Telefónica, BBVA, Santander, Naturgy, Iberia and Abertis, among others, have condemned the insults uttered by the president last Sunday
The Spanish companies that held a meeting last Saturday with the president of Argentina, Javier Milei, have flatly rejected the president’s statements against the president of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, and his wife, Begoña Gómez.
Milei’s meeting with the businessmen took place behind closed doors at the headquarters of the Argentine embassy in Madrid and was part of the president’s visit to the Spanish capital, where he arrived on May 17 to participate in the Europe convention on Sunday. Viva 24, an event that brought together Vox leaders and relevant figures from its political space such as Marinne Le Pen.
During his speech at Sunday’s event, Milei referred to Sánchez’s wife as “corrupt.” “They don’t know what type of society and country socialism can produce and what kind of people screwed in power and what levels of abuse it can generate. Even if the wife is corrupt, let’s say dirty, and takes five days to think about it” , he commented.
One of the first to respond to Milei’s criticism was the highway concessionaire Abertis, whose CEO, José Aljaro, participated in Saturday’s meeting. “This type of language and insults do not contribute to the coexistence of our societies and in no case should they form part of the political dialectic between two brother countries, with a long history of collaboration and defense of democracy,” he said in a statement released on same Sunday.
This morning it was the president of the CEOE, Antonio Garamendi, who stated that “it makes absolutely no sense to attack” the president of the Spanish Government and to do so in Spain.
“We profoundly reject out-of-tone statements, not in a diplomatic message, which is what must be had between two friendly countries, against the president of the Government and against the president’s wife. It is not the place nor the place, no This is what is asked of two brother countries,” Garamendi said in statements to the SER channel reported by Europa Press.
Other businessmen have joined his words, such as the president of Naturgy, Francisco Reynés, who has “totally” subscribed to Garamendi’s message, emphasizing that personal respect must prevail over any opinion,” despite stating that ” “never” gets into politics.
Telefónica also wanted to respond to Milei’s comments and, on Monday morning, issued a statement in which it advocated for “constructive dialogue” to promote the “progress of both countries.”
On behalf of Iberia, its president and CEO, Marco Sansavini, spoke out, explaining that the meeting with Milei was “an element of normality” and it addressed the economic issues that interest the different parties.
The airline has also regretted that these statements “do not comply with diplomatic language” that should be used between “friendly countries”, which is why it has asked Milei for “moderation” and “institutional loyalty.”
THE BANKING SECTOR ALSO JOINS
The banking sector has also joined the rejection of Milei’s statements, with BBVA and Santander leading the rejection of the Argentine’s words. On behalf of Banco Santander, its global CEO, Héctor Grisi, attended the meeting with Milei, while on BBVA’s behalf, the global head of country monitoring, Jorge Sáenz-Azcúnaga, attended.
“As the representative of the Spanish companies has stated, we deeply reject the statements,” BBVA indicates.
For their part, Banco Santander has also aligned themselves with what was expressed by Garamendi, who indicated that in Milei’s meeting with Spanish companies they talked exclusively about the economy and business projects.
