Javier Milei was the second most voted in the first round. Luis Robayo/AFP October 22, 2023
Javier MileiArgentina’s dollarization advocate, who will run for president, is known for his temper tantrums, cultivating a rocker image and touring the country with a chainsaw to symbolize cuts in public spending.
This ultraliberal economist, who wants to “dynamize” the central bank and sees any intervention by the state as excessive, came second in the elections this Sunday (22) and will face the second round on November 19 against the… Minister of Economy Sergio Massawith annual inflation of 140%.
“The state is an enemy”, “It is necessary to blow up the Central Bank”, “The peso is the currency that Argentine politicians issue, it cannot even be worth excrement”: these are some of the inflammatory statements of this one political leader with thick hair and carefully disheveled.
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Nicknamed “Peruca” by his fans, he is seen as a messiah after decades of economic hardship and progressive demands that failed to produce results.
Argentina lives with doubledigit monthly inflation and poverty affecting 40% of the population. Milei’s solution, 53 years old, is to dollarize the economy, drastically reduce public spending, eliminate taxes and end the “political and corrupt caste.”
The Milei phenomenon began on television in 2015 when he achieved good ratings as a commentator thanks to fiery economic statements. His comments then spread across social media, reaching young people who saw the speech as new and rebellious.
Milei worked in the private sector until 2021, when he won a seat as MP for Buenos Aires by joining the recently formed Liberdade Avança coalition. Since then, he has shattered Argentine bipartisanship and dominated the media agenda with comments that shock the status quo.
He was born in Buenos Aires in 1970, played football as a teenager and sang in a Rolling Stones cover band.
He studied economics at the University of Belgrano and completed two postgraduate courses at local institutions. He published several books and was accused of plagiarizing entire paragraphs.
According to the unauthorized biography “Loco” by journalist Juan Luis González, Milei does not acknowledge the death of his dog Conan and considers him one of the “five” dogs that accompany him.
The other four are Conan clones that he made in the USA. He claims to communicate with them, both the living and the dead, thanks to the supposed teachings of a “medium” that specializes in “interspecies communication.”
Single, without children and with few friends, Milei recently took the actress and comedian Fátima Flórez, his new girlfriend, on television.