class=”sc-29f61514-0 fwWrRV”>
The wig, the anarcho-capitalist or simply the man with the chainsaw: the names for the new Argentine president are varied. Javier Milei (53), who won the second election this weekend against the incumbent Economy Minister Sergio Massa (51), is – as his nickname suggests – a strange bird. And someone with radical ideas.
The victory of the libertarian Milei marks a turnaround for Argentina, where left-wing Peronists have dominated for more than twenty years, the state intervenes massively in the economy, public services are heavily subsidized and in many provinces more workers are employed in the economy. public sector than in the private sector.
“Argentina’s reconstruction starts today,” Milei said after the elections. These are his radical ideas.
Abolish ministries
Milei has little interest in state structures. He wants to massively streamline the government and free it from corruption. To do this, he wants to abolish ten of the current eighteen ministries. Areas affected include the environment, science, culture, development, “women, gender and diversity”, transport and sport.
Allow organ trafficking
Milei explicitly avoids talking about organ trafficking. But he speaks of “more than 350,000 donors” and “7,500 people waiting for a transplant”. He therefore proposes to look for ‘market mechanisms’ to solve this problem.
Close the central bank
Milei blames the central bank, founded in 1935, for the rise in inflation and the fall of the peso. He would therefore like to ‘blow up’ the bank. “It was the beginning of one of the biggest frauds in the history of our country,” says Milei.
Introduce US dollars
To stop the devaluation of the peso and the enormous inflation of 115 percent, Milei wants to replace the national currency with the US dollar. With ‘dollarization’ he builds on the peso’s link to the dollar in the 1990s, which gave Argentina an economic boom – but only for a few years.
Promote school competition
Milei proposes distributing public education funds to families through school vouchers, giving them a choice between public and private schools. By choosing where to study, he wants to promote competition between the often inadequate schools.
Delete environmental law
Milei wants to promote new energies such as sun, wind and green hydrogen. But he doesn’t believe in environmental laws. “Global warming is another lie of socialism,” he says. 10 or 15 years ago there was talk that the planet would freeze over.
Can he implement the radical ideas?
Susanne Käss, head of the Argentine Foreign Ministry at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, which is close to the CDU, summarized the following after the elections: “His victory makes it more than clear that the clear majority of Argentinians support institutionalized corruption and cronyism of the Kirchner era and in return accepts the risk of a very uncertain future.”
Milei’s ability to implement his program depends heavily on his ability to negotiate and form alliances. His party La Libertad Avanza (German: “Freedom Moves Forward”) has only 38 of 257 representatives and 7 of 72 senators. However, it is expected that Milei will integrate prominent figures from the centre-right Pro party, some of whom supported him, into his cabinet and that some kind of coalition government could emerge.
In a coalition government, it can also be expected that Milei’s ultra-conservative and sometimes bizarre demands will fade into the background. Käss: “Javier Milei, who has shown himself to be much more moderate in recent months, will have to moderate himself in order to implement some of his ideas within the framework of the democratic system.”
Source: Blick
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
