"It only holds up by restricting freedoms": Juan Manuel Urtubey criticized Javier Milei and called for unity in the opposition.

Former Salta Governor Juan Manuel Urtubey once again challenged President Javier Milei and took aim at the "cultural battle" he's trying to implement in Argentina, which Urtubey considers "contrary to local values." Furthermore, the three-time president reaffirmed his intention to run for senator and called for unity among political forces to oppose the government.

" Everything is moving in the same direction. Milei's government is promoting a model of exclusion where rights are not enforced. Everything that's happening is aligned with that: repression, banning opponents, tutelage from the International Monetary Fund and now the United States, " Urtubey stated during an interview on C5N. The former Salta president maintained that the national government "can only sustain itself by restricting freedoms."

For Urtubey, the result of Milei's economic policies is that "two-thirds of the population" is excluded from the model through "less democratic participation" and restrictions in politics and society.

In another part of the interview, the Salta native rejected the recent statements made by Peter Lamelas, the candidate for US ambassador to Argentina. " It's unacceptable, but unfortunately possible in a country that has no foreign relations ," the former governor summarized, questioning the weakening of relations between Argentina and strategic allies like Brazil and China. "They endorsed acts of war, they seek to distance themselves from the United Nations. Argentina has never done such things; the Foreign Ministry is going in a direction from which it is difficult to return," he commented.

Another criticism Urtubey leveled at Javier Milei related to the "cultural battle" and the president's own ideology. "I respect his intellectual honesty in saying that he seeks to establish the Protestant Saxon ethic in Argentina, where economic success and individualism are the driving forces of society," Urtubey said, comparing it to the "Argentine idiosyncrasy," which he posited is characterized by solidarity.

" Social justice is not a Peronist invention; it has existed since the very preamble of the National Constitution. What Milei proposes is clearly countercultural, which is why she needs the help of the IMF and the United States to cement it," he added.

Urtubey then reiterated his intention to run for legislator to "stop the chainsaw." "Argentina doesn't need destruction, but rather more construction ," he emphasized. In this regard, he called on the various political parties to seek "unity and win the elections in October to stop the government's policies."