MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Milei wants opposition leader Kicillof to resign as Governor of Buenos Aires

Milei followers posted this image meme of Kicillof highlighting that 4,304 have been committed since he became governor

Argentine President Javier Milei urged Buenos Aires Province Governor Axel Kicillof to resign so that a federal intervention could be launched to restore order as residents of that Argentine district were enraged Thursday by the murder of a 7-year-old girl. The perpetrators were identified to be minors aged 14 and 17, and would therefore face lesser to no charges; in other words, they would be free to kill again. “Let us intervene in the Province,” Milei insisted.

In a posting on X addressed at @Kicillofok, Milei stressed that “I want to point out that you cannot work with someone like you who believes that criminals are the victims while we believe that criminals are the bad guys and those who commit crimes [should] pay for them.”

”Your pro-criminal doctrine with roots in [former Supreme Court Justice Eugenio] Zaffaroni's atrocious thinking is the antithesis of Becker-Giuliani's zero tolerance to which we (...) subscribe,“ the President went on.

”Second, (...) if you are interested in the well-being of the people of Buenos Aires, get out of the way (that is, resign) and let us intervene in the Province. In a year, we will end the violence,“ Milei also pledged while wondering whether Kicillof was putting his political ambitions over the interests of the population.

Milei also highlighted ”Kicillof's incompetence“ when handling security issues in his district.

In response, Kicillof asked Milei to ”give back to Buenos Aires the 750 billion pesos he took from them“ and warned against the political use of the Kim Gómez case. ”Today is a sad day. I know that some use this to win a vote, profit from the pain and see if they can get an advantage,” the Governor and former federal Economy Minister under President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (CFK) said.

However, he opposed the national Government's idea of lowering the accountability age as suggested by Security Minister Patricia Bullrich. In Kicillof's view, young delinquents should get the State's support if they are to leave a life of crime.

Supporting Kicillof's stand was Congressman Máximo Kirchner, among other key opposition leaders who see Milei's popularity waning amid growing poverty coupled with a negative image stemming from the $LIBRA cryptofiasco, the appointment of Supreme Court (CSJN) Justices by decree, as well as other controversial decisions by the President and his inner circle.

The Justicialist (Peronist) of the Province of Buenos Aires wondered in a statement how far would Milei “continue attacking” the district's “democratically elected” authorities.