Argentina's health minister on Tuesday denied posting a tweet warning that cancer centres would only remain open if the ruling party kept control of the presidency, unleashing a torrent of claims by the opposition about a dirty campaign that underscored the intensifying rhetoric ahead of a runoff.
"I categorically deny publishing that expression of poor taste," said Health Minister Daniel Gollan in a statement released Tuesday. Gollan said his account had been hacked. He added that as a doctor with 25 years of experience in public hospitals, he would never mix politics with the pain that cancer causes patients.
The tweet from Gollan's account was published Monday afternoon and has since been deleted. It said: "The 12 new centres for radiation therapy to treat cancer will continue (to be open) if Scioli is president. Think about your vote."
Daniel Scioli, the chosen successor of President Cristina Fernandez, and opposition leader Mauricio Macri, will square off in a Nov. 22 runoff after both candidates failed to garner enough votes to win in the first round last month.
Without referring directly to the tweet, on Tuesday Macri criticized Scioli, saying he endorsed the dirty tactics, then tried to distance himself. "It won't influence the people's vote," Macri told the radio station Mitre.
Scioli brushed off the claims of unfair attacks, saying Macri would eliminate subsidies and make other major changes that would have consequences for the nation of 41 million.
Attacks on Macri have intensified since he garnered 34 per cent of the vote in the Oct. 25 election, a surprising finish that forced a runoff with Scioli, who got 37 per cent, less than polls anticipated.
On Saturday, Scioli blamed Macri for New York federal judge's latest decision in a long-standing debt fight between Argentina and a group of U.S. creditors.
U.S. District Judge Thomas Griesa on Friday essentially added another $6.1 billion to Argentina's tab in a court fight between the South American nation and creditors who refused to accept lower yield bond swaps.
Scioli's assertion that Macri, who campaigns on many free-market principles, would somehow have an influence on Griesa was dubious, as the debt spat has been going on for several years.
Then on Sunday, Futbol Para Todos, a public channel that broadcasts Argentine soccer games, released a 3-minute trailer that compared Macri's policies to those of Jose Alfredo Martinez de Hoz, an economy minister during the country's dictatorship who many Argentines see as a symbol of cruel neoliberal policies that hurt many families.
Opposition leaders cried foul because Futbol Para Todos, or Soccer for All, is a public station. They also pointed out that Scioli supported former President Carlos Menem, who implemented austerity measures in the 1990s.
Jose Pampuro, a former senator and defence minister, told fellow ruling party colleagues that it was time to "shut their mouths a little bit" and tone down the partisanship.
"Hearing things like things provokes outrage that goes beyond politics," said Pampuro, speaking about the tweet.
This content appears as provided to The Globe by the originating wire service. It has not been edited by Globe staff.