Media and cloned dogs. The loneliness of Milei, the anarcholiberal “el loco” who enchants Argentina

October 22nd is the birthday of Javier Milei. That day in Argentina celebrated the first round of a historic election in which he was the protagonist. “22” is the number of the “locomotive”, the crazy one. “Loco” is the adjective that follows this 52-year-old candidate who has turned the political scene of the South American country on its head. “Loco” is the merciless, unloving insult his father shouted at him as he beat him as a child. If you believe in the Cabal, there is no alternative to revenge on October 22nd Javier Milei, the ice-eyed anarcho-capitalist. And if the prophecy is perfect, he will be president on December 10th.

Javier Milei is the leader of the ultra-right political party La Libertad Advances and on August 13th he exceeded all predictions and won the primaries. He did so with an anti-political speech that promises to end “caste” and reduce inflation, which reached 124% in August through cuts to public spending. He wants to privatize education and healthcare and turn the economy into dollars. He promises to reduce the large ministerial apparatus to eight departments. He did it literally armed with a chainsaw.

They shout: “Let’s burn down the central bank!” He slams his fists on the table. Everyone is under attack, from the Pope on down.

A month before the elections, he is the candidate who is keeping the establishment sleepless. According to the latest polls, La Libertad Avanza is at 36%. Sergio Massa, the current governing Peronist candidate, receives 30%. Patricia Bullrich, center right, at 24%. With these results, the country would go into a runoff election. But no one rules out a surprise.

(Portal)

He has the hairstyle of Mick Jagger the ways of Beppe Grillo and the ideas of Donald Trump. It is the alt-right, embodied in Latin America, which, without proposing anything new, came onto the scene as an absolute novelty. Opposed to abortion in a country that has waged a historic battle over legalization, he instead advocates liberalizing the organ market.

Difficult childhood

Milei was born in 1970 in the middle-class Palermo neighborhood of Buenos Aires. His father Norberto Milei is an entrepreneur in the transport sector. His mother Alicia Lichic is a housewife. He has severed all ties with both of them for years: “They don’t exist,” he says. He made up for the gap by building a close relationship with Karina, his sister, who became one of his advisors in the electoral adventure. If he is elected, he assures us, “she will be the first lady.” He studied economics, the subject that later made him famous as a lyricist and later as a television commentator who attacks and insults his interlocutors.

“I have no doubt he will win. In fact, I’m confident he’ll win in the first round on October 22nd, which also happens to be his birthday. 22, that is the number of the “locomotive”, the word that has haunted him all his life. The nickname they used to isolate him in elementary school. Insulting his father when he tries to justify the beating. They gave him the nickname to the Chacarita team in the second division, where he played as a goalkeeper,” he explains to Repubblica Juan Luis GonzalezAuthor of “El Loco – Unauthorized Biography of Javier Milei”.

There is a myth about Milei that needs to be dispelled: he is “an outsider.” Although he had never run for office before 2020, he has always been very close to politics: in 2015 he was economic advisor to Massa himself, who later became Minister of Economy. In 2012 by Daniel Scioli, Governor of Buenos Aires. Before that, “in the 1990s he worked with genocidal Antonio Domingo Bussi, the former dictatorship general convicted of crimes against humanity.” His circle of acquaintances also included historians and intellectuals with open sympathy for the Nazis.

Mourning at the origin of the electoral adventure

“The question is more about why he only agreed to run now after being asked countless times,” González continues. The answer leads to a dark side of the character.

In his victory speech in the primaries, Milei finally thanked “the part of my family that gives me so much satisfaction.” My four-legged children: Conan, Milton, Murray, Robert and Lucas.” With these words, Milei means her dogs. The English mastiff Conan, whose name is inspired by “Conan the Barbarian”, and his children, whose names are those of the economists who move his thoughts: Murray Rothbard, Milton Friedman and Robert Lucas.

The problem is that Conan died in 2017. And this event brought Milei into politics. “For many years he spent Christmas toasting champagne alone with Conan. After the dog’s death, he experienced a deep crisis, which led him to speak to a medium to get in touch with him. It is the beginning of a mystical journey that deepens over time and leads him to communicate with dead personalities and finally with God, who ultimately gives him a mission: to lead Argentina. Conan’s “boys” are actually clones of his late father acquired in the USA.

Loneliness, love and sister

“I have to admit that the relationship with dogs is really a bit strange. And yes, it is true, he communicates with them through a medium,” Romina Seferian, a fashion designer, entrepreneur and television personality who had a relationship with the candidate, told Repubblica. Seferian emphasizes his qualities: “He is a man who has a chessboard in his head.” His intelligence is superior. And in intimacy he is a man from another time, considerate, kind and gift-giving.” He gives Romina underwear and a tantric sex manual, “a practice he follows himself.” But he is also a man who is “losing control,” and the end of their story—short, like most of the candidate’s relationships we know—comes suddenly and tumultuously. “He doesn’t want children. I know his current partner, Fatima Florez, wants her. I’m afraid you will be disappointed. I also know that Fatima doesn’t get along with her sister. And it is certainly strange that he would want Karina as First Lady,” he concludes.

On the Monday after the election success, the International Monetary Fund reported Karina Milei for a meeting. Before this crazy election campaign, the sister was best known for her tarot skills. But the IMF, according to Argentina’s condemnation, will not be Milei’s problem: “The austerity plan envisaged in my program is more substantial than what they are demanding.” As for Karina, she could be: her role is already the subject of an internal conflict within the Political party.

There is a clear path that connects Javier Milei’s horrific childhood, extreme loneliness, and surprising electoral successes. The same path projects a disturbing presidential figure who can potentially open the doors to a new dark age.