“Three empanadas.” The phrase – iconic thanks to the 1985 film Esperando la Carroza – took on new relevance over the weekend. It all began on Saturday, when actor Ricardo Darín, appearing on Mirtha Legrand’s TV show, voiced his concern over the country’s economic situation: “Forty-eight thousand pesos for a dozen empanadas,” the actor said.
He went on: “There’s something that doesn’t quite add up for me. I don’t understand what they’re talking about. There are people who are really struggling. Really struggling.” His comments – focused on the high cost of living and the disconnect between government policy and everyday life – triggered an immediate reaction, both online and within the government, which quickly tried to shift the debate towards the price of empanadas, in order to deflect attention from the underlying message: the economic and social crisis.
The following day, Economy Minister Luis Caputo hit back during an appearance on the La Cornisa TV programme, hosted by Luis Majul: “What Darín said was terrible. A real surprise. He’s someone I appreciate. And forgive my honesty, but I felt a bit of second-hand embarrassment.”
Not content with that, he went further: “He tried to sound down-to-earth and popular, and said something so ridiculous he’s still being mocked online.” Caputo downplayed the figure Darín had cited, suggesting the actor must have dining at a high-class joint: “Don’t worry, Ricardito, people are eating delicious empanadas for 16,000 pesos.”
President Javier Milei also joined in, posting an image on social media of Darín with a golden empanada, ridiculing the actor.
The empanada controversy showed no sign of slowing down. On Monday Darín responded. “It wasn’t a metaphor, just a reference, that’s all. Of course there are empanadas that cost less and there are some that cost even more, but that’s anecdotal. That's not the point. The fact is that prices are sky-high, that’s a reality we all see.”
He added: “The fact they come out attacking you straight away seems serious to me. There’s no debate to be had over whether prices are too high. They obviously are. Whether we’re all willing to hang on, to wait and see how things develop, that’s another matter. But you can’t pretend nothing’s going on and look the other way.”
The government’s online machine, backed by sympathetic journalists such as Luis Majul, Cristina Pérez (wife of Defence Minister Luis Petri) and Esteban Trebucq, sprang into action to amplify the attack on Darín, zeroing in on the price of empanadas rather than the cost-of-living crisis the actor had highlighted.
In staged stunts, both Majul and Trebucq went out and bought empanadas to prove that the traditional national dish does not cost as much as Darín claimed on Legrand’s show.
More pressing issues
This strategy neatly sidestepped more pressing issues: stagnant wages, pay renegotiation deals capped at one percent per month, pensioners still receiving a 70,000-peso top-up bonus that hasn’t been adjusted for inflation, and price rises that – while slowing – continue to erode purchasing power.
This tactic, discrediting your critics, is nothing new. Emilio Monzó, once a key figure within former president Mauricio Macri’s camp, defined this style of politics as such: “This is a government that wants to be a tyranny. It’s crude, it’s vulgar. The insults come with that – it’s the tyrant who insults. For a tyrant, and for people like Milei, others don’t really exist. That’s a question of immaturity.”
Using smear tactics as a form of political bullying is about silencing dissent, as Archbishop of Buenos Aires Jorge García Cuerva pointed out in his homily during the May 25 Te Deum service. “We’ve crossed every line. The insults, the constant aggression, the contempt, the slander, it all seems to have become the norm,” he began.
Almost as if speaking directly to President Milei and his communications team, he concluded: “A few days ago, Pope Leo XIV told representatives of the media: Peace begins with each of us, in how we look at others, how we listen to others, how we speak about others. In this sense, how we communicate is of fundamental importance. We must say ‘No’ to the war of words and images.”
In that spirit, another government-aligned media personality Jonatan Viale claimed that Darín “never criticised Kirchnerism” during its time in office. That is untrue. In 2011, the actor criticised Cristina Fernández de Kirchner for manipulating data put out by the INDEC national statistics bureau and questioned her government’s economic management, which prompted a public response from the then-president.
The past refutes the official narrative attempting to brand Darín as a selectively critical figure.
The obsession with empanadas is just another example of how the Milei administration, backed by its media allies, drives sterile debates to avoid facing reality: an economy that is suffocating the most vulnerable sectors in Argentina.
Instead of responding to legitimate concerns about the cost of living, Milei’s government chooses to serve up rotten fish – a distraction which, like the empanadas, doesn’t nourish, but merely draws attention away from what really matters.
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