Javier Milei, a radical libertarian economist and first-term congressman, emerged successful in the presidential contest in the midst of Argentina‘s worst economic crisis in the past twenty years, vowing “drastic” adjustments to the nation’s economic policies.
After more than 99 percent of the votes were counted, the results showed that Milei received 55.8 percent of the vote, while Sergio Massa, a Peronist cabinet minister of the economy on the centre-left, received 44.2 percent.
Mili told his followers at the Buenos Aires Libertador Hotel on Sunday that “today is the turning point in Argentina’s decline.” “The model of an all-pervasive state that impoverishes Argentines is ending today.”
He promised a quick economic recovery. “You must recognise Argentina’s vulnerability. Our nation needs major social reforms. Gradualism is impractical.
Massa claimed that on December 10, the day before Milei took the oath of office, he had discussed Milei’s acceptance of the findings with her. In addition to this, he reaffirmed his commitment to the maintenance of Argentina’s “economic, social, political, and institutional functioning.”
Milei’s campaign supported dollarization and “chainsaw” cuts to government spending of up to 15% of GDP to fight inflation. She also demanded dollarization of all financial activities. Prices in Argentina rose 142.7 percent in October compared to last year.
At the moment that the results were being announced, thousands of people who supported Milei gathered at a famous monument in Buenos Aires called the Obelisk.
57-year-old physiotherapist Leonardo Estarone shouted, “I’ve been waiting my entire life for this: no more liars, thieves, or peronists!” while drumming in the street. Estarone spoke to commemorate Juan Peron’s fall. “It will be a free country where my children grow up.”
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Throughout the course of the campaign, Milei, who describes herself as an “anarcho-capitalist,” stirred up controversy by advocating laws that removed all restrictions on the ownership of firearms and legalised the purchase of human organs.
In addition to this, he referred to Pope Francis of Argentina as “a filthy leftist,” described China, Argentina’s most important trading partner, as “murderous,” and referred to climate change as “a socialist hoax.”
However, Milei softened most of those statements in the weeks after the October first-round election, in which he lost to Massa. This was an attempt to win over voters from the centre of the political spectrum. Mauricio Macri, the 2007–2015 president, and Patricia Bullrich, the centre-right Juntos por el Cambio (JxC) party candidate, who received 24% of the vote in the first round and finished in second place, backed Mauricio Milei.
Many people have seen parallels between Milei and Donald Trump, who was a former President of the United States. Trump has nothing but respect for independent libertarians. In a message that he published on his Truth Social page, Trump stated, “I am very proud of you.” “You’ll make Argentina great again by turning your country around!”
A former television analyst who rose to popularity for her passionate outbursts directed against the ruling class’s corruption and economic incompetence, Milei now poses a threat to Massa’s Peronist movement, which has dominated Argentina’s political scene ever since democracy was restored in 1983. With her triumph, Milei aims her fire at Massa’s movement.
Over the past 20 years, administrations that adhere to the pernatalist ideology have, using their left hand, grown the size of the public sector, tightened restrictions, and provided considerable economic subsidies.
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The Peronist model is under unprecedented duress as a result of the huge increase in inflation seen this year. Massa has imposed trade and exchange restrictions and turned to the creation of new money to support spending as a means of protecting the relatively little amount of foreign currency he has on hand.
Due to the fact that Milei and Victoria Villarruel were longtime supporters of the dictatorship that was in power in Argentina from 1976 until 1983, many people viewed them as a risk to democracy. In addition to his lack of experience as a leader, many people were sceptical of Milei’s ability to do what he set out to do.
Ana Iparraguirre, an Argentine political analyst and partner at the strategy firm GBAO located in Washington, pointed out that, although Milei was in a run-off election, she won more votes than any other presidential candidate since 1983 combined. “Milei has a huge institutional weakness, but that result gives him a strong degree of legitimacy,” according to a representative. “He needs to ensure that the public supports his reforms.”
Less than 40 of Argentina’s 257 seats in the lower house of the legislature and eight of the country’s 72 seats in the upper chamber would be under the control of the La Libertad Avanza (LLA) alliance, which Milei founded in 2021. Despite having twenty-three provinces, Argentina does not have a single governor for any of them.
Even after Macri indicated that the JxC coalition will support the LLA for “reasonable” reforms, other coalition leaders continue to criticise Milei. This is despite the fact that Macri made his announcement.
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The majority of commentators are of the opinion that Milei’s centrepiece plan, which calls for the replacement of the Argentine peso with the United States dollar, is not going to be implemented anytime soon because Argentina does not have access to international finance and its central bank has almost no dollars.
In spite of the fact that the official exchange rate is just a little higher than 350 pesos to one dollar, the rate on the illicit market can go as high as 900 pesos. The discrepancy, which has been progressively widening over the course of the previous few months as a result of the falling parallel exchange rate, has had the effect of significantly distorting the prices of goods and services.
According to Fernando Marull, director of FMyA, an economics consulting firm with headquarters in Buenos Aires, Massa would probably wish to prevent an official devaluation ahead of leaving office and that Milei’s victory would boost pressure on the black-market currency rate. Fernando Marull was the one who made both of these claims.
“Nevertheless, despite the doubts about Milei’s governability and his plans, his win will be good for sovereign bonds and stocks,” said the president. “This dispels the notion that Argentina is a static nation—Argentina has recently voted in favour of significant change.”
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