BUENOS AIRES –
The Argentine singer Lali Espósito has become the target of the darts of President Javier Milei, who describes her as a “parasite” who benefits from the State and accuses her of campaigning in favor of the political opposition.
Milei, a far-right with a neoliberal profile who attributes Argentina’s problems to excessive public spending, redoubled his criticism on Thursday against the artist, whose real name is Mariana Espósito, one of the most popular in the country and with fans spread throughout Latin America and Spain. The performer of songs like “Nochentera” and “Sin queriendo”, has added the support of different artists and politicians in recent hours.
Milei questioned Espósito and the artistic field in general after the singer attacked the ruling party at the Cosquín Festival held days ago in the province of Córdoba. The interpreter modified the song “Who are they?”, and when referring to the vilification she receives for different reasons, instead of saying “if I smoke, if I live, if I say, if I drink,” she changed the last words because “why do I live off the State?”
“This song is for the liars, the giles (gullible), the bad people, the anti-patriarch,” said the singer in reference to an official bill that contemplated cuts to the financing of different national institutes dedicated to cinema, theater and music. The initiative, part of Milei’s plan to reduce the fiscal deficit to zero, has foundered in Congress.
The artist, awarded Carlos Gardel Awards from Argentina, Billboard Latin Music Awards and MTV awards, began to be the target of questions after saying in August that Milei’s victory in the primaries was “dangerous and sad.”
Lali Espósito arrives at the 20th annual Latin Grammy Awards in Las Vegas on November 14, 2019.
(Eric Jamison/Eric Jamison/Invision/AP)
Milei maintained that the singer and also actress must “bank” (endure) his criticism because she publicly questioned him when he won those elections in which the candidates for the presidency of Argentina were defined, a position that the Leader of La Libertad Avanza assumed on December 10.
“Did I start it? She started… Let me answer you… If you are a parasite who lived sucking at the breast of the State you are in trouble and if on top of that your opinions are online in a political space that paid for your presentations, you are a mechanism of propaganda,” Milei told La Red radio.
Milei also reproached that the Córdoba provincial government – of opposition Peronism – benefited the Cosquín Festival with million-dollar subsidies and maintained that “everyone who was there, like Lali ‘Depósito’, received money from the State”, without providing more information on the matter.
The president also defended the nickname with which his supporters refer to the singer on social networks, whom he accuses of receiving state subsidies to the detriment of the poor. “It hurts her to be called ‘Lali Depósito’; Well, I’m sorry, ‘Lali Depósito’ was left because she lives off the children’s hunger.”
In the last few hours, Milei reposted on her X account—formerly Twitter—images of the artist made with artificial intelligence that show her running while holding a bag of money and being chased by malnourished children. The president also stated that she does not sing and “does playback” or a pantomime of singing with a track.
Vice President Victoria Villarruel has also joined the criticism against Lali and stated that the artist’s opinion about the president “is not disinterested.”
“Lali, you fill your wallet with the State. I can understand and your opinion as a citizen is respectable, but from the moment you receive public money for the recitals you give, logically you have an interest in continuing to support your wallet,” she told the media.
The president’s expressions have generated rejection from different sectors, including politicians such as allied deputy Carolina Piparo, from the Buenos Aires Libre bloc, who said that “personalizing and attacking an artist from the power of the State is asymmetrical. “It’s not that way.”
Ricardo Mollo, leader of the rock band Divididos, shared an Instagram story with a photo of Espósito singing in the final of the Qatar 2022 World Cup. “The only power that artists have is to be able to bring joy to those who enjoy this art… No let’s get away from what’s important. We are not the socioeconomic problem of our country.”
Emi Brancciari, leader of the Uruguayan group No Te Va Gustar, stated that he is “completely against the harassment of any artist by a ruler.”