“I did not come to lead lambs, I came to wake up lions.”
With this phrase he defined the candidate for the presidency of Argentina Javier Milei, representative of the La Libertad Avanza partyhis landing in politics and his surprise victory, this Sunday, in the country’s primary elections.
With 30% of the votes, Milei, 52, becomes like this in favorite to win the presidential electionswhich will take place on October 22.
The candidate, who defines himself as libertarian-oriented, surpassed the two forces that have governed for the last two decades: the macrismo (Together for Change), which obtained 28% of the votes, and the official Peronist-Kirchnerist coalition , Unión por la Patria, which obtained 27%.
But although the result is surprising – the polls barely gave him 20% of the votes – the truth is that Javier Milei has become a controversial political phenomenon in Argentina in recent years.
Economist and lover of dogs, Milei has shaken up the political debates in recent years with proposals such as dollarizing the economy, privatizing public state companies and closing (“dynamite”, in his own words) the Central Bank.
It has also launched ideas such as allowing the sale of arms in Argentina and the sale of organs.
Added to this is his opposition to the legalization of abortion and education on gender and identity issues in public schools.
But perhaps his direct criticism of the traditional sectors of Argentine politics, whom he contemptuously calls the “caste”, has been what has led him to connect with younger voters, discontent with the current state of affairs in the country.
Milei has been compared to other far-right politicians such as former US President Donald Trump and Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro.
“We have managed to build this competitive alternative that will not only put an end to Kirchnerism but will also put an end to the parasitic chorra (thief) and useless political caste that exists in this country,” he assured once the results were made official.
But what are their proposals, some of them qualified as “radical and eccentric” by many analysts?
“Blow up the Central Bank”
Argentina is currently experiencing a critical situation due to high inflation that the previous year reached 100% annually.
And in fact, the Milei phenomenon began with him, who is an economist at the University of Belgrano, participating in television programs as an economic analyst.
In these programs he was putting together what is the basis of his economic proposal: first, the dollarization of the economy, imitating the model of other countries in the region such as Ecuador.
(Photo: ALEJANDRO PAGNI/AFP via Getty Images)
“Ecuadorians are much better than Argentines. Ecuador’s numbers are impressive. Income multiplied tenfold and inflation was pulverized,” Milei told the Spanish newspaper El País.
Second, the closure of the Central Bank. Milei has maintained in various interviews that the creation of this entity -occurred in 1935- was the beginning of all the country’s problems.
Third: a drastic reduction in public spending. His proposals include reducing the number of presidential ministries to just eight (currently there are 18 ministries, not counting other state agencies).
“We are dedicated to analyzing a reform of the State where more efficiency and lower costs can be achieved. Total public spending must be reduced, but not by abrupt cuts, much less by liquefaction with inflation, but by giving priority to certain expenses,” Diana Mondino, Ucema economist and member of the government team, told the Argentine newspaper La Nación. from Milei.
The La Libertad Avanza candidate proposed the reduction of subsidies to companies that provide services and that the value of the real rate be transferred to users.
Another proposal that is in the folder is to remove the stocks on the dollar, which is a current measure that limits theThe number of dollars that an Argentine citizen can acquire per month.
These proposals, especially the dollarization of the country and the closure of the Central Bank, have received strong criticism from other economic experts.
“The proposal to close the Central Bank means going back to a discussion already settled two centuries ago”, pointed out the economist Guido Agostinelli to the newspaper Página 12.
The economist argues that the State needs to regulate the financial market to protect citizens’ savings and adds that no developed country exists without a central bank
“The most recent experience where deposits from savers could not be guaranteed was with the ‘corralito’ of Domingo Felipe Cavallo at the head of the Ministry of Economy, which is precisely today claimed by the entire libertarian wing,” he added.
Denial and sale of organs
But beyond his radical economic proposals, it is in the social field where his ideas have caused the greatest stir.
