists or aggressors of women. We are the only party that says that we must control immigration from those countries, that they import cultures and people who think that women are an inferior being. There is a kind of feminism on the left that the center-right sometimes also falls into, which serves to delegitimize us. We are not going to fall into xenophobia. We don't hate people from other places. What we want is for immigrants to arrive respecting our borders and, respecting our laws, to be willing to live with us without believing that there is a higher Islamic law to obey. They have also done it with the issues of climate change, calling us deniers. We do not enter into a scientific debate. We believe that the climate has always changed.
What is the identity with which Vox defines itself then?
Vox is a patriotic party that defends Spain, its tradition, its history. It is a party that defends the freedoms of the Spanish people against political power. It is a democratic party that believes that we are all equal before the law. Who believes in the separation of powers. It is a legalistic party, a party of order. It is a party that includes conservative people, liberal people and people who do not use those political labels of political science professors and universities to define themselves. Political labels reduce and we do not, we do not use them. There are very different people in our movement.
What did you talk about with Javier Milei in your meeting this morning?
It was a friendly conversation, between friends who I know respect each other, who love each other, who admire each other. I love him even more, because he has triumphed. And it was only to give him a hug and wish him all the luck in the world. Not to give you any advice, because it should be the opposite, rather.
You met on the networks and found each other in different forums.…
There is great mutual admiration, because we have understood the importance of fighting the cultural battle against the left when the center-right came to power. It has happened in Spain and I think something similar has happened in Argentina, and it generates great frustration in its voters, because even when it arrives with force it does not make the necessary reforms. He doesn't dare to change things. It seems that the center-right has assumed that its only job in politics is the balancing of public accounts, as if they were managers who have to balance budgets. But the culture, the underlying politics, does not touch it. In Spain, the Popular Party obtained a gigantic absolute majority, with Mariano Rajoy. It was frustrating, because they didn't change anything. Not even in the economic field. They raised taxes more than what the left asked for in that electoral campaign. I left the Popular Party when the Popular Party had an absolute majority and governed Spain.
Why did you leave him?
Because it frustrated everything I believed in. He stopped defending economic freedom, he stopped defending the unity of the nation clearly, because he accepted the pacts of the Socialist Party with the ETA terrorists. Because he stopped defending the right to life. In short, because they felt legitimized and cowed. I could not be part of a party characterized by cowardice.
Wasn't it a mistake for you to demand so many important places from the PP to help them form a government, which in the end enabled Pedro Sánchez to agree with the independentists and form the government?
Not really. Is not true. In fact, we offered the votes to Mr. Feijóo in exchange for nothing.
And why is the pact to form a PP and Vox government frustrated?
What is frustrating is the result. Pedro Sánchez brings forward the elections, he calls them at a time when all of Spain is on vacation. The Popular Party runs a campaign in which it demonizes its partner (Vox). The Socialist Party does not demonize its communist partner, but rather understands and respects each other. The Popular Party promoted false polls that said it was close to the absolute majority and that even Vox was not going to be necessary. And there are many people who decide not to go to vote. They ran a disastrous campaign in which they demonized Vox, reached out to socialism, published false surveys and the result is what it is.
From your words it seems that you hold the PP more responsible for the failure than Sánchez, who was astute.
Pedro Sánchez is not as clever and skillful as people think. A politician who has no scruples, who has no principles, has a competitive advantage over honest politicians who have scruples because we set limits for ourselves. I have some moral limits. I have some principles. I can't sell them. Sánchez has none. He can step on the laws, he can do anything, he can put national unity at risk. That gives you a competitive advantage. There will be a moment when the people will want to hang him by his feet. In front of him he has found a forceful opposition in Vox, but also a hesitant opposition, which criticized him but offered his hand. He couldn't be offered anything. Total distance with the socialists.
And does Vox engage in self-criticism?
Well, we do self-criticism, we lost votes and we do self-criticism, but I never do it in public. Self-criticism is already done to me by adversaries. Indeed, we have made mistakes and there have been things that we have not communicated well, but we do not say it in public because we are already a very party, if this word is understood here, very searched, by the parties, by the media.
