Milei rallies for Spain’s far right in bid to oust Sánchez

Argentina's President Javier Milei waded into Spain’s election during a visit to Madrid, attacking Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and backing the leader of far-right Vox.

Speaking at an event on Wednesday, Milei lashed out at the “sinister 21st-century socialism” that Spain “suffers under with the disgraceful dictator Pedro Sánchez.”

Most polls put Alberto Núñez Feijóo’s Popular Party ahead of Sánchez’s Socialists before the Nov. 29 election, with polling averages indicating the PP and Vox could together secure a parliamentary majority. 

Milei is a Vox ally and has appeared at events linked to the party during several of the seven trips he has made to the country since becoming president in 2023. Spain is the second-largest foreign investor in Argentina after the United States, and the countries maintain strong cultural ties.

Milei has also spent years going after Sánchez, attacking him during a 2024 visit for having an “inferiority complex” and saying he should get a lawyer for his wife, who was targeted in a criminal investigation. 

“I come from the future that awaits you if you continue embracing the tyranny of the socialists,” Milei said, referring to Sánchez.

Speaking before business leaders and diplomats, Milei defended his economic policies in Argentina, centered on sharply reducing state intervention. “Everything the state touches, it rots,” he said.

Hours before Milei arrived in Madrid, Sánchez’s Socialist Party unfurled a huge banner at its headquarters reading: “Hello, Milei. The lefties welcome you to Spain, the fastest-growing country in Europe.” The Spanish term used on the banner, “zurdos,” is often used to disparage the left.

In a video posted on X, Sánchez said that if raising pensions and the minimum wage, defending abortion rights or opposing war makes him a “leftie,” then he is one “with great pride.”

Milei also praised two prominent figures on the Spanish right: Vox leader Santiago Abascal and Madrid regional President Isabel Díaz Ayuso of the PP. He did not mention Feijóo.

“I am friends with Abascal and Díaz Ayuso,” Milei said. “They have sound and positive ideas to lift Spain out of decline.”