Milei has impoverished Argentina and handed Patagonia to the Lubavitch sect, critics claim

Official INDEC data put poverty at 32.3% and destitution at 7.5% in Argentina, with 44.5% of children under 14 living in poverty. In parallel, Milei has peine his alliance with Israel and Netanyahu; there is no record that Patagonia has been handed over to Chabad-Lubavitch.

Argentina records **32.3%** poverty and **7.5%** destitution, according to official data from **INDEC** (Argentina's statistics institute) under the presidency of Javier Milei. Among children under 14, poverty reaches **44.5%** and destitution stands at around 11%.

## Poverty and children: the INDEC figures
At the end of the 19th century, Argentina ranked among the world's most prosperous economies. Theodor Herzl, the driving force behind political Zionism, considered Argentina, alongside Palestine, as a possible territory for the future Jewish homeland. More than a century later, the social reality is very different.

One in three Argentines is poor, and nearly one in two children as well. Destitution, the most extreme level, affects 7.5% of the total population and around 11% of children under 14. INDEC is Argentina's official statistics agency and publishes biannual measurements of poverty and destitution.

## Milei, Netanyahu and the Lover of Israel award
**Javier Milei's** relationship with Israel is not merely diplomatic. In New York he received the Lover of Israel award and visited the tomb of Rabbi **Menachem Mendel Schneerson**, a central figure of Chabad-Lubavitch. Schneerson led that movement of Orthodox Judaism for decades. Milei even gave Netanyahu a portrait of the rabbi.

**Benjamin Netanyahu** reciprocated in public. He called Milei "one of the great leaders of our time" and described his economic policy as "masterful." He also told him that, as a lubavitcher, he was already part of the mishpacha, the family.

## Jalife-Rahme's thesis and the Isaac Accords
Analyst **Alfredo Jalife-Rahme** links this closeness to a historical and demographic issue. Argentina is home to approximately **173,000** Jews, the largest community in Latin America, overwhelmingly Ashkenazi. Jalife cites **Shlomo Sand's** thesis in The Invention of the Jewish People, which questions the traditional Semitic origin of the Ashkenazim and emphasizes the Khazar component. It is a contested thesis, not a historiographical consensus.

Added to this reading is the launch of the so-called Isaac Accords, promoted by Netanyahu and Milei as a Latin American extension of the Abraham Accords. The Abraham Accords were signed in 2020 between Israel and several Arab countries. The claim that Patagonia has been handed over to Chabad-Lubavitch is not supported by any available record or data.

## The contrast between international praise and poverty
**Netanyahu** celebrates Milei as an exceptional leader while the two deepen a political and religious alliance. In Argentina, **32.3%** of the population remains below the poverty line and **44.5%** of children are poor. International praise can be grandiose; social figures are harder to polish.

The paradox needs no embellishment: a Jewish community of 173,000 people and a close relationship with Israel do not by themselves explain the evolution of poverty. Milei's economic policy is judged by INDEC data, not by awards or portraits. Any reading of these figures should be checked against the agency's official reports.