Argentine President Milei talks about the Libra token controversy: from original intention to reflection

Author: Techub Hot News Express

Interview media: Todo Noticias

Compiled by: Tia, Techub News

Editor's note: The controversy over Argentine President Javier Milei and the LIBRA token incident has not subsided recently. From his public support for the project to the widespread attention caused by the tweet controversy, a complex political and economic game is being played out in Argentina. At the same time, the flow of funds involved in the incident, the scope of participants, and the subsequent public opinion response gradually revealed the intricate inside story. In an interview, President Milei responded to the relevant disputes frankly and expressed his profound insights into the current economic and political situation in Argentina. This interview not only involves the causes and consequences of the LIBRA token incident, but also reveals the strategic thinking and challenges of the Milei government in a complex political environment.

Johnny: Mr. President, thank you very much for your interview at this turbulent time. First, I would like to ask you to explain the current situation.

President Milei: This interview was arranged two or three weeks ago, and what was promised must be fulfilled. I have nothing to hide, so I can face it openly. I understand that at some point, politicians may choose to avoid, but I have nothing to hide, so I am happy to talk about it.

I think promises must be fulfilled. Especially when there is controversy, avoidance is not the solution. I think transparency is crucial. Do you know what will happen in the end? The truth will always come out, all the evidence will be revealed. You will see the meanness and patheticness of traditional politics. They are nervous now because the polls show that we are far ahead and the economy is clearly recovering. If we get to the second quarter economic data and the economic growth rate is at least 7%, the inflation rate is down to 1%, and the poverty rate is also down to below 35%, then they will be even more anxious. Because they know that if this government does well, their position will no longer exist. So they will do whatever it takes to undermine us.

Johnny: Regarding the LIBRA token thing, can you explain what is going on?

President Milei: Of course. When you look at entrepreneurs related to digital technology, artificial intelligence, system development, etc., you will find that most of them are in a non-normal economic state. Due to the mismanagement of Argentina over the past 100 years, there is no mature capital market. Many of them only declare the minimum income, so they cannot get financing. In the United States, you can fund these projects through venture capital, and even if only one project succeeds, the investors can get a return. But in Argentina, this does not exist. So when someone proposed to me to set up a structure to fund these entrepreneurs, I thought it was an interesting idea. We are very committed to promoting technology and artificial intelligence, and I think this is a great way to help those who don’t have access to financing.

Johnny: What’s the matter with the LIBRA promotional tweet you posted on Friday?

President Milei: When the Libra project was public, I promoted it because I thought it could help Argentinians who needed financing. My tweet was to let more people know about the project.

Johnny: Do you regret posting that tweet? Because you later deleted it.

President Milei: No, let me explain.

After I posted the tweet, someone started spreading rumors that my account had been hacked.

This is fake, I have nothing to hide.

I posted the tweet because I am passionate about technology and I thought it was a good opportunity to help entrepreneurs. But when I saw more and more negative comments, I decided to delete the tweet.

I usually don't delete tweets, but I chose to withdraw this time.

Johnny: More than 40,000 people invested in this project, involving more than 80 million US dollars, and many people lost a lot of money. Do you have anything to say to them?

President Milei: First of all, I want to clarify that there are actually not 40,000 people involved, and many of them are robots. There were probably only about 5,000 real participants, and most of them were highly professional investors who knew exactly what they were doing. These people participated voluntarily and understood the risks very well. It's like going to a casino and knowing that you might lose money, but you still choose to participate. This is a transaction between individuals, and the state is not involved.

Johnny: Do you think you made a mistake in this matter?

President Milei: Under the circumstances at the time, I don't think I made a mistake. I was well-intentioned and wanted to help entrepreneurs who couldn't get financing. But now it seems that I may need to learn some lessons from it.

Johnny: What did you learn from it?

President Milei: I realized that as a president, I need to be more cautious. I thought I could be as open and transparent as before, but now I understand that I need to set up more screening mechanisms and not let people approach me easily.

Johnny: You mentioned setting up screening mechanisms. Can you talk about it in detail?

President Milei: For example, I need to make sure that those who make suggestions to me are strictly screened. People like Davis, I met through Noveli, which organized that technical conference, and I met a lot of interesting people there. I thought it was a good opportunity at the time, but now it seems that I need to be more cautious.

Johnny: Do you think this incident has an impact on your international credibility?

President Milei: I don’t think so. Because this is a technology-related incident, it has its own dynamics. My credibility comes from the promises I made, like we stopped issuing money, reduced inflation, and achieved a fiscal surplus. These are the things that really give me credibility.

Johnny: What do you think about the calls for impeachment?

