Argentine President Javier Mairi visited Washington this week to call for President Donald Trump’s support to secure funding from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) while negotiating a trade tariff exemption proposed by the Trump administration Masu.
The visit comes as investors and lawyers face a backlash at home over his “short” promotion at Memecoin Libra, whom it claims is a Ragpur project. The Argentine leader hopes to meet President Trump as part of his push for a new IMF agreement to stabilize his country’s struggling economy.
As It has been reported A local news publication, and the Buenos Aires Herald began talking with the IMF in mid-December last year. The libertarian economist believes the funds will help him implement aggressive economic reforms.
However, his diplomatic efforts have been overshadowed by the controversy over Libra, the cryptocurrency he touted on social media.
Libra causes controversy after market collapse
Last Friday, Milei posted on X about Libra. The token he claims is “designed to promote economic growth by funding small businesses and startups.
According to market data, the post temporarily promoted the value of the token, reaching a two-month high of $0.00184. However, Milei deleted the post within hours, causing a sharp collapse, reaching a history low of $0.0005237.
Financial data site DexScreener It has been reported That Libra owner has lost more than $4.5 billion, and investors like Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy call it one of the biggest “ragpulls” in the history of the code.
Hayden Davis, the digital entrepreneur behind Memecoin and CEO of Kelsier Ventures, claimed he was Milei’s advisor and was working with the team on “Argentina’s bigger tokenization project.” According to Bloomberg, Davis I said Milei was actively involved in promoting the tokens, but later returned to his support.
However, in the official government statement The Argentine president’s office, released on Saturday, denied any ties with Davis and said Mairay had never been involved in creating tokens or promoting them. The government continues, that the president’s post was a “daily announcement,” which was removed to prevent speculation and limit further financial exposure.
Legal complaints and political fallout
By Sunday, Argentine lawyers had filed fraud lawsuits against Mailey in criminal court, accusing her of promoting “illegal associations for committing fraudulent numbers of fraud.” One of the plaintiffs, Jonathan Bardiviezo, argued that Mairei’s support was “aware of his involvement” in what they consider to be cheating.
The case is set to assign a judge or refer a prosecutor for investigation, and is set to move forward today.
Former President Christina Fernandez de Kirchner, a longtime political opponent and heavy critic of Mailey, said, “Thousands of people who trusted him have lost millions, but for privileged information. Some people created the property.”
She and other opposition leaders are using the scandal to drive the bluff each procedure. However, such efforts are very unlikely to succeed as Argentine parliament demands a two-thirds majority to remove the president.
Political analysts have drawn comparisons between Mairay’s presidency and Trump’s presidency due to his conflicting political style and deregulation policies. Like the US president, he withdraws Argentina from the World Health Organization, hinting at a potential exit from the Paris Climate Agreement.
He was elected in 2023 with over 55% of votes. defeat Peronist Economy Minister Sergio Massa, who helped South American countries fall to 2.2% as of January 2025. Polls show that his approval rate remains at around 47%.
Still, the controversy renews concerns about Mairay’s unpredictable leadership style. Alejandro Catterberg, director of Buenos Aires-based consulting firm Poliarquia, warns that Mairei’s strong-headed decision could diminish public confidence in his government while Argentina is making economic progress. I did.
“The macroeconomic balance must come together with the emotional balance,” said Catterberg. “These types of things create a lot of unnecessary uncertainty.”
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