Argentina鈥檚 President-elect Milei promises drastic change: Can he deliver?
| Buenos Aires, Argentina
Argentina elected far-right libertarian Javier Milei as its next president, underscoring deep-seated discontent with the country鈥檚 politics and economy, and a desire for drastic change 鈥� even if it comes at a cost.
The economist and former TV pundit burst onto the political scene just two years ago with a promise to implement radical free-market policies. Pledges to destroy Argentina鈥檚 political elite and assertions that the 鈥渃aste trembles鈥� have been his go-to rallying cries, often punctuated by images of a rumbling chain saw.聽
Having won nearly 56% of the vote, he is now Argentina鈥檚 president-elect.聽
Why We Wrote This
A story focused onWith repeated economic crises and politicians who no longer inspire hope, protest candidates can transform into presidents-elect. Will Javier Milei be able to shake up Argentina as promised?
Mr. Milei bested the ruling Peronist coalition鈥檚 candidate, Minister of Economy Sergio Massa, by nearly 12 percentage points. The result shocked many after Mr. Massa won the most votes in last month鈥檚 first-round election.聽
Mr. Milei鈥檚 performance highlights popular frustration with the status quo in Argentina, where inflation reached its highest point in nearly three decades and 2 in 5 people now live in poverty. He鈥檚 committed to shrinking the size of the government, 鈥渂lowing up鈥� the central bank, ditching the peso in favor of the U.S. dollar, and upending Argentina鈥檚 foreign policy.聽聽
鈥淭he changes the country needs are drastic,鈥� Mr. Milei said in his victory speech last night. 鈥淭here is no room for gradualism, for tepid half-measures.鈥�
The stakes are high for him to deliver on his promises. Social tensions are nearing a boiling point as money becomes worth less each month in Argentina, and observers say Mr. Milei could face public protests from the moment he takes office Dec. 10. On top of that, pushback from a divided Congress, where the Peronists and their allies hold a plurality in both the upper and lower houses, could dampen some of his more extreme plans.聽
鈥淭he holidays, Christmas and New Year鈥檚, are a very sensitive time in Argentina, especially when there鈥檚 an economic crisis,鈥� says Paola Zuban, a political scientist and director of Zuban C贸rdoba y Asociados, a political consultancy. 鈥淎 Javier Milei government will have to deal with many social movements taking to the streets to protest.鈥澛�
鈥淭he same things鈥�
Mr. Milei鈥檚 resounding triumph demonstrates the degree to which he鈥檚 successfully captured popular disenchantment with Argentina鈥檚 traditional political forces.聽
Mr. Milei was considered a protest candidate: Many of his supporters don鈥檛 agree with his core social and economic stances, but instead with the change he represents. But his ability to appeal to, above all, young men who are desperate for a change in the country鈥檚 economic and political situation helped propel the radical outsider to victory.聽
鈥淓veryone who came before tried the same things, and they didn鈥檛 help at all,鈥� says Francisco, a 17-year-old and a first-time voter in Buenos Aires. Standing among a crowd of Mr. Milei鈥檚 supporters who chant, 鈥淟iberty,鈥� Francisco says he鈥檚 not on board with all of Mr. Milei鈥檚 policy ideas. But 鈥渢his man proposes something different for the country, which I think is needed.鈥澛�
Throughout the campaign, Mr. Milei was able to reach Argentina鈥檚 youth through savvy social media campaigns. In a number of viral, expletive-laden videos, he railed against Argentina鈥檚 political establishment with often casual, relatable disdain.聽
The pandemic also played a large role in laying the groundwork for his success, says Ms. Zuban, describing it as having 鈥渟hattered Argentina鈥檚 social fabric.鈥� Those without formal employment, some 45% of the population, saw their earnings evaporate and received little financial support from the state during one of the world鈥檚 longest lockdowns.聽
鈥淭hey saw how their neighbors [with formal employment] could navigate the situation while they sank into a profound crisis. This caused a significant social rupture,鈥� she says.聽
Those inequalities, combined with several scandals, confirmed for many that Argentine citizens don鈥檛 receive equal treatment, from certain politicians鈥� flouting the country鈥檚 intense lockdowns with impunity, to others鈥� receiving preferential access to vaccines.聽
In that context, says Pablo Touzon 鈥� a political scientist and founder of Panam谩 Revista, a political publication 鈥� many were drawn to Mr. Milei鈥檚 bombastic rhetoric and promises to eradicate what he calls the 鈥減olitical caste.鈥�
For many, Mr. Massa, a career politician, was the embodiment of that caste. His Peronist coalition has ruled Argentina for 16 of the past 20 years. Opposition to the Peronist movement, which dates back nearly 80 years, drew many toward Mr. Milei.聽
Annual inflation surged to 143% this year, and the peso鈥檚 value plummeted. Mr. Massa, who is also the current economy minister, struggled to make a case for why the captain of an economy in such dire straits could also be its savior.
鈥淭hose factors contributed to the population鈥檚 disgust and exhaustion with traditional politics and gave Milei visibility,鈥� says Ms. Zuban.
Upending business as usual?
Following his win 鈥� which drew congratulations from the likes of former U.S. President Donald Trump, X (formerly Twitter) owner Elon Musk, and former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro聽鈥� Mr. Milei promised an end to 鈥淎rgentine decadence.鈥澛�
His extreme rhetoric and policies may be viewed as enticing to some, but they are just as troubling to others.聽
Outside Mr. Massa鈥檚 campaign headquarters, Luis, a local journalist in his 30s, stared blankly at the stage where the Peronist candidate had just given his concession speech. Next to him, a woman and her young daughter, both wrapped in Argentine flags, sat sobbing.聽
鈥淚 am scared. I feel threatened,鈥� says Luis, who asked not to use his full name out of privacy concerns. 鈥淸Milei鈥檚] proposals directly attack issues that are central to our identity as a country, issues that are central to our democratic system,鈥� such as support for public education and the unequivocal repudiation of Argentina鈥檚 last dictatorship.
Human rights groups, including Argentina鈥檚 famous Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, have accused Mr. Milei and his running mate of denying the crimes against humanity perpetrated by Argentina鈥檚 1976-1983 dictatorship.聽
He鈥檚 characterized the military government鈥檚 atrocities as a pursuit of national security, and he鈥檚 questioned the number of people killed during that period, asserting that it is far fewer than the broadly accepted estimate of 30,000.聽聽
Turning to others
Despite his commanding win, Mr. Milei will need to find political accord within the alliance that delivered him the presidency. Some of his high-profile backers from the opposition, such as Patricia Bullrich 鈥� who placed third in the first-round presidential vote 鈥� have vocally opposed some of his key proposals, including his plan to adopt the U.S. dollar as Argentina鈥檚 national currency. Argentina flirted with dollarization in the 1990s, when it pegged the peso to the dollar, though that scheme ended disastrously in 2001 amid a political and economic crisis.
The support Mr. Milei received from Ms. Bullrich and her party after the first-round vote boosted his image, says Ms. Zuban, lending him 鈥渁 certain degree of sanity,鈥� in the eyes of skeptical voters unhappy with Peronism. 聽
鈥淢ilei will face a governance problem,鈥� says Mr. Touzon, the political scientist, emphasizing that the president-elect will need to rely on the party infrastructure of his more politically mainstream allies.聽
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think the libertarian space [in Argentina] has enough people to fill even two government ministries,鈥� Mr. Touzon says. If he鈥檚 going to succeed, 鈥渉e鈥檒l have to turn to others.鈥�
