Javier Milei, a 53-year-old economist, was elected president of Argentina this Sunday. The polemicist, who entered politics only two years ago, has made numerous shocking declarations and proposals in recent months.
Regularly compared to former American President Donald Trump or the Brazilian Jair Bolsonaro, the Argentinian Javier Milei was elected President of Argentina this Sunday, November 19, well ahead of the current Minister of the Economy, the centrist Sergio Massa. The ultra-liberal far-right economist won with more than 55% of the votes
A real success for this polemicist accustomed to TV sets, who began his political career only two years ago, by founding his movement La Libertad Avanza in July 2021.
Elected deputy a few months later, he created a surprise by rising in the polls and opinion surveys for the 2023 presidential election, before collecting 29.99% of the votes in the first round of the election, on October 22.
• A reactionary discourse
Javier Milei describes himself as an “anarcho-capitalist” who promised to “cut apart” the “enemy state”. His slogan: “I am not here to guide lambs, but to wake lions!”
For months, the 53-year-old economist has accumulated radical and controversial positions. Javier Mileil thus opposed abortion, although it has been legal in Argentina since 2020. For him, climate change is only a “cycle”, not “a human responsibility”. Positions that allow him to be compared to Donald Trump, the former president of the United States.
A libertarian, the 53-year-old also said he was in favor of a “market solution” for organ donation, as well as the deregulation of the sale of arms.
• An ultraliberal economic program
The libertarian, opposed to social justice, dreams of making Argentina a “world power” again. To fight inflation (143% over one year), he proposes in particular to “dollarize” the economy. Thus replacing the Argentine peso with the American dollar, like Panama or Ecuador, for example.
Its flagship measure is above all the drying up of Argentine public spending, by cutting them “with a chainsaw”. Thus, he proposes to eliminate the Ministry of Culture but also the one in charge of women’s rights. To privatize the Ministry of Health and Education.
“Javier Milei brings with him an ingredient of political-social confrontation, a bellicose, aggressive discourse, of adjustment towards sectors, such as the public service, with a strong capacity for mobilization”, analyzes for AFP Gabriel Vammaro, political scientist at the San Martin University. “With, perhaps, a repressive path, of which we do not know how it could end.”
• An atypical image
From his worn rocker look, sometimes in a leather jacket and with a chainsaw brandished in meetings, Javier Milei has cultivated an atypical image. Like the idea of offering parliamentary compensation by drawing lots, to “return to the people what was stolen from them”.
All supported by a strong presence on social networks: “he appeals to emotion, he’s a TikTok politician,” economist Andres Borenstein, from the Econviews think tank, explains to AFP.
A few minutes after the announcement of his victory, one of his old videos went viral: we see him picking up and throwing behind him, shouting “out”, one by one labels representing several ministries (sport, transport, education, etc. ).
His public positions also shocked his country, particularly when he insulted Pope Francis. The libertarian had described the man of the Church as a “Jesuit who promotes communism”, a “representative of the Evil One sitting on the throne of the house of God” or even an “imbecile”.
Javier Milei’s mental health also questioned his final weeks, with the economist saying he heard voices during an interview in October. His biography, released in July 2023, is titled El Loco. “The Fool”, in Spanish.