Buenos Aires, February 5 (NA) – Esteban Mirol and Marixa Balli faced off after the businesswoman announced the closure of her clothing store in Flores and linked it to the economic situation and the state of the textile sector. According to Argentine News Agency, the journalist harshly questioned her statements and accused her of playing the victim, while the vedette responded on air and denied the accusations. The conflict went public after Balli criticized Economy Minister Luis Caputo for saying he doesn't buy clothes in the country. Following that debate, Mirol sent messages to Ángel de Brito and later expanded his stance on the LAM program. In his private messages, Mirol had already expressed his anger and questioned Balli's public position on the clothing sector. «Let someone who had a stall in La Salada, where no taxes are paid, where 90% buy from clandestine workshops, speak up», he said on air. He also stated that many consumers opt to buy clothes abroad due to local prices, giving as an example the price difference for basic items between Argentine shops and online sales apps. The journalist expanded his criticisms of how the informal textile circuit operates in areas like La Salada and Flores, and stated that merchandise produced in black-market workshops is sold there. «What do victims do?», he also asked, clarifying that he is not defending Minister Caputo but affirmed that store closures are not a result of his statements but management problems. «They close because they are incompetent», he stated, and added that there was mistreatment of consumers. On the A la Barbarossa (Telefe) program, she rejected the journalist's comments and questioned whether he really knows how La Salada works. She assured that there are registered taxpayers on the premises and that taxes are paid: «They are all monotributistas or VAT registered». She also denied having any current ties to that commercial circuit and stated that she left working there years ago: «I'm a worker who used to get up at three or four in the morning». In her defense, Balli suggested that Mirol's aggressiveness might have a personal background, recalling encounters at a restaurant and saying he had invited her out: «He's not my type». She also mentioned a recent clash on MasterChef Celebrity, where she said she chose to avoid the dialogue. Finally, she asked that the debate on informality and work in the textile sector be held with evidence and without involving her in general accusations: «Don't put me in a title I have nothing to do with», she demanded, and invited to verify the labor situation of the stores in Flores.
