President Alberto Fernández on Friday condemned death threats made against his predecessor in office, opposition leader Mauricio Macri, and called for Argentina to recover "democratic coexistence."
"I wish to express my strong condemnation of the threats made against former president @mauriciomacri," Fernández said in a post on Twitter that called for an "investigation to move forward and the facts to be clarified quickly."
Macri's team filed a complaint with the justice system at the tail-end of the week after noting a message on Twitter in which death threats were made against the former president.
"How much do they pay me to go kill Macri and the shit that surrounds him?" read the message published under the identity @Luisanfer2442, a user who was later suspended by those who oversee the social network.
Fernández also urged "users and administrators of social networks not to allow them to become a vehicle for hatred and violence."
"We must recover democratic coexistence in a framework of respect for diversity," he said.
The threat comes in the context of the recent attack against Vice-President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, who survived an assassination attempt on September 1 when her attacker's weapon failed to fire.
After the murder attempt, there were massive marches in support of the former president and public calls from political leaders, cultural and human rights leaders in favour of coexistence and in condemnation of worsening political polarisation in Argentina.
Last week, members of the ruling coalition proposed new that lawmakers introduce a new bill punishing hate speech, though opposition leaders warned of its potential impact on freedom of speech.
– TIMES/AFP
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