President Milei: This is the seventh time someone has called for my impeachment. What's interesting is that those who call for my impeachment, such as the Kirchner faction, have a lot of problems that they themselves have not explained clearly. For example, they never explained where the $60 billion of the Santa Cruz Fund went. I think it's ironic that they are now asking me to explain.

Johnny: You mentioned that the Kirchner faction has a lot of problems. Can you tell us more about them?

President Milei: For example, they tried to take $10 billion from the Central Bank for their election campaign, which led to the dismissal of Martin Redrado. They also caused $25 billion in losses through the dollar futures market. These were major mistakes during their administration. In contrast, the adjustments we made were the largest in history, but we succeeded in reducing inflation and the economy began to recover.

Johnny: You mentioned that the Kirchner faction had many problems, but you yourself are under pressure for impeachment. What do you think is different about the calls for impeachment this time?

President Milei: The difference this time is that those who are calling for my impeachment have many unresolved issues themselves. For example, they never explained where the $60 billion of the Santa Cruz Fund went. I find it ironic that they are now asking me to explain.

Johnny: When you called Davis last Friday, did you tell him what was going on here?

President Milei: My reaction at the time was that I needed to stay calm in the face of this situation. If there was any doubt, I would choose to step back and protect myself.

Johnny: Did you write that tweet?

President Milei: Yes, but at the time someone spread rumors that my account was hacked. This was false, I was not hacked. So I pinned the tweet to prove that I posted it myself. But then I saw more and more negative comments, so I decided to delete it. I usually don't delete tweets, but this time I chose to withdraw.

Johnny: Will you tweet less? Will you continue to use Twitter (X) as before?

President Milei: I am an enthusiast and I will continue to use Twitter. I am not sure what I will do, but I know that I will improve the screening mechanism for who can reach me.

Johnny: Have you talked to your sister Karina about this? What does she think?

President Milei: No, I will not talk to my sister.

Johnny: Have you decided not to live like before and not allow people to reach you so easily?

President Milei: Yes, we have decided not to live like before. We understand that our role must have a screening mechanism. We want to continue to live like normal people, but reality doesn't allow us to.

Johnny: It's about the atmosphere of social media. I'm not sure if people really care about all this mess?

President Milei: That's why you have to see how people react. If you're in a complicated situation, like you can't go out on the streets, then we do cause some problems for the security personnel. The other day, Nick and I went to Federico's department. When I left, I had to throw some things in the trash. I found a place where no one was, but then a lot of people came around to take selfies with me. I have to accept that life can't be as simple as before.

Johnny: Sometimes you don't realize you're the president.

President Milei: I don’t see myself as a president, I see this as a job. I describe my job as reducing inflation, reducing insecurity, and promoting economic growth. These are my goals.

Johnny: In the bill, engaging in cryptocurrency-related fraud is an extremely serious crime, and this is an unprecedented scandal. We in the House of Representatives have decided to move forward with the request for a political trial against the president.

President Milei: Let’s move forward. In fact, I have asked the Anti-Corruption Office to investigate all of us, including myself. We have a team studying this issue.

Johnny: Be prepared, they will unite all forces against you.

President Milei: You know what, Johnny, we are ending the chaos in Argentine politics. Argentina went through a real Ponzi scheme that took the country from one of the richest countries in the world to a situation where almost 60% of the population is in poverty. That's the reality. We are doing an expansionary adjustment because we are targeting the government system, which will reduce the burden on the political side.

I said one thing before I became a candidate about information leakage. We adjusted for this, but it was not a recessionary adjustment because we gave money back to the private sector. In fact, I am not afraid of this because I am doing what the Argentine people asked me to do, but the problem is on their side. Because we go into the election process this year, and as far as the data is concerned, the economy is growing by 78% and inflation is 1%, and they know they have no chance of winning, so the defenders of the status quo will fight back. Besides that, listen, first of all, they are politicians, that's the first point, if you like peaches, you have to accept the fluff on them, since you enter this field, you have to know these things. Second, Argentine politicians are unscrupulous people. Third, I have been fighting against them, from the beginning of exposing the truth, I have been cutting their benefits, and these people have been gritting their teeth at me, so they will take any opportunity to deal with me.

You are ending all courses in politics and ending the real Ponzi scheme in Argentina. This scam has turned Argentina from a rich country to a country with a poverty rate of nearly 60%. The reason why we are making expansionary adjustments is that we put adjustments on the country and on the corruption of politics.

Johnny: Is this a wrong move?

President Milei: Well, in the face of all the attacks, I have to re-examine some things.

Johnny: Senator Lufton?

President Milei: He is the one with the 1:25, this has nothing to do with raising taxes.

Johnny: This is fraud. I got confused, there is a fraud equivalent to 12 López bags here.

