After Argentina’s defeat in its debut at the World Cup in Qatar this Tuesday (22), a 2-1 defeat by Saudi Arabia, Twitter users did not spare Labor Minister Raquel “Kelly” Olmos.
Last week, in an interview with a TV station in the country, Olmos was asked if she would prefer that inflation go down or that the local team won the World Cup in Qatar. The Minister of Labor replied: “Then we continue working with inflation, but first Argentina wins”.
“I think we have to work all the time because of inflation, but one month it won’t make much difference. On the other hand, from an emotional point of view, of what it means for all Argentines, we want Argentina to be champions”, added Olmos, who compared the moment with the time of the first Argentine world title, in 1978, when the military ruled the country.
“We were in the middle of the military process, they were chasing us and we didn’t know what was going to happen to us. Argentina was champion and we all went out to celebrate. Then we move on to reality, which is inevitable. But in the midst of that, if you can celebrate and celebrate, honestly, why avoid it?”, argued the minister. In October, the inflation rate in Argentina reached 88% in the interannual indicator.
Right after the defeat of Messi’s selection, Argentine Twitter users remembered Olmos’ unfortunate statements. “We can already start talking about inflation, right, minister Kelly Olmos?”, asked one user.
Another wrote: “Well, with the result we started the World Cup with, I hope that Kelly Olmos, Alberto Fernández and the entire government have gotten off their asses and are taking measures to reduce inflation”.
Another user, in a post full of profanity, has already predicted an early elimination of Argentina in the Qatar. “Kelly Olmos said that after the World Cup they would ‘start working’ to lower inflation! What a bummer! They’ll have to ‘work’ before, it seems!”, pointed out an excerpt from the publication.