On several occasions, especially during the presidential campaign, Milei maintained that he was in favor of Argentines being able to buy weapons freely, due to the increase in cases of insecurity that are registered in some areas of the country.
Perhaps the most controversial proposal has been to legalize the organ sale market, an activity prohibited by country law..
“There are 7,500 people suffering, waiting for transplants, there is something that is not working well. What I propose is to look for market mechanisms to solve this problem”, said the candidate on the TN television channel.
This statement was categorically rejected by Carlos Soratti, director of the National Central Coordinating Institute for Ablation and Implantation (Incucai), which regulates organ donations in the country.
“These exotic proposals, which were already given a century ago, today are absurd. This issue goes back a century, from the bioethical debate that developed the history of organ transplantation at the beginning of the 20th century, ”he said in a statement.
In addition to these controversial statements, another point that has generated debate in public opinion is his second on the presidential ticket: the vice-presidential candidate, Victoria Villarruel.
Villarruel, who is the daughter of soldiers, has stood out for questioning the crimes committed during the military regime that ruled Argentina from 1976 to 1983.
Among them, the torture and disappearance of thousands of people by the security forces.
“We must denounce the terrorists who carried out attacks in the 70s, seized power, rewrote history and guaranteed impunity”he said during a political meeting.
It is she who leads the proposals for the deregulation of arms sales and a justice reform that could grant freedom to dozens of soldiers and police officers convicted of crimes against humanity.
“We are in a situation of threat to the minimum consensus, which is the rejection of State terrorism,” said Verónica Torrás, director of the Open Memory Institute, in rejection of these positions, to the Spanish newspaper La Verdad.
But these have not been the only controversial aspects of his campaign. Milei has been accused of misogynistic behavior in different political spheres.
Several media outlets have reported on the mistreatment that women journalists received at the time of interviewing him, and political analysts indicate that his program opposes almost all plans dedicated to gender issues.
“In my government there will be no cultural Marxism and I will not be asking for forgiveness for having a penis. If it depended on me, I would close the Women’s Ministry,” Milei said in an interview.
Education and health merged
Of course, within the proposals to reduce public spending, Milei has been clear that there will be cuts in the main social issues: health, education and social development.
And the proposal is direct: merge the three ministries that handle these issues into one, which I would call “Human Capital”.
On the subject of health, the creation of a so-called “universal insurance” is proposed, in which users and doctors agree on the fees to be paid for medical services.
In the field of education, Milei proposes a method of “vouchers”, in which attendance at schools will not be compulsory or free.
“The obligation system does not work. If you want to study, you will have a voucher and you will be able to study. The money that the State collects for this is taken and divided among the school-age children and a voucher is given to the parents, so that they can choose the school they want for their children, ”he said.
This was widely rejected in various circles.
“Compulsory education is not a weapon that is put in the head of society, but an essential stimulus for survival. I am always worried about the violent look of the things he has,” said Victoria Morales Gorleri, a representative of Juntos por el Cambio, to the Telam news agency.
Added to the criticism for the points of his proposals, the Argentine justice system is currently investigating Milei for various crimes.
One of them is for the alleged sale of support for candidacies for regional governments in Argentina. Businessmen and politicians have denounced the ultra-liberal candidate for demanding nearly US$10,000 in exchange for his party’s support for the provincial elections that are taking place parallel to the presidential one.
Now the race towards the Casa Rosada has become clear for its definition on October 22.
In addition to the results obtained by Javier Milei’s movement, Together for Change, which represents macrismo and the moderate right, chose former Security Minister Patricia Bullrich as its candidate.
For its part, the ruling party, Unión por la Patria, chose the current Minister of Economy, Sergio Massa, to be the presidential candidate.
Keep reading:
· Javier Milei surprises in the primaries of Argentina by leading the elections with 32% of votes
Three people are brought to trial after the alleged attack on the Vice President of Argentina, Cristina Kirchner
· VIDEO: Bus drivers attack the minister with blows and stones during a protest in Argentina
