Milei unhurt after being pelted with stones while campaigning

President Javier Milei escaped unscathed after being attacked with stones while campaigning in Buenos Aires Province.

The La Libertad Avanza leader was riding in the back of a pick-up truck, waving to the crowd alongside his sister Karina and lawmaker José Luis Espert in Lomas de Zamora, a suburban neighbourhood, south of the capital on Wednesday when rocks rained down. Security guards acted quickly to shield the group and the convoy was diverted before reaching its destination.

Milei is mounting an aggressive campaign to increase his party’s support in a heavily populated part of the country that’s consistently voted for the left-wing opposition. He posted a triumphant photo of himself, his sister and Espert from the presidential residence after the incident, along with scorn for his opponents.

“The Kukas, lacking ideas, threw stones and resorted to violence once again,” Milei said, using a derogatory term for the militant wing of the Peronist movement led by former president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. 

Buenos Aires Province, home to nearly 40 percent of Argentina’s 46 million people, goes to the polls on September 7 to elect city councilors and provincial legislators. Investors will use the results of that vote as a barometer for Milei’s chances of securing more support for his shock-therapy policies in national midterms at the end of October.