President Javier Milei plans to “sing” and perform in a “musical show” on Wednesday promoting his new book, according to his chief spokesperson.
Manuel Adorni said Tuesday that Argentina’s “anarcho-capitalist” head of state would “participate” in a “musical show” at the launch of his new book in Buenos Aires.
The President will “sing” and be “the relevant figure” of the musical section, added the spokesman.
“Tomorrow, at 8pm, the president will present at Luna Park his latest book, Capitalismo, socialismo y la trampa neoclásica,“ said Adorni at his daily press briefing.
“The show will have two parts: first there will be a presentation of the book, where President Milei will be accompanied by [national] deputy José Luis Espert,” continued the spokesperson.
“There will be another part of the show, in which President Milei will participate, in which he himself will sing and, if you like, be the ‘relevant figure’ in this musical show,” concluded Adorni.
It will not be the first time Milei, 53, has aired his singing voice in public, though he has never done so at such a large venue.
He once appeared at an event in fancy dress as a fictional character called ‘Capitán ANCAP,’ singing ‘La regla fiscal,’ a humorous and bastardised version of ‘La Traviata.’
Back in 2018, he appeared on the El Trece channel on the La tribuna de Guido show, performing an out-of-tune version of Leonardo Fabio’s ballad ‘Fuiste mía un verano.’
Milei has also sung versions of ‘Panic Show’ – a song by Argentine band called La Renga – at campaign rallies in recent years, normally with reworked lyrics.
According to Noticias Argentinas news agency, the head of state – who was previously a member of a Rolling Stones tribute band – will sing 'Panic Show' but with reworked lyrics.
Book launch controversy
Milei’s book launch event was originally set to take place at last month’s Buenos Aires International Book Fair on May 12, but a row with the event’s organisers over security stymied those plans.
Claiming “Kirchnerite sabotage,” Milei eventually abandoned his plans, announcing instead that he would launch his book at the capital’s famous Luna Park micro-stadium, which is often headlined by major recording artists, both national and international.
Asked by a journalist on Tuesday if singing seemed appropriate given the socio-economic situation facing Argentina, Adorni said that Milei “is not celebrating anything.”
“He is presenting his book in an event that he himself is financing and it is an event to publicise the release of his book,” the spokesman said, adding that the event was being "financed" by the President himself.
The performance is sure to garner publicity for Milei’s new publication, which is made up of previous speeches and writings.
The book is already under the spotlight. Tomás Rodríguez, a reporter with Noticias magazine, published an article last week alleging that some of the book’s content is plagiarised.
The journalists claimed that at least 10 paragraphs of text had been lifted verbatim from previous writings by a researcher at the CONCIET scientific research council – a state body that Milei has attempted to shut down during his sweeping public spending cuts.
The parts in question were allegedly penned economist Fernando Toledo and come from a 2007 book of essays entitled Teorías Económicas sobre el mercado de trabajo II: Neoclásicos y nuevos keynesianos, published by the Fondo de Cultura Económica.
Argentina's President has faced previous claims of plagiarism too. The same magazine revealed in 2022 that Milei’s book Pandenómics quoted large sections of text from six different authors without attribution.
One of which later filed a legal complaint against him.
His latest book is the 18th published under Milei's name and the first during his time as head of state.
– TIMES/NA/PERFIL
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