Argentinian parliament “infiltrated” by Russian influence - lawmaker Lemoine
Russia does not stop trying to influence public opinion and political decision-making in Argentina, in particular through exerting influence on parliament and gaining control over the country’s media.
Lilia Lemoine, a member of the lower house of the National Congress of Argentina, stated this in an interview with Ukrinform.
"In fact, Russia’s state-run media are trying to take over media groups in Argentina. Now they’re doing it through an Uruguay-based company. And many people aren’t even aware of it. But our force remains vigilant. We had a Spanish media person who was trying to purchase to purchase an outlet in Argentina. And the ex-owner of that medium told him he can’t sell it to him because he was selling it to Sputnik," said Lemoine, who is a member of the party led by Argentina’s President Javier Milei (La Libertad Avanza - LLA).
"Even more so, we have our parliament infiltrated by the Russian influence. But we are aware of it and we pay close attention," the lawmaker added.
At the same time, she noted that due to her efforts to expose such developments, she is targeted in brutal information attacks.
"These attacks are really aggressive. If they can’t kill you, they seek to destroy your image. Those are all lies and due to the fact that I serve in Congress, I have a voice, people can hear me, I have my social media, so I can resist," said the deputy.
She explained that more than half of the parliament is still occupied by "Kirchnerists", a left-wing movement that backs Russia and China.
"Practically, they would be aligned with any country that goes against Western values," Lemoine added.
Propaganda yields results, the legislator admits, noting that nearly 40 percent of the population of Argentina still sympathizes with Russia.
Among the reasons for the success of propagandists, Lemoine cites the reluctance of average citizens to take any time reflecting on politics or history: "They just watch TV or some viral videos on YouTube and believe that those videos are the truth."
As Ukrinform reported earlier, the director general of Ukrainian Institute, Volodymyr Sheiko, together with the head of the department the countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America, Anabell Sotelo Ramirez, visited the Ukrainian Cultural Society Prosvita in Buenos Aires.