Although Brazil saw the back of far-right strongman and Donald Trump follower Jair Bolsonaro in electing the Left-leaning Lula da Silva to the Presidency, its neighbour Argentina has travelled in the opposite direction to elect far-right candidate Javier Milei as President.
Right on cue, “hope is sparkling in South America once again,” Bolsonaro wrote on X, hailing what he called a victory for “honesty, progress and freedom”. Not to be outdone, Trump wrote: “I am very proud of you. You will turn your country around and Make Argentina Great Again”, a paraphrasing of his own Make America Great Again (MAGA) slogan.
Milei, who swept to victory in the Argentine Presidential polls over the weekend defeating his Peronist rival Sergio Massa, is not only the antithesis of Lula, but also a doppelganger of Trump, given his reality TV background and far-right views that echo those of the former US President, who is again in the running for the Presidency.
The Libertarian Milei, an economist widely known as “El Loco” (the madman) from his TV days, has already given his countrymen a taste of things to come with a promise “to take a chainsaw” to the Government. Even more worryingly, the self-styled “anarcho-capitalist” has talked about legalising the sale of body organs, cutting ties with Argentina’s two biggest trade partners Brazil and China (which has already described any such move as a huge mistake), closing more than a dozen Ministries, moving healthcare to an insurance-based system as in the US and also public schools to a fee-based system. Women too have been alarmed by his pro-life and anti-abortion message. He has also brushed aside widespread criticism of the 1976-83 military dictatorship, widely believed to be responsible for over 30,000 killings of civilians and political opponents.
“Today the reconstruction of Argentina begins. Today is a historic night for Argentina. Our key words are limited Government, respect of property rights and free trade,” Milei told supporters at his campaign headquarters in Buenos Aires, calling his victory a “miracle”.
Milei also promised “drastic changes” to tackle Argentina’s “tragic reality” of soaring inflation and widespread poverty. He also sent a message to the international community: “Argentina will return to the place in the world which it should never have lost.”
At just 53, which is rather young in political terms, Milei has enough time on his hands to tackle the many problems facing Argentina, the biggest of which is runaway inflation that now stands at 140 percent and heading towards 200 percent by early next year, followed closely by a looming recession.
During his long campaign, Milei – who will take office on December 10 – pledged to abolish the Central Bank of Argentina and Dollarise the economy in order to overcome a financial disaster that has left more than 40 percent of Argentina’s 45 million citizens in poverty.
It remains to be seen whether Milei will seek further help from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which has said it is ready to work with him. The IMF already has a US$ 44 billion programme with Argentina, a fellow traveller on the IMF path with many other countries that have faced economic crises in recent years including Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Ghana and Zambia. IMF Chief Kristalina Georgieva said “we look forward to working closely with Milei and his administration in the period ahead to develop and implement a strong plan to safeguard macroeconomic stability and strengthen inclusive growth for all”.
Many analysts say that Milei’s victory in itself does not indicate that the voting population has not fallen per se to his inflammatory rhetoric. Rather, it seems to be an act of sheer desperation as 40 years of Peronist rule (democracy was restored in Argentina exactly 40 years ago), has left the country on the brink of a major economic abyss. In fact, inflation had risen up to the present level from ‘just’ 54 percent when Alberto Fernández, the outgoing Peronist President, took office in 2019.
But facts are stubborn and the reality is that Milei has little or no experience in governance, even if he abhors the very concept of Government. It remains to be seen whether his limited economics background can be used fully to address Argentina’s unending economic woes that include around US$ 50 billion in foreign debt.
Milei knows that the road ahead is hard and strewn with obstacles. “Argentina’s situation is critical,” he said. “The changes that our country needs are drastic.” Years of overspending (living beyond its means), protectionist trade measures, suffocating debt and the printing of Pesos have led to the present crisis and Argentina needs to turn away from these policies to turn the corner. But many have also questioned whether it is possible to implement some of his ideas such as privatising free education, which is taken for granted by most Argentineans, and abolishing the Peso.
Nonetheless, there is little doubt that Argentina is on the cusp of a new era with an untested leader espousing radical ideas and concepts. Other Global South countries which have much the same problems will no doubt watch these developments with avid interest.
