2023-11-20 17:30:19
WORLD – In less than three years, Javier Milei will have gone from the small screen to Casa Rosada, seat of Argentine executive power. Winner of the presidential elections on Sunday November 19, the ultra-liberal candidate will take the reins of Latin America’s third largest economy from December 10. This marks the beginning of an unprecedented political and economic experiment.
Argentina was the scene of crucial elections on Sunday, November 19, marked by the victory of ultra-liberal candidate Javier Milei over his Peronist rival Sergio Massa, who quickly recognized his defeat. Contrary to the tight forecasts of the polls, Milei won a resounding victory, with 55.69% of the votes against 44.30% for Massa (on 99.26% of the votes counted).
At 2 a.m. PST, Argentina’s new president-elect addressed a crowd of euphoric supporters. In a surprisingly calm speech, he said: “Today marks the beginning of the reconstruction of Argentina, the end of its period of decadence.”
Economist, libertarian and “market anarchist”
Javier Milei, economist graduated from private universities in Buenos Aires, affiliated with the World Economic Forum defines himself as a “liberal libertarian” and a “market anarchist”. His advocacy for downsizing the state is based on limiting public spending, taxes, and government intervention in the economy. As head of the Libertarian Party of Argentina, part of the far-right coalition La Libertad Avanza, he triumphed in the PASO elections (primary, open, simultaneous and obligatory elections).
Before making the leap into politics in 2019, Javier Milei stood out for his media interventions as a columnist for newspapers such as The nation et The chronicleras well as through his role as a television talk show host.
In her speeches, Milei adopts incisive language. He even threatened his political opponents during a public conference: “Left-wing son of a bitch, tremble”. On another occasion, he defended the idea of dynamiting the Central Bank of Argentina, clarifying that it was not a metaphor: “When I talk about burning the Central Bank, it’s not a metaphor, I want to dynamite it, but it’s literal,” he told the media The Daily Coffee.
Between anarcho-capitalist ambition and economic challenges
At the age of 53, describing himself as an “anarcho-capitalist”, Milei expressed his ambition to redirect Argentina towards the path of prosperity. “Today, we rediscover the path that once forged the greatness of our country, by once again embracing the principles of freedom”he said in his inaugural speech as president-elect.
In Argentina, the lack of medium-term political agreement and increased tensions between the ruling party and the opposition have led to growing instability and economic deterioration. Currently, more than 18 million Argentines, or 40% of the total population, live in poverty, and annual inflation reached 143% over the last 12 months (until the end of October), according to official figures.
Faced with these challenges, Argentines have entrusted power to a candidate whose anti-establishment rhetoric has drawn comparisons to figures such as former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and American Donald Trump, whom he says he admires.
Dollarization and liquidation of the Central Bank
In the first phase of his electoral program, Milei advocates a drastic reduction in public spending and a reform aimed at reducing the tax burden. The initial proposals also include the flexibilisation of labor, trade and finance accompanied by comprehensive reforms in the health, education and security sectors.
The second phase includes the reduction of pension and retirement funds, as well as the elimination of certain ministries and social programs. After eliminating a total of 11 ministries, the politician repeatedly announced that he would keep only eight: “I will retain the Ministry of Social Action, the Ministry of Infrastructure, the Ministry of the Economy, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Security, the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of the Interior”. Milei thus intends to put an end to “fraud” in his country.
As for the third and final phase of the plan, it involves the “liquidation” of the Central Bank and the dollarization of Argentina. The dollar is the savings currency of Argentines. In this country, a house, a car and even household appliances are sold in dollars, although the official currency is the Argentine peso. After decades of high inflation, Argentines are wary of the peso. This is why Javier Milei’s speech resonated strongly. According to him, to put an end to inflation, we must remove from politicians the power to excessively create money (use of printing money) to finance the state deficit. He therefore suggests eliminating the Central Bank, which produces the national currency (the peso), and opting exclusively for the dollar in order to reduce inflation.
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