2023-08-13 17:55:06
He stands out from the others as much in the polls as by his personality. Javier Milei, the “third man”, could well take advantage of the disenchantment of the Argentines, called to vote this Sunday August 13 for compulsory primaries aimed at nominating the presidential candidates of next October 22. And this ultra-liberal and populist economist could well be one of them, as the outcome of the election is proving very uncertain for the traditional centre-right and center-left blocs in Argentina, while abstention could be more than 25. %, according to analysts quoted by AFP.
Sometimes in a suit but often in a leather jacket during his political meetings, Javier Milei first stands out with his “rebellious look of a faded rocker”, as described by AFP. With his sideburns and messy hair, the one who defines himself as an “anarcho-capitalist” cultivates an image of a troublemaker in Argentine politics.
An anti-elite discourse repeated on television sets
An economist by training and author of numerous books (some of which are accused of plagiarism), the 52-year-old man first became known during the campaign for the 2021 legislative elections. At the head of his party “La Libertad Avanza “(“Freedom advances”), Javier Milei multiple appearances on Argentine television sets “where he shouts, insults and crushes anyone who criticizes him”, tells the Spanish daily El País.
Through “open economy classes” given in squares in popular neighborhoods of Buenos Aires, Javier Milei’s anti-elite discourse hits the mark with a young, male audience. In an Argentina stuck with double-digit inflation for 12 years, massive indebtedness to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and a poverty rate of 40%, his fiery rhetoric against political “caste” and “the pressure of State on individuals” caused a sensation, notes AFP. It doesn’t matter if he becomes one of the “rats” of politicians he vilifies. With “Long live freedom, brothel!”, he was elected, in 2021, deputy of the capital and his party became the third force in the province of Buenos Aires.
An ultraliberal defending the sale of organs
If he joined this assembly of “thieves”, it is to lead a battle “from within”, he specifies. Although he is the third man between two blocks (center-right and center-left), do not believe that Javier Milei is playing moderate to find his place: he places himself “definitely on the right”, analyzes with the news agency the political scientist Diego Reynoso, of the University of San Andrés.
The economist sees liberalism as a “cultural battle” and says he considers himself a “minarchist, that is to say someone who believes that the state should only be in charge of security and justice” . Among other things, he promises his base never to create new taxes, to reduce state pressure on individuals, to promote the use of the dollar against the Argentine peso or even to abolish the Central Bank.
A double-edged ultraliberalism for his young voters: if he defends tooth and nail certain individual freedoms, such as homosexual marriage and the legalization of drugs, he also considers that “the sale of organs is a consensual commercial transaction and that the abortion is a question of property rights”, explains El País.
A populist strategy that pulls the debates to the right
Javier Milei is accustomed to his shocking and populist declarations. He “throws ideas like grenades, waiting for them to explode before searching the corpses”, analyzes the Spanish daily. At the beginning of 2022, he is putting his first elected salary at stake – 200,000 pesos, around 1,700 euros – in a draw for which around a million candidates had registered, in order to return “this money which has been stolen from the people”.
A form of “South American Trumpism”, without protectionism, which the interested party does not deny, assuming his affinities with Donald Trump or Jair Bolsonaro, indicates AFP. Like the latter, “Javier Milei allowed politicians to talk about things that had become politically incorrect in Argentina”, analyzes political consultant Ana Iparraguirre with the Financial Times.
The strategy pays off for the economist: his party is credited with up to 20% of voting intentions in the most recent polls. Although it is very likely that he will obtain the 1.5% of votes necessary to be qualified for the presidential election, the poor scores of his candidates in the recent provincial governorship elections cast doubt on his ability to federate in the National level. Javier Milei could however have just enough weight to be the kingmaker of the next Argentinian presidential election.
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