Milei’s Political Rivals Are Rocked by a Domestic Abuse Scandal

(Bloomberg) -- Domestic abuse allegations against Argentine President Javier Milei’s predecessor stand to boost the libertarian leader’s popularity and further shield him from the political costs of his austerity campaign, analysts say. 

Fabiola Yanez, the former first lady, filed a legal complaint this week against Alberto Fernandez, alleging gender violence during his time in office. Fernandez has denied the claims. Photos from that complaint were leaked Thursday to Argentine newspapers showing Yanez with black-and-blue bruises on her eye and arm, and messages she sent Fernandez detailing days of physical abuse.

Leaders from the opposition Peronist party have swiftly distanced themselves from Fernandez. And as Argentina endures a recession exacerbated by Milei’s harsh austerity, pollsters see the scandal reviving public ire against the political elite that the outsider president campaigned against. 

“This will help him gain a little more oxygen and social patience to carry out his economic surgery,” Lucas Romero, director of polling firm Synopsis, said by phone. “The impact is absolutely favorable to the government.”

Congressional Peronists signed a letter of support for Yanez, while former President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, who served as Fernandez’s vice president, criticized him Friday in a post on X. “Alberto Fernandez wasn’t a good president,” she said, adding that the leaked abuse photos show “the dirtiest and darkest of human conditions.” 

Buenos Aires Governor Axel Kicillof, seen as a potential presidential contender against Milei, told a local radio station that “we’re all in shock” and called for the legal case to be resolved in court quickly. 

To make matters worse for Fernandez, two videos also surfaced of another woman, media personality Tamara Pettinato, drinking inside the president’s office and flirting with him. Pettinato reportedly visited the residence during a strict nationwide lockdown Fernandez implemented during the Covid-19 pandemic. It’s unclear exactly when the videos were filmed.

As president, Fernandez made feminism one of his flagship causes. His government legalized abortion and created the Ministry of Women, Gender and Diversity to combat gender violence and wage inequality, among other issues. Upon taking office, Milei abolished half of the government’s ministry’s — starting with that one.

Milei rode the coattails of Argentines’ ire at the political establishment that came before him, and the triple-digit inflation it left in its wake, all the way to the nation’s top office last year. Fresh fodder of political misconduct helps explain why his popularity remains above 50% even as he cuts real pensions and wages, slashes all types of government spending and sends economic activity into a tailspin.

“They labeled us as misogynists, fascists, saying that if we got to power we would destroy it all. And the truth is that it looks like they were wrong,” presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni said at his Friday press briefing.

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