A video that went viral in the last few hours showed the United States ambassador to Argentina, Peter Lamelascompletely loose on the dance floor, next to the Buenos Aires representative from Freedom Advances, Lucia Montenegro. It was the legislator herself who spread the images on her Instagram account, with a caption that did not go unnoticed: “Next time, Bombón Asesino”, in reference to the classic The Palm Trees. The clip accumulated thousands of views and unleashed a mix of laughter, criticism and debate on social networks.
In the video, Montenegro and Lamelas dance with obvious enthusiasm, far from any diplomatic protocol. The diplomat, who serves as the 53rd US ambassador to the countryis a doctor and businessman of Cuban origin, founder of the MD Now Urgent Care chain in Florida. He came to the United States with his family in search of freedom and forged a career that combines medicine, business and public service. His informal and close profile had already been evident months ago, when he visited the province of Jump —in what was his first official mission to the interior of the country— and met with the governor Gustavo Saenz to analyze opportunities in mining and education, in addition to participating in an open day with the local community.
The episode of the dance broke out at the worst moment for the ruling party: in the middle of a storm due to the wealth scandal of the Chief of Staff Manuel Adorniwho acknowledged having maintained more than $500,000 in undeclared savings. The images of a libertarian legislator celebrating on the track while the Government tries to contain the crisis generated all kinds of reactions. “That’s how serious they are: like Adorni’s affidavit,” one user wrote. Other messages pointed to the contrast between the festive image and the economic situation of a large part of the population.
It is not the first time that Lucia Montenegro remains at the center of the controversy. The deputy has a history of controversy: she was investigated along with her father for alleged irregularities in campaign expenses José Luis Espert In 2019, she was denounced by a community kitchen in Villa 31 for retaining more than 3,500 liters of milk from a social program, and organized a debate in the Buenos Aires Legislature on “innocent prisoners” questioning complaints about gender violencewhich garnered rejection from feminist and human rights organizations.
