Mila’s choice represents “a leap into the unknown” for the South American country, writes the Spanish daily El Pais, while an Argentine professor emphasizes for the New York Times that voters have opted for the far-right libertarian “out of desperation” after repeated failures by other politicians.
Javier Milei, an extremist libertarian and a political outsider who has been compared to Donald Trump, won the presidential elections in Argentina on Sunday, a dramatic shift to the right for the country struggling with a deep economic crisis.
Milei, who is 53 years old, is an economist and former television personality. He convinced the Argentine people precisely because he came from outside the political scene, promising radical changes, embracing conspiracy theories, and advancing a series of extreme proposals that he says are necessary to reform a devastated economy.
Milei won overwhelmingly, obtaining 56% of the votes against his rival Sergio Massa, the center-left minister of the economy, who only received 44%. His votes, El Pais writes, came mainly from middle or low-income voters and mostly from young voters.
The support he received from former liberal president Mauricio Macri was essential for victory.
Milei promised to reduce spending and taxes, shut down the central bank of Argentina, and replace the national currency with the US dollar. He also proposed banning abortion, relaxing regulations on firearms, and aligning strictly with countries that want to “fight against socialism” – such as the US or Israel, for example.
During the campaign, he promised the “extermination of the political caste,” accusing them of perpetuating policies that have bankrupted the country. In his speech on Sunday night, after learning the results, he stated that his victory means the “end of Argentine decadence.”
He also warned that he would be very harsh with those who oppose the changes he proposes with “violence” and announced that there would be “no gradualism” in the reform.
A choice born out of “desperation”
While many observers have expressed concern over the extreme choice made by the Argentinians, some political analysts argue that Milei’s rise reflects the desperation of many citizens who are looking for a radical change and do not necessarily support his ideology.
Some voters share his extreme views, “but there are others who voted for him because they see in Milei a way to express their frustration in the face of an economic and political reality that has not been to their liking for a long time,” Carlos Pagni, a history professor and political columnist at La Nación, one of Argentina’s largest newspapers, told the New York Times.
“They don’t look at Milei’s ideology,” he said. “They see that Milei is angry and that he proposes a break,” Pagni added.
Milei has accepted the comparisons with Trump and Bolsonaro, but he has clear differences from the other two politicians, including his appetite for libertarian ideology, which led him to theoretically support policies such as open immigration and drug decriminalization.
But
