The libertarian economist, admirer of Donald Trump, won the presidential election on Sunday. If he obtains the necessary support in Parliament, he could notably implement a radical economic policy, reverse the right to abortion or oppose the fight against global warming.
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He greeted “a historic night for Argentina”. The ultraliberal Argentine economist Javier Milei, anti-system polemicist and admirer of Donald Trump, was elected president of Argentina on Sunday, November 19. The candidate, who holds certain far-right positions, won with more than 55% of the votes against his center-left rival, the outgoing Minister of the Economy, Sergio Massa.
The new Argentine leader, who readily defines himself as “anarcho-capitalist”proposes in particular a dollarization of the country’s economy and a “shock treatment” budgetary. He also rejects human responsibility for global warming and opposes the right to abortion. However, alliances will be essential for him to carry out his program. In Parliament, his party is only the third force, behind the center-left and center-right blocs. If Javier Milei manages to obtain the necessary support, what measures does he wish to put in place to end, as he claims, “Argentinian decadence” ? Response elements.
Adoption of the dollar to replace the peso
The trained economist, elected deputy in 2021, defined as a key measure of his mandate the dollarization of the Argentine economy, against a backdrop of galloping inflation – a chronic problem for decades in Argentina. This exceeded 142% over one year, according to the country’s Central Bank. The elected president thus proposes to replace the peso, the national currency which he describes as“excrement”per dollar by 2025. “mirage”, according to more than 200 economists, who published a letter in early September. According to these experts cited by The worldArgentina would become even more fragile in the face of “external shocks” and would know “repeated periods of recession and (…) a high unemployment rate”.
At the same time, Javier Milei offers to “dynamite” the Argentine Central Bank. A measure judged “dystopian” by the economist Martin Epstein, interviewed by the evening daily. “Any minimally developed country has a central bank. he notes.
A “chainsaw” for public spending
During his presidential campaign, Javier Milei repeatedly brandished a chainsaw, a symbol of the drastic budget cuts to come in the event of victory. The new president intends to reduce public spending by 15% of GDP and put an end to “this aberration called social justice, synonymous with budget deficit”.
To obtain this “sharp reduction in public spending”the new Argentine leader proposes to privatize the country’s 34 public companies, to eliminate subsidies on gas and electricity, or to set up a private tender system for public works, lists the British magazine The Economist. He also intends to reduce the number of ministries, end pensions paid to former presidents, judges or diplomats, or even reduce funds paid to the provinces in Argentina.
Javier Milei, however, wanted to be more reassuring towards the end of the presidential campaign, in a country where 40% of the population lives below the poverty line. “We are not going to privatize health, not privatize education”he promised in his last campaign clip.
Anti-feminist proposals, particularly on abortion
In his desire to abruptly reduce public spending, Javier Milei proposes to abolish the Ministry of Women, Gender and Diversity. A measure reflecting the anti-feminist convictions of the new Argentine president, who declared in May 2022: “I will not apologize for having a penis.” Javier Milei also readily denies the existence of salary inequalities between women and men, despite a gap which reaches 27.7% in Argentina. “If women earned less than men, companies would be full of them, because bosses want to make money!” he said during a televised debate in October.
The new Argentine leader also opposes the right to abortion, legalized until the 14th week of pregnancy since December 2020. Javier Milei wants to organize a referendum on the subject and considers the voluntary termination of pregnancy to be murder. “Obviously, the woman has the rights to her body, but the child is not her body”he believes.
In line with his anti-feminist remarks, Javier Milei also criticizes sex education in schools and what he calls “gender ideology”point The world. However, he defends the primacy of individual freedoms over other subjects, such as the legalization of drugs. “as long as it does not involve state aid.” The new Argentine president also says he is in favor of deregulating the sale of arms, but also of “market solution” for organ donation.
A climate skeptic program
For Javier Milei, despite the scientific consensus on the issue, global warming is not the consequence of human activities but “a lie from the socialists”, reports Reporterre. “There is, in the history of the Earth, a cycle of temperatures”, he also declared at the beginning of October during the presidential campaign. The one who claims that he “there will be no cultural Marxism” under his presidency then expressed his refusal to adhere to the UN 2030 Agenda, which provides a program of 17 sustainable development goals to be achieved by the end of the decade.
Libertarian, the new Argentine president went so far as to defend the idea of privatizing rivers in Argentina, reports the daily. “If water becomes scarce, it stops being worthless and then a trade begins, and you will see how pollution [des entreprises] end”, he declared in particular during the campaign.
A controversial vision of the legacy of the dictatorship
During the presidential campaign, the comments made by Javier Milei on the military dictatorship were shocking, suggesting a revision of the history of this period (1976-1983). “During the 1970s there was a war. And during this war, the state forces committed excesses.” he declared in early October, reports The world. The president-elect also contested the death toll and the disappearances (around 30,000 people according to human rights organizations) during these dark years of Argentine history. Javier Milei also divides with his proposal for justice “fair” for soldiers in preventive detention, as part of the 360 ongoing procedures for crimes during the dictatorship.