An unexpected confrontation marked President Javier Milei’s participation in the 138th Rural Exhibition in Palermo. While giving an interview in a mobile radio studio, the president saw former Production Minister José Ignacio de Mendiguren passing by and insulted him, calling him a ‘thief’ and blaming him for the end of convertibility during Eduardo Duhalde’s government.
The episode during the radio interview
According to Crónica, Milei interrupted the interview he was conducting alongside Rural Society president Nicolás Pino to point at De Mendiguren. ‘There goes someone who did enormous damage to Argentina. That man screwed Argentines out of 30 billion dollars. You, yes, thief, you ruined the country with (Eduardo) Duhalde and his whole gang,’ the President shouted.
Milei then continued with the insults: he called De Mendiguren a ‘piece of shit’ and ‘human garbage,’ and renamed him ‘De Mendicurrens.’ He claimed the former official ‘fueled the exit from convertibility to blow up our inflation basket’ and that this decision cost ‘168,580% inflation from the exit of convertibility to today.’
Official announcements for the agricultural sector
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Economy reported that Minister Luis Caputo visited the Rural Exhibition on the same Thursday, accompanied by officials from the economic team and the BCRA. He was received by Nicolás Pino and SRA executives, toured the Agriculture Secretariat booth, and participated in the awards ceremony on the main track.
Caputo highlighted the Government’s measures for the sector: ‘We have lowered taxes and tariffs on capital goods, allowed the import of machinery, even used, and lowered export duties.’ He also assured that ‘before 2031 our goal is to end the ordeal of export duties.’
The official note does not mention the incident involving Milei, marking a difference in focus between journalistic coverage and government communication.
Contrast of sources
The primary source is the Crónica news report, which documents the confrontation with direct quotes from Milei. The secondary source is the Ministry of Economy’s statement, which describes Caputo’s official activities without alluding to the episode. Both sources agree that official activity took place at La Rural, but differ in content: one focuses on the scandal and the other on management announcements.
There is no direct contradiction, but there is a significant omission in the official source. Verification of the episode depends exclusively on Crónica’s coverage, which includes video of the moment.
Documents and open questions
| Document | What it states | What it does not state | Open questions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crónica (07/28/2025) | Milei insulted De Mendiguren at La Rural; called him ‘thief,’ ‘piece of shit,’ and ‘human garbage’; blamed him for the end of convertibility and subsequent inflation. | It does not state De Mendiguren’s reaction or that of others present; it does not verify the inflation calculation mentioned by Milei. | Did De Mendiguren respond or leave? Were there witnesses to confirm the video? Is the 168,580% inflation calculation correct? |
| Ministry of Economy (07/28/2025) | Caputo toured the Rural Exhibition, spoke with producers, and announced measures for the agricultural sector; does not mention the incident. | It does not state that Milei was present at the same time or that an altercation occurred. | Why did the official note omit the episode? Was there coordination between Milei’s and Caputo’s agendas? |
Value module: inflation calculation mentioned by Milei
Milei claimed that the end of convertibility generated ‘168,580% inflation from the exit of convertibility to today.’ To evaluate this data, it is necessary to cross-check with official indices. However, the available sources do not provide complete historical series or the exact period considered. Therefore, it is not possible to verify the calculation with the information provided.
- Document: Crónica (07/28/2025)
- Agency and date: Not specified; Milei’s statement in a radio interview.
- Unit: Percentage of accumulated inflation.
- Values used: Not available in the sources.
- Operation: Cannot be performed due to lack of data.
It is recommended to consult the INDEC CPI from January 2002 (exit of convertibility) to the present to verify the claim.
What to follow up on
It is advisable to follow the official reaction of the Rural Society and De Mendiguren to the insults, as well as the possible release of the full video of the episode. It would also be useful to cross-check the inflation calculation mentioned by Milei with INDEC data to determine its accuracy.
Fuentes consultadas
- Crónica
- Argentina.gob.ar Fuente primaria
El Sereno contrastó las fuentes enlazadas y añadió contexto, comparación o análisis documental. Las fuentes primarias están identificadas. La nota no se presenta como investigación de campo ni como entrevista propia, salvo indicación expresa.
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