Former Buenos Aires City mayor Horacio Rodríguez Larreta has published an open letter to President Javier Milei calling on the head of state to stop sharing “hate messages.”
Recriminating the President’s use of official speeches to "divide" society, Rodríguez Larreta accused Milei of using social media to "share hate messages" and "insult those who disagree with his ideas.”
Rodríguez Larreta published the letter to mark the first anniversary of Milei’s election victory in last year’s presidential run-off
Originally tipped a frontrunner for the presidency himself, after eight successful years leading the capital, the ex-City mayor lost out in the primaries to party colleague Patricia Bullrich, who now serves in Milei’s national government.
"A year has passed since the election converting you into the President of all Argentines. It was an overwhelming victory which made manifest the majority’s will for change. In that instant the election campaign ended for everybody. Except for you," began Rodríguez Larreta in his open letter.
He continued: "Our compatriots elected you to govern the country. Not to divide us. Not to insult those who disagree with your ideas. Not to share hate messages on the social networks. Not to end the consensus which cost us so much as a society. Not to take us again to resentment between compatriots."
Since departing his post last December, Rodríguez Larreta has set up a think tank named Movimiento al Desarrollo. Tuesday’s intervention into public debate was sparked by a report from the institute which quantified Milei’s online insults and detailed an uptick of verbal violence in Argentina.
According to the study, the La Libertad Avanza leader has "used 32 terms” on “2,173 occasions” to “insult persons and institutions" on the X social network since taking office.
As examples, Rodríguez Larreta detailed that Milei used the pejorative terms "zurdos" (“lefties”) 301 times, "degenerados" (“degenerates”) 184 times or "hijos de puta” (“sons of bitches”) 110 times.
"Would that this issue worries you as much as it does me," reflected the centre-right leader.
"Many of we Argentines do not think like youl,” continued Rodríguez Larreta. “We all deserve respect, peace and tolerance. You have an enormous responsibility. Each one of us is what we say. It’s not about 'forms.' In democracy forms are basic. Words are important. Indeed, we all know that is where violence always starts."
– TIMES/NA/PERFIL
