Javier Milei is the candidate for the Argentine presidency with a more diverse voter profile. His electorate is made up of young men who first started following him on social networks, but in recent months support for the ultra candidate has grown and spread to voters of all ages and social classes. Among the voters of the far-right party La Libertad Avanza, interviewed by EL PAÍS, there are workers without formal employment who are hit like no other by inflation, small traders who criticize the tax burden they have to pay and professionals, who are teleworking to find clients abroad and parents and grandparents are worried about the future of their children and grandchildren, growing insecurity and corruption. The favorite in the polls for Sunday’s presidential election has voters in the capital and its sprawling metropolitan area, but also in the most remote provinces.
Facundo Sastre, student, 18 years old: “I like Milei because he is very honest and has plans for the future”
Facundo Sastre, with the stuffed animal of an anime character that alludes to a chainsaw.Tiago Ramírez Baquero
Facundo Sastre studies systems engineering at the National Technological University. He met Milei in high school when he was studying at a business-oriented school and started following him on social networks and talking about him with his family. “At first my father didn’t really like the idea because of the way he spoke, but later they listened to him better and he liked his ideas,” says Sastre. “I notice that he is very honest, not like the others, and he has plans for the future, he gives clear examples of what he is going to do,” he continues. The proposal that this teenager from the ultra-candidate program is most excited about has to do with education: “I love the voucher system for faculties, I think it is very good.” According to Milei, this system provides for schools to charge fees and that With the check they receive from the state, students can “go to the school they want, whether public or private.”
Augusto Montamat, businessman, 28 years old: “Calling yourself left-wing should be embarrassing”
Augusto Montamat began his political career in Together for Change youth groups in Córdoba Province in central Argentina. He had just left school and anti-church speeches pushed him into the ranks of the alliance founded by Mauricio Macri a decade ago. Disappointed by the Macrista government between 2015 and 2019, he distanced himself from the formation, but maintained contact with some people he met there, such as the right-wing extremist writer Agustín Laje, who introduced him to Milei. Since then, Montamat has supported the moves of this controversial economist, whom he first saw in 2018. “I am right-wing and I am committed to ensuring that this concept is accepted,” says the man from Córdoba, “and calling himself left-wing should be a cause for shame.” Montamat, a businessman by profession, founded during the pandemic a foundation to support community kitchens and help poor children. This week he traveled 700 kilometers to attend the conclusion of Milei’s campaign in Buenos Aires. If he had to define himself, he would say that he is an enemy of the state, a defender of “life from conception” and a supporter of “Christian values.”
María del Carmen Moraga, unemployed, 48 years old, and her daughter, 14: “I want my daughter to leave the country just for fun.”
María del Carmen Moraga and her daughter at a rally called by Milei.Tiago Ramírez Baquero
María del Carmen Moraga decided to vote for Milei when her daughter told her that after finishing high school she would leave Argentina to try her luck abroad. “I think Milei is a way for them to think about it better,” she says. “I want my daughter to leave the country just for fun, to get to know other cultures.” This woman, now unemployed, is afraid of the similarity between the Ultra candidate’s policy proposals and those of Carlos Menem (1989-1999), who as a teenager came to power. “I had a very bad time, it was the worst thing I had to experience. At the age of 14, I started working to bring groceries to my home, and since there was no money, my employer could only pay me with groceries,” he recalls of that time. Still, he believes things will be different this time. He chose the far-right party’s candidate after giving others chances and feeling like they were letting him down. Moraga, a resident of Buenos Aires’ western suburbs, believes the biggest concern is insecurity. “Economically, we are a country of decline and rise until we float again. But due to insecurity, two robberies occurred within a week,” he added.
Gonzalo, computer programmer, 41 years old: “If my customers abroad pay me here, I lose with the exchange rate”
Gonzalo, next to a La Libertad Avanza campaign bus. Tiago Ramírez Baquero
Gonzalo wants Milei to win so that there will be a general tax cut. He believes this will stimulate an economy that has been stagnant for twelve years. “Look around, there are a lot of businesses that are closed because they don’t report. “You want to open a business and you have to get the permit, pay a lot of fees to the municipality, the province, salaries, advertising, etc. You can’t do it like that,” says this computer programmer from Lomas de Zamora. 20 kilometers from Buenos Aires. Gonzalo also criticizes the obstacles that the state imposes on entrepreneurs like him. “I have customers abroad, but they deposit the dollars in an external account because when they pay me here, they transfer them in pesos at the official value, which is 370 pesos, instead of the blue value, which is almost a thousand. And that’s how we all are,” he laments. Gonzalo was active in Peronism in his youth, but now, looking back, he thinks he did it “for generational reasons.” Milei is now active in the group La Julio Argentino, founded in 2021 after the creation of La Libertad Avanza.
Alicia, nurse, 66 years old: “I like Milei because she doesn’t come from politics”
Alicia and her grandson, also Mileista. Tiago Ramirez Baquero
Alicia, who prefers not to give her last name, was born 66 years ago in Uruguay but voluntarily took on Argentine citizenship: “I studied here, I worked here and retired here.” She says that she During her 35 years as a nurse in public hospitals, I have witnessed the progressive decline of public health care, the low value of professionals, increasingly lower salaries and the way in which the best “go to the private sector”. He regrets that “everything is politicized” in Argentina and says that is why he never voted despite his nationality. It will be his first time on October 22nd. “I always said I was apolitical and never voted because I didn’t trust anyone, but now I like Milei’s proposal because he doesn’t come from politics,” he says. Alicia believes that many people are afraid because “he talks and seems crazy,” but she defends that he is an economist with great experience. “At least it is someone who is not known, because among the known there is no one who is worth it,” he emphasizes.
Ruth Vacca, businesswoman, 54 years old: “There is hope in the air, I have wanted to feel it for a long time”
Ruth Vacca, in Mendoza. With kind approval
Ruth Vacca grew up in an anti-Peronist family in the province of Medoza (West), but only became involved in politics last year, when she attended meetings where Javier Milei’s ideas were discussed. The ultra candidate charmed her, she says. “There is hope in the air, I have wanted to feel it for a long time. He will be able to make the transition and we have to help him a lot,” said Vacca, who is distributing ballot papers these days and will help inspect ballot boxes on Sunday. Vacca summarizes what makes her vote for Milei with an example. “I live in the country and there is a small room [de atención sanitaria]: You can only get sick from 7:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. when the nurse comes. It’s a horror; We depend on the state and the state manages the money poorly,” he explains. Where she votes, she says, Milei received 55% of the vote in the primaries and hopes that victory will be repeated this Sunday: “Here [Sergio Massa] nobody wants it; [Patricia] Bullrich came and spent 10 minutes speaking against Milei the entire time. People are tired.”