Milei arrives in Madrid mid-campaign and will meet Ayuso but not Sánchez

Argentine President Javier Milei visited Madrid on Monday night, marking his third trip of the year to Spain and his seventh since assuming office during the campaign for the upcoming snap general election scheduled for November 29. The agenda of his visit includes a meeting with Isabel Díaz Ayuso, the president of the Madrid regional government from the People's Party, although he has continued to refrain from meeting Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez as he did in previous visits.

On Wednesday, Milei will present an economics lecture at the Nueva Economía Forum and have a meeting with economist Jesús Huerta de Soto, a key figure of the Austrian School of thought, before addressing the launch of a master’s program on this school at Rey Juan Carlos University. Later in the day, he will meet with the Disenso Foundation, associated with the Vox party, and receive a visit from Ayuso.

Unlike other visits, there is no planned meeting with the leader of the Vox party, Santiago Abascal. The trip, concluding on Thursday, will include a delegation led by Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno and presidential spokesman Adrián Ravier. This is Milei's third trip to Spain this year; his foreign policy has favored alliances with conservative leaders.

Sánchez initiated the early election amid a housing crisis. The Argentine government justifies these trips as part of a strategy to attract investment in energy and mining sectors, while the opposition questions their cost and relevance. Spain remains the Argentine president’s second most frequent destination, following the United States, which Milei visited last week for the twentieth time.