Who is Javier Milei, the prophet of dollarization who makes history by winning the elections in Argentina | PROFILE

Irascible, frank, spontaneous, the ultraliberal economist Javier Milei He became known for the vehemence of his economic diatribes and broke the mold of Argentine political bipartisanship until he reached the Presidency this Sunday with the promise of dollarization. With statements against the “parasitic and stupid political caste” [ladrona]”, the libertarian convinced more than half of Argentines to “dynamite” the Central Bank, reduce the size of the State and cut public spending.

Argentina It navigates three-digit annual inflation and poverty that affects 40% of its population. It is in the context of these economic difficulties that voters chose his disruptive program over the proposal of his rival, the Minister of Economy. Sergio Massa, a Peronist center.

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“Milei’s proposals to elevate Argentina give us hope of staying because young people, if this continues, have the idea of ​​leaving the country”Carolina Carabajal, 20 years old, told AFP.

La Libertad Avanza presidential candidate Javier Milei walks among his followers as he arrives at a polling place in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on November 19, 2023. (Photo by Emiliano Lasalvia/AFP). (EMILIANO LASÁLVIA/)

Milei denies that there is a pay gap between men and women, considers abortion a homicide and believes that “policies that blame humans for climate change are false”.

It also rejects the consensus of 30,000 disappeared during the last dictatorship (1976-1983) established by human rights organizations, estimating this number at less than a third.

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With proposals like these, which previously Argentina “They were marginal and now they have become central”, He became a leader of “unusual public relevance for Argentina’s most radical right.” Gabriel Vommaro, political scientist at the University of San Martín, told AFP.

“Talk like me”

Milei channeled the anger of those who are disappointed with Peronismthe political current that has marked the history of Argentina since the 1940s, created around the figure of the populist military man Juan Domingo Perón.

“People start to listen to an indignant man who seems alienated and think ‘finally someone talks like me’, because he has the frankness to say things,” Belén Amadeo, a political scientist at the University of Buenos Aires, told AFP.

A supporter of Javier Milei dressed as the television character Zorro shouts slogans during a campaign rally in Ezeiza, Buenos Aires province, on November 15, 2023. (Photo by Luis ROBAYO/AFP). (LUIS ROBAYO/)

However, his initially very confrontational style did not survive beyond the first electoral round in October, in which he received 30% of the votes.

He had to seek agreements and, to do so, publish his inflammatory statements. This is how he got the support of the conservative and former rival, Patricia Bullrichand the approval of former liberal president Mauricio Macri (2015-2019).

Milei “has come to represent many permanent citizens who are tired”, said Macri in dialogue with the Wilson Center think tank in Washington.

With abundant, disheveled hair for which he is nicknamed “the wig”the 53-year-old president-elect is also often called “crazy.”

To these nicknames he responded during the campaign: “Do you know the difference between a genius and a madman? The success.”

Born on TV

Milei as an ‘influencer’ was born on television in 2015, participating in furious economic meetings. Later, his comments fueled social media and reached young people, for many of whom his speech was new and rebellious.

Matías Esoukourian, a 19-year-old economics student, commented that this is the reason why he follows him. “He has no experience and it often shows,” said the young man. “But when you see him talk about economic issues, you can see that behind what he says is passion and knowledge.”

Milei worked in the private sector until 2021, when he was elected deputy of the newly formed La Libertad Avanza party. Since then, he has broken Argentine bipartisanship and dominated the media agenda.

Born in Buenos Aires in 1970, at a young age he played football and sang in a band that covered Rolling Stones songs.

According to “Crazy”, an unauthorized biography of journalist Juan Luis González, Milei does not recognize the death of his dog Conan and refers to him as one of the “five” dogs/children that accompany him.

His other four English mastiffs are Conan clones ordered by Milei in the United States. She relates to them, the living and the dead, thanks to the supposed teachings of a “medium” specialized in “interspecies communication”.

Single, without children and with few friends, he recently introduced actress and comedian Fátima Flórez as his girlfriend on a television program.

He studied Economics at the University of Belgrano and completed two postgraduate degrees at local institutions. He has published several books and has also been accused of plagiarizing entire paragraphs.

Source: Elcomercio