President Milei: But if there is fraud, let the judiciary prove it. The thing is, he is strong compared to López. Lutón must make some effective slogans, why doesn't he count all the money he could have stolen from the Argentines? Why doesn't he count all the damage he has done to the Argentines every time he raises his hand to vote to increase his salary?

Johnny: You mentioned the guillotine, whose head will be chopped off by Karina's guillotine?

President Milei: If the judiciary proves that there is something that needs to be chopped off, then it will be chopped off, without a doubt.

Johnny: Don't you suspect that someone in the government made a mistake?

President Milei: No, in principle. If the judiciary tells me later that someone made a mistake, then I will accept it.

Johnny: Andrés Siro from Lice said that they have too many lies, too much crypto, too much freedom. What happens when you conflict with artists or certain artists?

President Milei: I don't have anything against artists. In fact, I celebrate through art. I used to have a rock band, so I have nothing against artists. What I say is that if you are an artist, you should live by providing your product, not by state subsidies. If you need state subsidies to live, then you are a public servant. If you also become a tool for political propaganda, then you are doing politics, not art.

Johnny: Why is Lali doing politics?

President Milei: Isn't she funded by Quintela? Isn't she funded by the guy on the yacht?

Johnny: Quintela? Is he the government of La Rioja?

President Milei: Yes, he did some shows for the guy on the yacht.

Johnny: But does Lali Expósito need state funding?

President Milei: Mainly she did those shows, yes.

Johnny: What about María Becerra?

President Milei: She surprised me too. She went to a place funded by the state and then criticized the state. And the worst part is, she lied about the fire.

Johnny: About the fire.

President Milei: Yes, during Kichnerism, the fires were handled badly. We reorganized all the work on fire handling. And the national and provincial governments worked together to provide financial support for those who lost their homes. She is spreading lies and criticizing us with lies.

Johnny: But did you handle it well? I'm not sure who the deputy minister of environment is, Adorni said the other day that he hasn't been appointed yet. He said that mistakes were made in fire prevention.

President Milei: Well, that may be his point of view. He may not have enough information or make mistakes.

Johnny: Will you finally appoint that deputy minister?

President Milei: If the person in charge wants to stay in office, I have no problem. My direct contact is with the ministers. I will not appoint anyone, because if I appoint your secretary, what will you do?

Johnny: So let me build the team.

President Milei: Okay, but you have to understand that if I demand results and you don't achieve them, I will fire you. You appoint the team you want, I don't interfere.

Johnny: Aren't you worried about the wave of violence in the province of Buenos Aires?

President Milei: In a federal state, who is responsible for education, health and security?

Johnny: In the provincial government.

President Milei: Yes, so these security issues are all Kichilov's responsibility. As the president of Argentina, I am worried about the situation in the province of Buenos Aires. But the problem is that Kichilov is part of the problem, not the solution. He follows the Zafaroni doctrine, which treats the criminals as good guys and the victims as bad guys. We follow the Julian doctrine, whoever commits the crime should be punished.

Johnny: Is Macri part of the problem or part of the solution?

President Milei: In what respect?

Johnny: In the political leadership of the country.

President Milei: When he needed help, he helped. He will help now.

Johnny: How is your relationship with him?

President Milei: The last time I messaged him was on his birthday. I have no fundamental disagreements with him. If everyone thinks the same, then no one is really thinking.

Johnny: On a scale of 1 to 10, what are your chances of reaching a strong agreement with the Liberal Progressive Party?

President Milei: I'm aiming for 10.

Johnny: You want a 10?

President Milei: Yes, I'm aiming for 10 points.

Johnny: Patricia Bullrich, she's running as a candidate in the city.

President Milei: I think she's doing very well. If she's a candidate, she'll sweep everything.

Johnny: But will you lose her as a minister?

President Milei: It depends on Patricia's wishes. She's already said she doesn't want to run, and I'm very happy with her work as a minister.

Johnny: You can have her do two things at once.

President Milei: Yes, she can be where she wants to be.

Johnny: Will you file a spontaneous statement?

President Milei: Legal issues are not my expertise, and I should not disclose these in advance. Our Attorney General will handle these.

Johnny: Will you continue to move forward with the "clean records" bill?

President Milei: Yes, we promised. We have submitted the bill, the House passed it, and now it depends on the Senate. We will strive to pass it.

Johnny: Thank you, President, for spending over an hour talking about all the topics, especially about Libra.

President Milei: You’re welcome, and I think the Argentine people should be completely assured that I have always acted in good faith and will continue to do so. Because sooner or later the truth will come out.

Johnny: Thank you, President.

President Milei: Thank you, Johnny.