‘Crazy’ Milei: ‘The First Liberal Libertarian President’

He the new president of Argentina, Javier Milei, is identified with the character a hairy lion and has attitudes more typical of a ‘rock star’; Perhaps he needs that strength to change the country’s economic structure, as he intends, a difficult adjustment he made no secret of in his inaugural address.

With devastating speech and mannerisms characteristic of a ‘reality show’, the same ones with which he triumphed at televised rallies where he paved the way for party politics, leader of La Libertad Avanza (far right) This Sunday, he achieved his dream of becoming the nation’s president, becoming “the first liberal libertarian president” in history, as he said on election night on November 19.

In the liturgy of his presidential inauguration, he followed a verse more typical of the White House than the Casa Rosada, although he began in his typical hoarse fake voice and concluded by repeating his now-famous cry three times: “Long live freedom, dammit!”.

Lion? Crazy?
“Greetings to all! I am a lion. The beast roared in the middle of the avenue.” Thus begins “Panic show,” a song by the hard rock group La Renga that Milei has sung at every campaign event to rouse what he calls the “lions” of sleeping Argentina and those he promises to be, as the song says, “the king of the lost world.”

His provocative charisma and his revolutionary way of talking about “chorros” (thieves) politicians – along with eccentricities such as drawing a deputy’s salary or openly declaring that his mastiff dogs give him advice – were a magnet for capturing the attention of many young people and disillusioned with politics, mostly men .

Milei, a ‘outsider’ politics until 2021, when he was elected as a representative, he surprised in the primaries in August, when he was the candidate with the most votes, ahead of the coalition Together for Change (JxC, center-right) and the ruling Community for the Homeland (Peronism).

After finishing second behind Massa in October, he won in the second round with an eleven-point advantage over his rival.

Economist apologist for Austrian schooldefends freedom in any area of ​​life, even those contrary to far-right ideology, such as abortion, gay marriage or drug addiction, as long as they do not burden the state.

Milei gained visibility in the Argentine public opinion through constant interventions on television programs, in which he expressed unrestrained oratory filled with insults against the established authorities, the well-known “caste”, to which, however, he eventually bowed by appointing ministers. members the former presidential formula Together for Change, Patricia Bullrich and Luis Petri, already former members of Mauricio Macri’s Executive Committee (2015-2019).

A graduate of the University of Belgrano (Buenos Aires), with two postgraduate degrees and no experience in public administration, Milei was an economic consultant for various organizations and companies, the last of which was Aeropuertos Argentina 2000.

His image as a rebel in a suit – or sweatpants under a leather jacket, which some say hides body armor – has raised more than a few eyebrows among mainstream politicians, who consider him a “lunatic” with a messiah complex.

He got that nickname in various periods of his life: already as a teenager and playing football, and later, in various jobs he performed, he was known for his temper and angry reactions.

So much so that the journalist Juan Luis González titled “El loco” a book about his “unstable” figure, in which he analyzes his connections with powerful businessmen and politicians – before he became an “outsider” – and his most memorable episodes related to him. near supernatural.

“Anarcho-capitalist”
His arrival in Congress in 2021 began to worry the “caste”, especially when the self-defined “anarcho-capitalist” proposed breaking the monetary ‘status quo’ by dollarizing the economy, privatizing most state-owned companies, reducing the tax burden and free access to firearms and selling organs.

In the campaign, he carried a ‘chainsaw’ as a symbol of cutting public spending. Currently, he has already announced that he is reducing the ministries from eighteen to nine. His proposal to close the Central Bank has been put on hold for now.

The explosive socioeconomic cocktail that Argentina is experiencing has been fertile ground for the growth of ultra-liberal ranks led by this Rolling Stones fan, former Chacarita Juniors goalkeeper and Boca Juniors supporter.

Contrary to the 2030 Agenda. Javier Miley He denies climate change, as well as the fact that 30,000 disappeared during the military dictatorship (1976-1983) is a tragic balance that has been one of the rare consensuses in Argentine politics.

His inner circle, in addition to his dogs, which he calls “little children”, also includes his partner, actress, dancer and comedian Fátima Flórez, known for her impersonation of former president Cristina Fernández (2007-2015); and for his sister Karina Milei, whom he nicknames ‘The Boss’ and who is his main emotional and political support after the abuse they both suffered at the hands of their parents.