The 53-year-old voted for Milei: “He doesn’t lie”

Less than a month has passed since controversial Javier Milei was sworn in as president of Argentina. The chainsaw he waved during the election campaign – a symbol of the sharp reduction of the state apparatus – is already underway.

– We Argentines have suffered from many crises and many lies, says Mileian supporter Ruben Zigadlo, who now sees the future brightly.

During his short time as president, Javier Milei has managed to introduce 300 new laws by presidential decree. These include a loosened protection for tenants and employees as well as the privatization of state-owned companies, land and natural resources.

The labor market-related reforms in the decree have been suspended for the time being by Argentina’s Court of Appeal, following an appeal by Argentina’s largest union federation, the CGT.

Judge Alejandro Sudera questioned the “necessity” and “urgency” of the decree, adding that some of the measures appeared to be “oppressive or punitive in nature.”

The economic “shock therapy” has received a mixed reception, last week tens of thousands of Argentines demonstrated against the drastic cuts.

Ruben Zigadlo was not among them. The 53-year-old caught Milei’s eye several years ago, before the now-sworn-in president began to devote himself to politics and was known as an economic debater on television.

Not a politician

Zigadlo is a taxi driver in the capital Buenos Aires and one of the millions of Argentines who voted for Milei in this year’s presidential election.

– He is a person who fascinates me. And not only that, he is spiritual, just like me. He also talks about spiritual things, about goodness and doing good, says Zigadlo.

Javier Milei offers something that has never been tried before according to Ruben Zigadlo, who says he is tired of being cheated. He is sure that politicians lie and steal, but Argentina’s new president is an economist and not a politician, he believes.

– The previous government lied to us and said that the inflation had to do with the war in Ukraine. But the war affects the whole world, not just Argentina, says Zigadlo.

– Milei does not lie, but describes things exactly as they are. If you look at interviews way back in time, he says exactly the same things as now.

Tougher times lie ahead

Shortly after the new government was unveiled in mid-December, Finance Minister Luis Caputo announced that Argentina is devaluing its peso by more than 50 percent. It was a hard blow for mainly parts of the middle class, where many have their savings in the country’s official currency.

Annual inflation, which reached 160 percent in November, will be significantly higher in December, the finance minister warned. Before it gets better, everything has to get much worse, is the message from the new government.

The so-called “shock measures” are nothing that worries Ruben Zigadlo. He is prepared for even tougher times. Milei has been given the task of cleaning up after the previous government’s economic policy, he says.

– Milei does the dirty work, the terrible work, what no politician wants to do.

Nothing back?

The increased poverty of recent years is felt on the streets of Buenos Aires. Ruben Zigadlo lives in the relatively affluent neighborhood of Núñez in the northern parts of the capital. Here, too, you see people sleeping on street corners. In the subway, a person asking for money gets on at almost every new station.

“Good people” will be fine with the new government’s policies, claims Milei. It is the “criminals” who will suffer.

Argentinians have also relied too much on the state to help them, according to Ruben Zigadlo, who feels he is getting nothing back for the taxes he pays.

– I pay for both private and public healthcare. I don’t want it that way.

Threat to democracy?

With the new government in place, a concern is expressed from mainly leftists about how the country’s 40-year-old democracy will fare.

Argentina’s new security minister, Patricia Bullrich, has announced that demonstrations are now only allowed on sidewalks and that children are no longer allowed to participate. Those who demonstrate in the streets, and thus block traffic, risk losing their social benefits if they have one. Organizers of demonstrations will receive a bill for the costs.

In parallel, Vice President Victoria Villarruel, herself the daughter and granddaughter of soldiers, has promised to investigate the country’s current laws on “historical memory”. They were established to deal with the recent military dictatorship, when up to 30,000 people were kidnapped, tortured and murdered, according to human rights groups.

“The media lies”

Dissidents call Villaruel a defender of dictatorship. Ruben Zigadlo says he can understand the concern – but for a different reason.

– Yes, many people are afraid, and rightly so, because they have gotten used to politicians lying to them.

Zigadlo also accuses the media of lying. He believes that they have done everything they can to smear Milei and his party comrades. “Philosophical” ideas have been painted as election promises and much of what has been said has been distorted, he thinks.

That Javier Milei himself claims that his dead dog tells him what political decisions to make does not seem strange to Ruben Zigadlo.

– There are those who talk to their plants, there are those who talk to God. There are people who pray and people who talk to themselves, says Ruben Zigadlo.

– Milei loves dogs and animals and it’s fantastic. I also love animals. He has also experienced terrible things in life and then the dogs have been the only ones who have been by his side.

FACT Javier Milei

Read moreFACTSArgentina

Read more