Argentina’s people have spoken, naming outsider Javier Milei as their next president. This marks a drastic change in Argentina's policies from socialism to a libertarian outlook. The results shocked the world, especially the left, which is reeling at Milei’s victory.
The race between Milei and the establishment candidate Sergio Massa, the current economy minister, was hotly contested. Milei ran a race focused on Argentina’s economy, which has been in the dumps over the last decade or more, citing socialism as the core problem with the system. He also vowed to change the Argentinian currency to the U.S. dollar to combat the country’s current hyperinflation.
The race’s provisional results have Milei defeating Massa with 55.7 percent of the vote to 44 percent. Massa has already conceded defeat.
Argentinians can breathe a sigh of relief. Milei spoke of election fraud occurring during the first round of voting in October, as the polls showed him getting far higher a percentage than he ended up with. Still, when Argentinians made their final decision, they came in for Milei hard, with his results outperforming the last polls.
Milei fans and voters took to the streets, chanting “Freedom!” and waving Argentinean flags in a new wave of nationalism.
This victory marks a sweeping change in Latin American politics over the last few years. Centrist and populist governments have come in to clean up long-term communist corruption, as the people have had enough and want outsiders to fix the problems the establishment created.
The first populist candidate to maintain power in Latin America was Nayib Bukele of El Salvador. His policies vastly improved the country’s standard of living and reduced crime during his first term. Bukele’s example has drawn the attention of several Latin American countries that want to copy his policies. For instance, Milei’s idea of changing the currency to the U.S. dollar was successfully tried in El Salvador.
Milei fashions himself in a manner many U.S. voters consider libertarian. He believes government intervention always leads to corruption and problems for the people. The new president also speaks out against the policies of social justice; he opposes abortion and the LGBT agenda. He also has voiced that he is pro-gun rights, fitting right in with much of the U.S. Republican Party platform under Donald Trump.
The threat to his campaign’s success was his vast criticism of Pope Francis. Milei has repeatedly called the pope a communist, turning off some traditional Argentinean voters. He’s also vowed to cut business ties with countries like China, which, even though there are good moral reasons for it, could hurt Argentina’s infrastructure as China funds a lot of development worldwide.
Milei is set to take office on December 10. With Argentina facing such terrible economic crises, he will have to make many difficult decisions that might hurt Argentina in the short term as he roots out corruption and changes deep-rooted social programs. He will have a tough time implementing some of his policies, however, as he will have a weak congress, many of whose members do not favor his radical changes.
The face of Argentina is now one of freedom, and Milei will work to change many years of socialism that have wrecked a once great nation. If he can produce similar results to what Bukele has accomplished in El Salvador, we could see many other Latin Americans countries changing to a more nationalistic, libertarian political structure.
