"Traitor and criminal." With those words, Javier Milei referred to a "pseudo-liberal economist who is now part of Together of Change", during the presentation of his book "The End of Inflation", in a Book Fair full of attendees who went to cheer the libertarian candidate.
Milei let the press freely interpret his sayings, gave no further explanation, and was wrong, although many believe he did it on purpose.
While all the media, including Clarín, spoke of a "beating" of José Luis Espert, the liberal economist who the day before had defined his entry into Together for Change, Milei came out to clarify, almost at midnight on Sunday, that in reality his message had been addressed to Ricardo López Murphy.
"My reference was to an article by Lopez Murphy that questions our proposal to eliminate the Central Bank, arguing that a GDP of seigniorage is lost. This is what the political corporation is cheating us with the monetary issue to finance the treasury," Milei said in an interview on LN+.
The reflection of the libertarian, who for time and context threw Espert by elevation and then wanted to lower the tone of his sayings, did not seem credible. Now, why Milei hits López Murphy and eludes Espert, when both became part of Together for Change, are unclear questions.
Milei, at the Book Fair, last Sunday. Photo: Rolando Andrade Stracuzzi.
The origin of his alleged criticism of Lopez Murphy and how is his relationship with Espert
Asked what was the genesis of the irreconcilable differences between Milei and Lopez Murphy, from the environment of the pre-candidate for president for Avanza Libertad they explained it in detail.
"The breaking point was the 2021 campaign, when Javier, Victoria Villarruel, Espert and Luis Rosales, among others, had been working to present a common liberal front in Province and City, and López Murphy decided to compete with Together for Change to divide the liberal vote in the Capital," they recall about the previous 2021 legislative elections in which both Milei, like López Murphy (in Ciudad) and Espert ended up becoming deputies.
This position adopted by the former economy minister in Fernando de la Rua's presidency differentiates it from Espert's decision, which at that time "was not part of a common front with Milei, but agreed to a non-aggression pact or deny the other."
López Murphy, with Espert. Both are national deputies and will coincide in Together for Change.
And they insist: "What López Murphy did was get into Together for Change at Larreta's request after not having competed for 10 years in elective positions or of any kind, to smooth Javier's candidacy." They also point out that Lopez Murphy then continued questioning Milei. "In the middle of the 2021 campaign, he said that Javier represented a right-wing Kirchnerism," they say. Milei never forgave him.
In relation to Espert, although Milei does not publicly acknowledge it, the differences between the two intensified after that same election in 2021. Although the libertarian leader usually expresses himself with respect to the figure of his economist counterpart, close to him they assure that the discrepancies, as with Lopez Murphy, are impossible to reconcile.
In addition, since the end of 2021, the quarrels between both liberal sectors increased, after Milei co-opted many leaders who in 2021 had been campaigning with Espert in the province of Buenos Aires.
Perhaps the most representative case has been that of Carolina Píparo, who today is emerging as a potential candidate for governor of Milei in the province of Buenos Aires, although the list is more extensive and exceeds the dozen leaders who worked with Espert and who passed to the ranks of mileismo after that legislative election. especially at the Buenos Aires level.
The pyrotechnics between the two, however, have had some public chapters. Espert recently said that "Javier Milei is a liberal who is not serious, he is just another populist, who proposes an anti-caste verse that is not healthy for the country." "Go to the, that's not how it goes. Who did he eat," Espert asked Milei.
While he assured that his latest criticisms were not towards him, Milei had not been left behind either, when he placed him on social networks in a collage of photos with other national leaders that he disapproves and tweeted: "Liberalism vs. Socialism, it was never so clear."
However, Milei has a position towards Espert, to whom he nevertheless has some affection for an old friendship. Therefore, he will never come out to hit from politics, but with technical criteria. Unlike what happened with Lopez Murphy, whom, they maintain close to Milei despite the doubts he generated, he tried to be a "criminal and traitor."
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