The libertarian Milei surprises and will contest the presidency of Argentina

The far-right libertarian economist javier milei gave the surprise this Sunday in the primaries of Argentina by achieving the highest number of votes and will contest the presidency against the former Minister of Security Patricia Bullrich (center-right) and the Minister of Economy, Sergio Massa (Peronism).

In a country marked by the economic crisis, with inflation reaching 115% year-on-year, and poverty on the rise (40%), Milei’s speech against what she calls the “political caste” capitalized on the discontent and achieved 31.53% of the votes. votes in his first national election with his Libertad Avanza party, with 73.32% of the polling stations.

These results were received with euphoria at the libertarian campaign headquarters, where the loudspeakers played rock music. “The people supported the project because Milei represents the hope of real change, that the robbery of the political caste will end.” , Lilia Lemoine, a candidate for legislator, told AFP. The elections to replace the president Alberto Fernández (centre-left Peronist) will be held on October 22.

A possible ballot is scheduled for November 19. The official alliance Unión por la Patria (Peronism) (26.27%) postulates Massa, a 51-year-old lawyer who cultivates good relations with the actors in power, be it businessmen, unions or the International Monetary Fund.

Bullrich, the 67-year-old president of the Republican Party (PRO) who maintains a strong-armed speech, must add the support of her defeated internal rival, the mayor of Buenos Aires Horacio Rodríguez Larreta. Her coalition Together for Change gets 27.86%.

– More to the right –

Milei emerged in this election as a novel phenomenon that catalyzed voter frustration. She had previously won a parliamentary seat in the 2021 legislature.

Facundo Cardozo, a 27-year-old sales executive, thinks that things are going so badly that Milei’s proposal is the best. “You have to break what is assembled and then put the pieces together again and start over,” he declared after voting.

In these elections, he practically multiplied his vote from two years ago, when he obtained 17% in the city of Buenos Aires

Milei “is a reflection of the disenchantment that has caused many voters to disbelieve in political parties,” said Juan Negri, professor of Political Science at the Torcuato di Tella University.

“After the failure of the government of Mauricio Macri (Together for Change, 2015-19) many have turned towards a more radical right,” Negri said.

Milei proposes to eliminate the Central Bank and dollarize the economy. He has proposed that the free carrying of arms be allowed and even defended the sale of human organs.

Complaints from former collaborators who said that he asked for money in exchange for candidacies did not make a dent in his rising popularity.

Fernando Cerimedo, Milei’s campaign coordinator, summed up part of the success in a simple formula. “He was the only candidate who presented a project, who told what he wanted to do, that you may like it or not, but he was the only one who did it. People got tired of everything that was happening, of the broken promises, ”he told AFP.

– The crisis –

Although they have almost always lived in an economy in crisis, Argentines are currently suffering the worst indicators in 30 years.

”I want the best for my grandchildren, but I don’t have much hope. They are all apolitical, the only thing they think about is leaving the country,” said Isabel Asebal, 77, at a polling station in Buenos Aires.

Argentina is the third largest economy in Latin America and a major world exporter of food. At the same time, it has to comply with an agreement for 44,000 million dollars with the International Monetary Fund.

”Argentina has been in economic decline for more than 10 years, in a crisis that is slowly worsening. There is a growing disbelief of the electorate in a country that had clear political identities. This year’s election is a key election because of the voters’ need for change, but also because of the politicians’ need to change,” Negri said.

In these elections, the candidates were also chosen for the partial legislative elections that renew part of Congress, for the mayoralty of the capital and for the governorship of the province of Buenos Aires.

Prepared with information from AFP