Tired of 140% inflation, the population of Argentina elected as president an eccentric political outsider, Javier Miley, who positions himself as an “anarcho-capitalist,” that is, a supporter of maximum freedom in the economy.
« Anger conquered fear «
The second round of the presidential elections in Argentina took place on Sunday, November 19, 2023. 55.7% of voters voted for Javier Miley, who has no leadership experience.. His rival, Argentine Economy Minister Sergio Massa, scored 44.3% and immediately admitted defeat without waiting for the vote count to be completed.
“Today confirms that Argentina has a transparent and strong democratic system that always respects results… “I contacted Javier Miley to congratulate him and wish him good luck, because he is the president whom the majority of Argentines have chosen for the next four years,” said Sergio Massa.
Earlier during the election campaign, Sergio Massa called his opponent a populist and a madman who could plunge Argentina into chaos. Javier Miley, on the contrary, assured that the country would prosper when it got rid of the “enemies” and “parasites” that were drowning it – the current political establishment.
“Politicians are sociopaths who convince us that we are mentally disabled because we cannot live without them. But if in our country we unhook those who produce from them, then these fucking politicians, syndicalists, this whole bunch of parasites, will drown and die,” says Javier Miley.
According to Argentine political analyst Pablo Tuzon, ruling elite candidate Sergio Massa lost because he did not offer change and built his election campaign on fear-mongering that Javier Miley's presidency would violate Argentine freedoms and way of life.. But in the end, anger at the government prevailed over fear. Most Argentines felt that the greater risk would be to maintain the political status quo and economic malaise.
The President is a “ political anarchist ”
Javier Miley is 53 years old, has never been married and has no children.. After graduating in economics from the private University of Belgrano, he worked for HSBC, the think tank Fundación Acordar and an airport management company in Argentina. Javier Miley entered politics in 2019, joining the Libertarian Party, and quickly made a name for himself by pitting himself against both the left and the right.
He became famous for promoting radical economic reforms on radio and television.. Javier Miley advocated cutting taxes to a minimum, eliminating social assistance programs, privatizing educational and health institutions and closing 11 ministries dealing with culture, the environment, women's affairs and gender issues.
He also supported a ban on abortion, but proposed allowing people to own firearms and sell their organs on the free market.
Many political commentators consider the aggressive and theatrical manner of his speeches to be an imitation of the American ex-President Donald Trump and the Brazilian Jair Bolsonaro. Ridiculing Javier Miley, the Argentine press spread the myth that he takes political advice from his dog, who died in 2017, with whom he communicates through a medium.
It is characteristic that Javier Miley does not argue with opponents who accuse him of madness, but, on the contrary, shocks the public by portraying a madman. Dozens of times at rallies he brandished a roaring chainsaw, expressing his intention to cut government spending.. And on one of the TV shows he smashed the model of the Central Bank, arguing that Argentina needs to completely abandon its own currency and switch to American dollars.
“ Shock therapy ” for the economy and a turn towards the USA
Javier Miley will take office as President of Argentina on December 10. It will take Latin America's second-largest economy into deep crisis with galloping inflation, a 40% poverty rate, a lack of money in the state budget and the Central Bank, and a $44 billion debt to the International Monetary Fund.
In his first speech after winning the presidential election, Javier Miley confirmed his intention to heal Argentina's economy with “shock therapy.”
«Argentina is in a critical situation. The country needs radical change. There is no place for gradualism, no place for indecision, no place for half measures, said Javier Miley. – Today the restructuring of Argentina begins. Today is the beginning of the end of Argentina's decline. “As of today, there is an end to the poverty-inducing, all-pervasive state model that benefits some but suffers the majority of Argentines.”
In foreign policy, Javier Miley aims to cooperate with the United States and the countries of the Free World. One of his first decisions may be to withdraw his application to join BRICS, which Argentina was admitted to in August 2023. In campaign speeches, he has repeatedly emphasized his reluctance to do business with communists and socialists, which he includes in China, Russia and neighboring Brazil.