Javier Milei attacked Pedro Sánchez and urged his Madrid audience to drive socialists out by force. The Argentine president also condemned Spain’s housing and migration policies during a pre-election visit.
The PSOE hung a banner at its Ferraz headquarters on Wednesday welcoming Javier Milei to Spain as the Argentine president spoke at a Madrid forum. The event, organised by Nueva Economía Fórum as part of Fórum Europa, was scheduled to begin at 09:45 at the Real Casino Gran Círculo, at 15 Calle de Alcalá. Inside, Milei attacked Pedro Sánchez and called for socialists to be driven out by force.
The remarks came during a breakfast organised by Nueva Economía Forum. Milei began by praising the relationship between Argentina and Spain. He then blamed what he called 21st-century socialism for hardship in Argentina and attacked Sánchez. The audience applauded. Later, after describing Spain as the birthplace of liberalism, he urged attendees to remove socialists by force.
Milei’s visit is his seventh to Spain. He has said he came to promote his ultra-liberal ideas and support the right and far right during the pre-election campaign. He praised Santiago Abascal and Isabel Díaz Ayuso, saying their ideas could help Spain. He will meet Ayuso at 17:00 on Wednesday; the pair have met on four previous occasions. Ayuso had previously received Milei during earlier visits and awarded him the Medal of Madrid in 2024.
His schedule has clear limits. Milei will not meet Sánchez or any Spanish government representative, and he will not see Vox leader Santiago Abascal. Ayuso confirmed her meeting on Wednesday after Milei’s insults had become known.
The PSOE used the visit to criticise the Argentine government’s policies. On the day of Milei’s visit, the party hung a large red banner on the façade of its Madrid headquarters. It read, “Hola Milei. Los zurdos y las zurdas te dan la bienvenida a España. El país que más crece de Europa” (“Hello, Milei. Left-wing men and women welcome you to Spain. The country growing fastest in Europe”). The banner included a stylised chainsaw, a symbol associated with Milei’s campaign and promises to cut public spending; the second “i” in “Milei” was also designed as a chainsaw. The PSOE logo and a heart appeared below, alongside the hashtag #ZurdosYOrgullosos (“Left-wing and proud”). The party’s wording about Spain’s growth was its own claim.
The party noted that Milei uses the term zurdo disparagingly for the left. Spain’s prime minister and PSOE leader Sánchez also publicly described himself as zurdo amid Milei’s visit, turning the label into a positive political self-description.
Milei also attacked Spanish housing policy, arguing that state intervention damages the sector. He accused Sánchez of being a thief and said he would not meet him. On migration, he claimed that migrants create greater fiscal costs than the value of their production. He argued that socialist measures are driven by a desire for power.
Vox and the PP have at times claimed that extraordinary migrant regularisation and citizenship grants under the so-called law of grandchildren could be used to manufacture voters. The source describes this as an argument advanced by both parties, not as an established finding.
Asked whether he would attend the Ibero-American Summit in Madrid in early November, Milei said he was discussing the possibility with Argentina’s foreign minister, Pablo Quirno. He declined to say whether Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, should attend, then described himself as a liberal rather than an authoritarian. Five police vans were present at Wednesday’s event, which was attended by Vox spokespersons in the Madrid Assembly and city council, Isabel Pérez Moñino and Arantzazu Cabello.
