One hundred days of fury and hyperactivity on Javier Milei’s social networks

Shortly before assuming the Presidency of Argentina 10th of December, Javier Milei He stated that he would dedicate 24 hours a day to government functions. One hundred days later, the president has converted his social networks in a particular office and in a perfect speaker for its discussed management.

Milei emerged as a ‘Rare avis’ politics: a libertarian economist with disruptive ideas, capable of attracting the attention of very different strata of the electorate and breaking all established norms.

He was unpredictable in all the areas where he displayed his strange charisma. Initially, her favorite setting was television sets, but social networks – especially X, then Twitter – ended up replacing traditional media.

“In the president there is a preference for effectiveness,” César Murúa, professor of political analysis at the Catholic University of Córdoba (Argentina), tells EFE that he believes that the president made the decision to “continue with the same strategy (on social networks) that led him to establish himself as a public figure and win the elections.”

With hardly any structure behind him, the president relies all his political capital on his striking messages and a veritable cascade of replicas of publications favorable to his management.

The content it publishes is unfathomable for any user and the ‘timeline’ of their social networks seems to have no end.

Milei constantly posts photographs of herself -duly edited- on social media; images of libertarian lions generated by artificial intelligence or ‘memes’ very aggressive with their political rivals.

“He is using these tools as political-institutional tools because he does not have traditional resources,” says Murúa, who believes that the actions of Milei and his Government in the networks “weakens the quality of the political system” and advocates replacing dialogue with confrontation.

According to the latest report from the Argentine Journalism Forum (Fopea), the 40% of the attacks on the freedom of expression of journalists in Argentina comes from Milei or his entourage.

The process against figures on social networks is similar. Dozens of profiles, anonymous but very active, destroy the image of someone who expresses her opposition to Milei and subsequently the president amplifies these messages and makes them his own.

In most cases, it has the collaboration of several members of its Government. One of the most faithful is his spokesperson, Manuel Adorni, described as “tamer” of media by libertarian sympathizers.

The singer Lali Espósito, the governors of the province of Chubut, Ignacio Torres, and of Buenos Aires, Axel Kicillof; or even collaborators of her Government, finally evicted from the Executive by Milei after a process of public ridicule in X, have been victims of these harassment and demolition operations.

“I don’t want to be against this Government because it retaliates and is very unpleasant,” The popular and veteran actress and television presenter Mirtha Legrand said on Tuesday that she was close to Milei during the campaign, but is now in controversy with the leader over his policies of reducing cultural expenses.

According to Murúa, the profiles that enhance Milei’s speech install a kind of reality parallel to that of traditional politics. They publish unofficial information with which they poll users’ support for possible presidential decisions. If these work, the Milei Government applies them.

Beyond the merely political, Milei and his collaborators in the field of social networks favor the creation of something similar to a narrative universe.

Users turn some of their deputies into erotic myths; They enjoy the strange and absurd sense of humor generated by the images of the Minister of Security, Patricia Bullrich; or popularize their own words like ‘orcs’ (opponents) or ‘chanes tsunami’ (to refer to very relevant decisions).

What doesn’t work is discarded. What is minimally successful is exploited to the point of exhaustion.

After completing his first hundred days in the Presidency of the South American country this Tuesday, Milei continues to exercise furious and hyperactive leadership on social networks: a part of his management that he claims to carry out personally and to which he dedicates an average of two and a half hours a day, but that has reached four days, according to a website that monitors its virtual activity.

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