Venezuela’s head of state claims Javier Milei works on behalf of “North American imperialism”
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro delivers an address at the National Assembly in Caracas, Venezuela, January 15, 2024. © AP / Ariana Cubillos
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has accused his Argentine counterpart of embracing “Nazi ideology,” after Javier Milei launched a broadside against socialism at this week’s World Economic Forum in Switzerland.
Maduro described Milei’s speech as a “blunder” and “a shameful expression of his Nazi ideology, of his McCarthyite ideology,” referring to the Cold War-era anti-communist US lawmaker Joseph McCarthy.
“You are wrong, Milei. They put you in Argentina to destroy the rule of law, to destroy all social and labor rights. To destroy the national economy and to colonize Argentina and deliver it on its knees to North American imperialism,” he said.
During his remarks in Davos on Wednesday, Milei implored Western leaders to reject the socialist worldview, warning that “the Western world is in danger” as it gradually shifts toward collectivism.
“It is endangered because those who are supposed to defend the values of the West are co-opted by a vision of the world that inexorably leads to socialism, and thereby to poverty,” he added.
Maduro went on to characterize the speech as “Nazi thought,” saying Milei believes that “anyone who does not think like him is a communist and must be exterminated from the face of the Earth.”
The Argentine leader was quick to respond to Maduro, saying his attack only “confirms that we are on the right path,” while slamming Venezuela’s system of governance as “impoverishing.”
A libertarian economist and former MP, Milei was considered a dark horse in Argentina’s presidential election late last year. He was voted in on a promise to generate economic growth through radical public spending cuts and liberalization, as the Latin American nation is suffering high levels of inflation. Milei has vowed to address the issue through “shock therapy,” but warned it would take time for results to be seen, and that things could get worse before they get better.
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