Thu • Nov 23, 23

Argentina has a new president—his name is Javier Milei, pronounced “ha (b)vee AIR mee LAY,” and his win is a win for freedom heard around the world! That may sound a bit of an exaggeration, but we believe it bears tremendous significance in elections to come. President Milei has been given some interesting nicknames including “El Loco,” “the madman,” and “the Argentinian Trump.” Milei refers to himself as “the king of the jungle” with his motto, “I did not come to guide lambs, I came to awaken lions.” 

He is a hard-right libertarian economist with an unruly mop of hair who used to be the frontman ofa Rolling Stones cover band. Yes, he is a colorful individual, but don’t let that fool you—this guy is extremely smart. After all, he did figure out how to win the presidency in Argentina after decades of rising inflation and currency depreciation, culminating to an inflation rate of 90 percent by the end of 2022 (meaning a 90% increase in prices from the previous year). 

Depressed Economy

Currently, 40% of Argentina’s population is below the poverty level. The richer population can keep up with the rising rents of up to 50% per year, because their wages rise at the same rate. Unfortunately, this proportionate increase in wages does not apply to the jobs of poor Argentinians, making food and goods unaffordable. Tucker Carlson recently interviewed Milei on “X,” where he blames Argentina’s embracing of socialism over the last 100 years as the root of their economic woes. He explains, 

“The idea that where there is a need there is a right is a problem because there can be infinite needs, but someone always has to pay for those rights. And the resources for that are finite. That sparks a conflict between infinite needs and finite resources. In the liberalist view, this conflict is easy to resolve, through economic freedom and private property. This is a natural mechanism to resolve this tension in a society. But the socialists don’t much like the invisible hand; they prefer the claws of the State. And they hide it behind the discourse of social justice.”

Milieu lays out his views on socialism in no uncertain terms. He doesn’t sugarcoat any of his thoughts, which is very refreshing and ‘Trumpian.’ And speaking of Trump, he said in a message to Milei on his Truth Social platform Sunday evening: "The whole world was watching! I am very proud of you. You will turn your Country around and truly Make Argentina Great Again!" This man is a true freedom fighter, with a mission to rid the scourge of socialism not only in his country, but in the rest of the world as well. If more people are exposed to this logical, critical thinking, we still have time to turn things around. Let this sink in:

“There are underlying values within leftist ideas: Envy, hatred, resentment, unequal treatment under the law and violence. All that this socialist altruism ends up doing is contaminate the system with incentives that generate poverty. So of course, if you are poor, what you can build is limited by your poverty. This is one reason: everywhere and always, socialism is a violent, murderous, and impoverishing phenomenon. Those are the characteristics of socialism.”

With the leading concerns for citizens in this recent election being economic outlook, inflation, and corruption of the government, it is no wonder Milei won with over 56% of the vote.

How Javier Milei Clinched His Victory

Roderick Navarro, a political analyst at the Miami-based media outlet PanAm Post, told the Epoch Times that Milei won for two reasons. The first issue is to defeat "the political class that impoverished Argentina," and the second is to "lead the country with a plan of free-market reforms," Mr. Navarro said.

The reforms, he said, would "lay the groundwork for Argentina to become a world power in 35 years." "This made him a popular—not a populist—leader. It turned him into the man that put an end to an era of political decay in Argentina and started a new era of prosperity, safety, and decency," Mr. Navarro said.

Mr. Navarro’s analysis is on target, and we would add that Milei’s very strong academic achievements and creative promotional strategies did not hurt to take him over the finish line. His two master’s degrees in economics, authoring more than 50 academic papers and books and his 20+ years as a university professor of macroeconomics certainly provided him a strong foundation and understanding of how the recent economic policies had destroyed Argentina. His crazy stunts, like wielding a chainsaw at public events to symbolize what he will do to with state spending, has helped him bolster his place in history while channeling the societal discontent, especially among young people who the economic crisis has hit very hard. He is a force to be reckoned with and has an incredible opportunity to transform Argentina into a rich, thriving country as it once was.

Milei’s Warning to America

Milei warns the U.S. to never embrace the ideals of socialism. We have to wage a cultural war every single day. We must be careful in funding state-run media, education and other institutions embracing socialism. They need to be forced into a fair fight and that businesses need to include investing in those who defend freedom to cut off further advances from the socialists. He cautions us that a long-term socialist agenda will ‘destroy everything it touches.’ Those who create wealth must commit to fight against socialism, since these socialists ‘leech off others without working.’ So, they never want to give up their control of other people’s money. Sound familiar? Perhaps we should heed Milei’s advice since we can see the destruction these ideals have caused Argentina. Let’s also hope this will ignite conservative election wins across the nation.