Buenos Aires, Argentina — Javier Milei made international headlines in recent weeks, but not in a way he may have wanted. The president of Argentina is under investigation in both his country and the United States for the $Libra cryptocurrency scandal, a “rug pull” that caused up to $300 million in losses for investors.
While he and his cabinet maneuver to avoid charges, Milei is pushing an aggressive agenda to isolate the opposition, monopolize the political initiative and leave behind the scandal. His plan includes confronting Argentina’s major media and telecommunications group, pushing for more privatizations, and forcing Supreme Court nominations.
Despite his efforts, his bombardment of new, controversial initiatives may not be helping his reputation. According to a recent survey from Delfos, a public opinion consultancy, Milei’s negative image amongst Argentines grew 5 percentage points, while his favorable rating slipped three percentage points.
$Libragate
The scandal broke on February 14, when Milei posted a message on X promoting a “private project” dedicated to “encouraging the growth of the Argentine economy, funding small Argentine businesses and ventures.” He added, “The world wants to invest in Argentina.”
The message included the ticker $Libra, linked to a site called the “Viva La Libertad Project,” and a crypto wallet address. After the president’s post, $Libra surged to $5 in minutes before dropping to mere cents within an hour. Critics described the move as a rug pull, sparking rumors that Milei had been hacked, which were swiftly denied by official sources.
Hours later, Milei deleted the original post and wrote that he had supported “a supposed private venture” to which he “obviously” had “no connection.” He claimed he “was not familiar with the details of the project” and had “decided not to continue disseminating it.”
The president then attacked “the filthy rats of the political caste who want to take advantage of this situation to do harm,” adding that “every day they confirm how lowly politicians are and increase our conviction to kick their asses out.”
After the initial shock, photos surfaced of Milei with Julian Peh, founder of Kip Protocol, the company listed on the Viva La Libertad Project website, which later denied involvement in the $Libra token.
The president was also photographed in prior weeks with Hayden Mark Davis of Kelsen Ventures, the company that launched $Libra. Davis claimed to be an advisor to Milei on tokenization and, in a video recorded after the scandal, lamented that the president deleted the first message “despite prior agreements.” He is reportedly holding the $300 million invested in $Libra, which he claims “belongs to Argentina,” and has said he is awaiting instructions on what to do with the funds.
The now-dubbed “$Libragate” scandal caused an uproar among opposition parties, which filed more than 100 cases against the president in Argentine courts.
All cases ended up in the court of María Romilda Servini, a federal judge with nearly 35 years on the bench who also handles electoral cases. The judge delegated the investigation to prosecutor Eduardo Taiano, whose son, Federico, holds a position under Milei’s Chief of Cabinet Guillermo Francos.
Petitions for impeachment were also filed, though the initiatives are unlikely to succeed since they require a two-thirds majority in both chambers of Congress. Moyano & Asociados, an Argentine law firm, also filed charges with U.S. authorities.
On February 27, opposition congressmen announced on X they would boycott Congress’ opening session, citing the crypto scandal among a laundry list of other complaints they had with the government.
Milei trying to put $Libragate behind him
Milei hoped the scandal would fade with time, but new revelations continued to plague his government and kept $Libra in the headlines.
On Feb. 20, the government narrowly prevented the Senate from forming a special committee to investigate the crypto scandal, blocking the measure by just one vote. The president ended the week with a tour of the United States and meetings with Elon Musk, International Monetary Fund officials and U.S. President Donald Trump, helping dispel the notion that $Libra would ostracize him on the international stage.
After returning to Argentina, Milei is pushing to move past Libra with a series of initiatives to control the agenda.
The president signed a decree to privatize Banco Nación, Argentina’s national bank, and a state-owned carbon mining company.
The government also announced it will review the recent agreement allowing Telecom, an Argentine telecommunications company, to buy the local operations of Spain’s Telefónica, in a deal worth more than $1.2 billion. The deal has been years in the making, and Milei’s cabinet rejects it on anti-monopoly grounds. This stance could lead to a confrontation with Clarín, Argentina’s largest media group and owner of Telecom.
What’s more, on February 25, Milei shook the political scene by appointing Ariel Lijo and Manuel García-Mansilla to the Supreme Court by decree after failing to gain support for their nominations in an opposition-led Senate.
Lijo, a current federal judge, has faced scrutiny for accumulating more than 30 complaints against him in the Consejo de la Magistratura, Argentina’s judicial oversight body. García-Mansilla, a right-wing academic, has a cleaner record but lacks support beyond libertarians, as the opposition argues that a woman should be nominated instead.
Milei’s bold decision is allowed by the Constitution but has garnered wide rejection from the opposition, and it is unlikely to be held up in Congress.
The president’s plan to dominate the Argentine agenda includes the March 1 opening of the legislative year, a speech equivalent to the U.S. State of the Union. The president’s address to Congress is expected to hold surprises, as Milei recently promised in an interview to introduce a series of initiatives similar to those in his first weeks in office with Decree 70/2023. What those would include is yet to be seen.
