11/20/2023 02:05 (current 11/20/2023 02:10)
Javier Milei is considered the winner of the vote ©AFP
Libertarian populist and opposition politician Javier Milei won the presidential elections in Argentina. The candidate of the La Libertad Avanza (Advances of Freedom) party was well ahead of the Minister of Economy, Sergio Massa, of the leftist Unión por la Patria (Union for the Fatherland), with 55.76 percent, with 44.23 percent, according to the electoral index of the South American country. cabinet that 97 percent of the votes were counted on Sunday night (local time).
Government candidate Massa admitted his defeat. “Javier Milei is the president. I congratulated him because the majority of Argentines voted for him,” he said. “From tomorrow it is the responsibility of the president-elect to provide security and guarantees and we hope he will do so.”
In the midst of a serious economic crisis, the self-proclaimed “anarcho-capitalist” Milei promises a radical turnaround: he wants to introduce the US dollar as legal tender, abolish the central bank and many ministries and cut social expenses. Government candidate Massa, on the other hand, defended the previous policy with massive state intervention in the economy and extensive social programs.
“No one with such extreme views on economic issues has ever been elected president of a South American country,” said economist Mark Weisbrot, from the US think tank Center for Economic and Policy Research. “It barely recognizes a legitimate role for government in some of the most important policy areas that most people see as necessary for a stable, humane, democratic society.”
Milei benefited above all from the anger of many Argentines against the ongoing crisis and the political establishment. With disheveled hair and a moving chainsaw, he criticized the political “caste” he hated at election campaign events. The eccentric lives with five cloned giant mastiffs, which he named after liberal economists such as Milton Friedman and Robert Lucas.
The enfant terrible of Argentine politics also wants to liberalize gun ownership, is against the right to abortion, does not believe in man-made climate change and calls Argentine Pope Francis a communist. Like former US President Donald Trump and former Brazilian head of state Jair Bolsonaro, he uses anti-establishment rhetoric, but, unlike his role models, he refrains from right-wing extremism and supports, e.g. , same-sex marriage.
His future vice-president Victoria Villarruel, on the other hand, serves conservative clientele, maintains contacts with right-wing groups around the world and repeatedly provokes people with statements about the military junta (1976 to 1983). An officer’s daughter questions the death toll estimated at 30,000 by human rights organizations among opponents of the government, left-wing activists, trade unionists and students during the dictatorship and, in turn, insists on greater recognition for the victims of the guerrilla of left groups.
The second largest economy in South America is in a deep economic crisis. The inflation rate is over 140% and around 40% of people in the once-rich country live below the poverty line. Argentina suffers from a bloated state apparatus, low industrial productivity and a large parallel economy that deprives the State of much tax revenue. The national currency, the peso, continues to lose value against the US dollar and the mountain of debt is constantly growing.
The victory of market liberal Milei represents a real turnaround for Argentina, where left-wing Peronists set the tone for more than 20 years, the State intervenes massively in the economy, public services are heavily subsidized and in many provinces there are more workers in the economy. public sector than in the private sector.
Now, however, Milei’s capacity for compromise will likely be tested because, despite his radical rhetoric, he will not go far alone. He does not have a majority in parliament, his camp does not have a single provincial governor and he lacks qualified personnel to fill important key positions. His political opponent, on the other hand, could make life difficult for him as head of state: the left-wing Peronists are well organized through unions, social movements and party structures down to the smallest communities and are capable of paralyzing public life in Argentina. at any time with protests against the new government.