Argentina cast itself into uncharted territory when it voted in Javier Milei, an eccentric libertarian who has vowed to overturn the country’s political order.
Even before Milei’s election, parallels were drawn between Milei, 53, and former President Donald Trump, both known for their bombastic personality and showman approach to politics. Like Trump, Milei’s candidacy was based on his desire to upend the standing political order. The Argentinian economist derided socialism, the Left, and the government as the center of all the country’s problems. He has pledged to institute sweeping liberal economic reforms and the drastic cutting of government bureaucracy.
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“Today is the beginning of the end of Argentina’s decline,” he announced in his victory speech. “Today, we turn the page and return to a path we should never have strayed from. Today, we embrace the ideas of liberty once again [which] made us the world’s No. 1 superpower in the 19th century.”
Born in Buenos Aires in 1970, Milei went unknown for most of his life until the 2010s, when he gained widespread fame due to his aggressive, foul-mouthed performances in television debates, yelling at and belittling his ideological opponents, who were often members of the government.
