In Davos, Javier Milei stood on his biggest stage yet – and Argentina’s new president took advantage. “The Western world is in danger,” he warned at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland.
The self-described ‘anarcho-capitalist’ warned against political ideas ‘that inevitably lead to socialism and therefore to poverty’. Milei also criticized alleged ‘radical feminism’ and ‘social justice’. His speech culminated in two exclamations: “The state is not the solution. The state is the problem.” And: “Long live freedom, damn it!”
These words make people sit up and take notice – especially in the West, where cooperation with many Latin American countries is in jeopardy due to global crises. Milei, a pro-Western politician, sits in Casa Rosada, the Argentine presidential palace. But Milei is preparing to establish an authoritarian government. Working with such a politician requires tact in the West. Jair Bolsonaro’s presidency in Brazil, which governed with similar means, had already demonstrated this.
Many Argentinians now see the biggest problem not in their state, but in their new head of state. On Wednesday, the country’s largest unions called for a general strike. These are not the first protests against the president.
The last time the unions took to the streets was in 2019 against then-president Mauricio Macri. At the end of the same year he was voted out. Could Milei suffer the same fate?
The fact that the powerful unions are now getting involved shows that Milei’s government is floundering and its chainsaw is sputtering. The new president had already carried a chainsaw several times during the election campaign, with which he symbolically wanted to shorten the Argentine state and the political ‘caste’, as he calls established politicians.
Milei starts the presidential office at full speed
The performances were a success: in the second round of elections in November he achieved a clear success with more than 56 percent of the votes. And once he became president, he showed that the chainsaw wasn’t just a symbol.
In his only fifty days as president, the president quickly got to work: Milei abolished half of the previous eighteen ministries and wants to privatize dozens of state-owned companies. By decree he approved more than 300 legislative changes in one fell swoop. And then he introduced the so-called “Omnibus Act”. The name suggests that this is a huge package of laws.
The populist wants to scrap or change hundreds of laws in one fell swoop. In addition, Congress would have to declare a ‘public emergency’, which would disqualify Parliament for at least a year – an extension is possible. The president could rule alone during the emergency.
The “Omnibus Law” also includes the right to assembly, which the president wants to severely limit. The police should be able to stop protests more easily. “Gatherings” of three or more people are therefore considered demonstrations. It’s shock therapy for Argentina. Under Milei, the country could become a dictatorship again, just like fifty years ago.
1.5 million people protest against Milei
Even before he took office, Milei was a polarizing personality: large parts of the population saw him as the man who had to put an end to decades of mismanagement by socialist governments. However, his opponents warned against his radical reform plans and socio-political positions.
The new president denies climate change, wants to ban abortions and legalize the organ trade. In addition, Milei repeatedly downplayed the Argentine military dictatorship of the 1970s and 1980s, which killed tens of thousands.
For many Argentinians, the planned ‘Omnibus Law’ was the straw that broke the camel’s back: on Wednesday, the country’s largest unions called for a general strike. In the capital Buenos Aires alone, up to 600,000 people took to the streets. About 1.5 million people are said to have taken part in the protests across the country. In a country with approximately 46 million inhabitants, this is a significant part of the population.
But Milei discredited the strike before it started: “It is clear that it is a strike with political characteristics,” the president said in an interview with journalist Patricia Janiot. “And it has nothing to do with legitimate claims that employees might have.”
Milei turns against the elites – and depends on them
The Argentines will face a “very tough” year in 2024, the president also said in his New Year’s speech. He gave the people and parliament a choice: either reject his reforms and thus ‘continue the model that impoverished us for a hundred years’. Or you can adopt them “to bring about profound change and re-embrace the ideas of freedom.”
His power rests mainly on the presidency, because Milei’s party La Libertad Avanza (in German: Freedom Moves Forward, editor’s note) does not have a majority in Congress. That is why the president tries to rule by decree. That’s why Milei wants to paralyze Congress by working on hundreds of legal changes and bypassing democratic processes. For as long as both houses of Congress do not reject, at least in part, Milei’s comprehensive decree of 300 laws, it will remain in force.
Milei is therefore dependent on the approval of Congress and therefore faces a dilemma. His struggle against political ‘caste’ brought him to the presidency. However, as head of state he also has to come to terms with established parties that have seats in Congress.
“Governing means campaigning”
To gain at least a hint of approval in Congress, Milei scaled down the “Omnibus Law”: more than 140 articles of the law from the original version were removed – leaving more than 500. Moreover, he recently canceled even important economic reforms he had committed to. However, this does not demonstrate a willingness to make compromises. Because Congress’ powerlessness is still part of the proposed law. Milei wants to have all the power for himself at all costs.
Courts had already reversed parts of Milei’s labor market reforms that he wanted to implement with his mega decree. First successes for MPs and the rule of law.
But it is not the end of the confrontation, because Milei is dependent on the dispute, the Argentine historian Carlos Pagni analyzes in the daily newspaper ‘La Nación’: ‘For Milei, governing means neither educating nor explaining. Governing means campaigning.” That’s why Milei is in a vicious circle, says Pagni. He must campaign continuously to keep the majority of the population on his side.
And so it is fitting that he is now putting pressure on the provincial governments. If they don’t agree with the ‘omnibus bill’ in Congress, Milei could cut off their money. The new president also wants to establish a special prosecutor’s office that will focus exclusively on possible misconduct by government officials, La Nación reports. A blatant threat to the political ‘caste’.
Argentina is in a serious economic crisis
So far, he continues to benefit from this style of politics: in a survey by the polling institute Analogías, Milei still has an approval rating of 49.4 percent. However, 44.8 percent reject the president. The survey was conducted a week before the general strike. Now it depends on whether Milei’s reform plans will bear fruit.
Because Argentina is in a serious economic crisis. The inflation rate is well over 200 percent and about 40 percent of people in the once wealthy country live below the poverty line. This is due to a bloated and expensive state apparatus, on which Milei has declared war.
But his presidency does not change that: in the first month alone, inflation grew by 25.5 percent. In particular, the costs of healthcare, transport and food rose sharply. This means that the year 2023 ended in Argentina with the highest inflation rate since the hyperinflation of 1990.
Milei turns away from Russia and China
Milei also aims for a radical change in foreign policy. His predecessor Alberto Fernández wanted his country to be included in the Brics alliance of states. The alliance also includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa and, more recently, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. Milei rejected this plan. He also promised during the election campaign to end relations with Russia and China.
This makes him one of the few pro-Western presidents on the continent. In particular, Latin America’s other major economies – Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Mexico – are loudly criticizing the West in light of the wars in Ukraine and Israel and sometimes flirting with the authoritarian regimes in Moscow and Beijing.
For Western countries, Latin American policy therefore remains a balancing act. On the one hand, they do not want to lose the last sparks of cooperation with the critical nations. At the same time, the West finds it difficult to accept that a partner like Argentina is governed in an authoritarian manner – even if the country agrees with Milei on important foreign policy issues.
That is why people in the West should listen carefully and watch what is happening in Argentina. Milei’s rhetoric and his government’s planned actions foreshadow evil. However, the Argentinians will first decide whether he can get away with it.
Sources:
Soource :Watson
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.
