In Argentina, new President Javier Milei has launched a crusade against what he calls “cultural Marxism.” The ultraliberal Argentine president sees himself as the spearhead of a cultural battle against feminism, environmentalism and anti-racism, which he believes threaten Western values.
3 mins
with our correspondent in Buenos Aires, Théo Conscience
As part of this cultural battle, the Argentine president announced this week the closure of the National Institute against Discrimination, Xenophobia and Racism in Argentina, Inadi. According to Javier MileiInadi, which is the acronym of this organization, is useless and has transformed into an organ of political persecution in the service of the proponents of “single thought”.
For Javier Milei, this unique thought is supported by organizations such as the São Paolo forum, which brings together Latin American left-wing political parties, or by the United Nations through theHAS2030 agendawhich sets development objectives in terms of poverty reduction,egender equality or even the fight against climate change.
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The Argentine president believes that these values are at the origin of the decadence of his country and the West, and intends to fight them in the name of liberalism and capitalism, which according to him are ideologies ” morally superior “. This is what he explained at the Davos Economic Forum in January, and this is what he repeated again yesterday, Saturday, in Washington during CPAC, the Convention of American Conservatives in Washington, which he is attending. The former American president also exchanged a long hug with Javier Milei during this convention.
📢 Donald Trump: “A señor. El es MAGA: Make Argentina Great Again. El dijo: soy MAGA. Well we can do it well: Javier Milei. Much gracias Javier Milei”. pic.twitter.com/WJUdv2K8V7
— Tv Pública Libertaria (@Tv_Libertaria) February 24, 2024
A “cultural battle” which also pushes him to attack figures of popular culture
Last week the Argentine president attacked Lali Esposito, a 32-year-old actress and singer very popular in Latin America by accusing him “ to starve children » because of his concerts subsidized by public funds.
These attacks against the artist known for her feminist and progressive positions provoked an outcry in Argentina, proof according to Javier Milei that socialists have infiltrated the world of culture, media and universities, and that the cultural battle is more necessary than ever.
This relentlessness against Lali Esposito is reminiscent of that directed against the American singer Taylor Swift by Donald Trump. Argentinian fans of the American singer had taken advantage of her came to Buenos Aires for concerts last Novemberto recall the ultraliberal positions of Javier Milei.
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A calculated political risk?
If he takes risks, they are calculated risks, because with these controversies, the Argentine president occupies the media space, and prevents us from talking about anything else, such as for example prices which have jumped 50% in two months or 3 and a half million Argentines who have fallen into poverty since his election.
When this figure, which is an estimate from the Argentine Catholic University, came out last week, everyone was talking about Javier Milei’s attacks against Lali Esposito. For Javier Milei, this controversy, like that caused by the closure of the National Institute against Discrimination, also functions as a backlash to divert media attention from an increasingly critical social situation.
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