There is no electoral victory that has had as much resonance in recent times as that of Javier Milei in Argentina (he defeated Peronist Sergio Massa in the second round of the presidential election, with 55.6% against the official party’s 44.3%), attributing his victory to a myriad of causes and reasons that range from the constant frustration of citizens to anger driven by “global national populism”.

Of course, Milei’s profile goes beyond the traditional structure of Argentine politicians, one could say Latin American ones as well, to which should be added the transgressive discourse that always characterized him in the campaign; In this context, surely there was no more significant and influential reference than the one Milei used when he spoke about castes, thus criticizing his opponents and traditional politics in general.

“Caste is afraid” was one of Miley’s favorite speeches at rallies, who did not hesitate to claim that his confrontation was direct with those who stole the future of the Argentines, at every opportunity he identified caste as the main enemy, if he shouted a lot it was because he was “exasperated and tired of the political caste”, if he was accused of excesses it was because “his candidacy was dangerous for the political caste because the joke is over with me”, but maybe he proclaims it. It is even more anecdotal when, at an event before the closing of the first presidential round, he adapted the lyrics of the song to sing amidst the general rejoicing: “Hello everyone, I am a lion, the breed was running in the middle of the avenue.” I am the king, I will destroy you, the whole caste is my appetite.” All crazy.

According to the Royal Spanish Academy, caste refers to a group of people who remain separate from others, due to their race, religion and other reasons; For Milei, cleverly, caste is all those who are in politics, but are immoral, in other words the establishment and the groups that feed on it; He recently expanded the concept of caste, pointing out that it includes “corrupt politicians, prebendary entrepreneurs, union members who betray their workers, wearing microphones who are complicit and hide all these jobs and worlds, and obviously professionals who are complicit with politicians.” No doubt, therefore, that the mention of caste as a group that gathers all the enemies of the people went far beyond a simple cliché and had a wide resonance in Argentine society, to the extent that it turned it into an important factor of political propaganda.

It is true that his electoral victory shows that Milei, beyond the madness and rage that is imposed on him, has proven to be quite coherent in creating a political strategy far from the traditional thinking of power in Argentina. Let there be no doubt, caste, as a measure of contempt for one’s opponents, can be diffuse and simplified, but also completely accessible, the people have assimilated it that way. And of course, the reflection remains in the air: is there caste in Ecuador? (OR)