The Argentinian right-wing candidate, Javier Milei, has won a decisive victory in the presidential race. With almost all votes counted, Milei stood at 10 points ahead of his socialist opponent.
Milei’s personality has often been compared to Trump’s for his aggressive and blunt style. As a right-leaning libertarian, Milei will be one of the first non-Peronist (left-populist) since the return of democracy in the 1980s. Fox News reports:
Argentinians have elected as their next president Javier Milei, a self-described anarcho-capitalist whose sensational rhetoric has drawn comparisons to former U.S. President Donald Trump.
Partial election results showed Milei had 55.8% and Massa 44.2%, with 95% of the votes tallies. Should that margin hold, it would be wider than predicted by all polls and the widest since Argentina’s return to democracy in 1983.
Milei has advocated for major economic reforms, first and foremost a “dollarization” to tether Argentinian currency. Argentina has suffered many rounds of hyper inflation, destroying an otherwise robust economy with a sophisticated workforce. Financial Times reports:
“Today is the end of Argentina’s decline,” Milei told a crowd of supporters at the Libertador Hotel in Buenos Aires on Sunday. “Today is the end of the model of an omnipresent state that impoverishes Argentines.”
He pledged swift reforms to the country’s fragile economy. “I want you to understand that Argentina is in a critical situation. The changes our country needs are drastic. There is no room for gradualism.”
Left-wing media will no doubt attack Milei for his anti-Communist stances, accusing him of being a dictator. Milei’s mandate is the greatest in Argentinian history since the end of military rule in the 1980s, and will most likely implement major reforms. Whether his victory presages a Trump will be important to watch.
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