Prosecutor files case against Argentina’s frontrunner Javier Milei days before presidential election

By DANIEL POLITI
Associated Press

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — A prosecutor has launched a criminal case against Argentina’s frontrunner in this month’s presidential elections, accusing Javier Milei of deliberately causing a sharp drop in the Argentine currency when he encouraged citizens not to save in pesos. Milei has denounced the move as political persecution, just days ahead of the Oct. 22 election. President Alberto Fernández had called for the investigation in a complaint filed Wednesday. The president says that the right-wing populist candidate was trying to scare the public and that his actions were “a severe affront to the democratic system.” A prosecutor referred the case Friday to a federal judge for a possible indictment.