An election that seemed unpredictable ultimately resulted in a clear victory. This Sunday, November 20, the Argentines largely chose to elect Javier Milei as their new President of the Republic. By nearly 11 points (55.6% of the vote, against 44.3%) his rival and competitor Sergio Massa, the Minister of Economy of the outgoing government and figure of “Peronism” – the political movement which has largely led the country’s politics over the past decades – the far-right polemicist has succeeded in his “anti-system” bet and his promise to clear out the outgoing political leaders.
Aged 53, who entered Argentine politics only two years ago since the debates and controversies on Argentine television sets, Javier Milei has led a resounding campaign against the “parasitic political caste”. Determined to “cut” the welfare state and social justice, describing himself as an “anarcho capitalist”, he assured in his victory speech: it is now time to ” the end of decadence” and the “reconstruction of Argentina”, while warning that there will be “no half measures”.
Towards a “shock treatment” of public accounts
The country is in fact in a very difficult economic situation. With inflation rising to more than 140% over the past year, nearly 40% of the population lives below the poverty line. And while Sergio Massa pleaded for a “government of national unity” and a balance between social justice and budgetary recovery, for his rival, an economist by training, the solution is much more radical. He wants to “energize” the Argentine Central Bank, by switching to dollarization of the economy and abandoning the Argentine peso, the national currency which he treated as “excrement” during his campaign.
Javier Milei also promised to implement a “shock treatment” to balance the accounts and reduce public spending by 15%, as well as privatizations, to achieve the budgetary discipline required by the IMF, to which the country is struggling. to repay a loan of 44 billion dollars granted in 2018. He also advocates the end of chronic subsidies (transport, energy), a liberalization of prices, the elimination of export taxes. The new president thus recommends “a much harsher adjustment” than that requested by the IMF, already very demanding for a country whose economy already collapsed in 2001.
Aerial view of supporters of Javier Milei, winner of the presidential election in Argentina, in Buenos Aires on November 19, 2023
© / afp.com/Carlos REYES
Javier Milei also promised to implement a “shock treatment” to balance the accounts and reduce public spending by 15%, as well as privatizations, to achieve the budgetary discipline required by the IMF, to which the country is struggling. to repay a loan of 44 billion dollars granted in 2018. He also advocates the end of chronic subsidies (transport, energy), a liberalization of prices, the elimination of export taxes. The new president thus recommends “a much harsher adjustment” than that requested by the IMF, already very demanding for a country whose economy already collapsed in 2001.
Support from Trump and Bolsonaro
On the international side, the election of Sergio Milei also plans to mark a shift with previous governments. During his campaign, he notably stated: “I will not do business with communists. I am a defender of freedom, peace and democracy”, declaring that his allies were “the United States, Israel and the free world. Brazilian President Lula, meanwhile, was called a “corrupt communist.” Enough to cast doubt on the relations between the two main economies of Latin America.
Among his most loyal supporters, Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro, two of the political figures with whom he is most compared, reacted very quickly to the announcement of his victory. “I am very proud of you. You are going to transform your country and make Argentina a great country again,” wrote the former American president on his social network Truth Social, before the publication of the official results. “Hope shines again in South America” declared Jair Bolsonaro, adding that he hoped that “good winds would reach the United States and Brazil” so that “honesty, progress and freedom return” .
The White House also reacted, congratulating Javier Milei and welcoming “the strong participation and the peaceful conduct of the vote”, through its Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The latter also added that the United States “looks forward to working with the president-elect and his government on common priorities.”