- Right-wing libertarian Javier Milei, who pledged to “destroy inflation” and intervene in the state with a chainsaw, has been elected as the president of Argentina.
- Milei’s supporters define him as an economic visionary ready to pull Argentina out of one of the worst economic crises in decades.
- Milei has previously expressed support for Bitcoin, stating that it represents a “return to the original creator of money and the private sector.”
Argentina’s liberal and Bitcoin-supportive presidential candidate Javier Milei has won the elections in the second round: What happened in the Argentine election? Here are the details!
Javier Milei Elected President of Argentina Today
Right-wing libertarian Javier Milei, who pledged to “destroy inflation” and intervene in the state with a chainsaw, has been elected as the president of Argentina, potentially leading South America’s second-largest economy into an unpredictable and potentially turbulent future.
With almost 90% of the votes counted, Milei, often compared to Donald Trump, known for his imitation of Mick Jagger, a television celebrity, and politician, secured victory with 56% of the votes against his rival Massa’s 44.1%. Sergio Massa, Milei’s opponent and the center-left finance minister, accepted defeat in a press conference held on Sunday night.
Massa, saying, “Argentinians chose another path,” congratulated Milei on his victory and announced his withdrawal from frontline politics. In his words:
“These are clearly not the results we hoped for, and I have congratulated Javier Milei on his victory because he is the president elected by the majority of Argentinians for the next four years.”
Milei’s supporters, celebrating his victory, describe him as an economic visionary ready to pull Argentina out of one of the worst economic crises in decades. As demonstrated during his campaign, Milei, who will take office on December 10, promised to eliminate the central bank and dollarize the economy to overcome a financial disaster that has pushed 40% of Argentina’s 45 million citizens into poverty and inflation over 140%.
During the last presidential debate on Sunday, which many experts believed Massa had won, Milei stated, “I know how to destroy the cancer of inflation.” Left-wing opponents reacted with shock and sorrow to the election of a figure they describe as an economic visionary to lead the country out of one of its worst economic crises.
Milei, known by many as “El Loco” (The Madman) and a climate change-denying populist with radical ideas, including legalizing organ sales, severing ties with Argentina’s two major trading partners, Brazil and China, and closing twelve ministries, also angered millions of Argentinians by questioning a four-decade-long reconciliation over crimes during the 1976-83 dictatorship, in which an estimated 30,000 people were killed by the military regime.
Federico Finchelstein, an Argentine historian specializing in global far-right movements, said, “He is more extreme and unstable than (Jair) Bolsonaro and Trump. It is extremely unpredictable what this person can do in power,” on Sunday before the election.
Javier Milei’s Support for Bitcoin
Milei has previously expressed support for Bitcoin, stating that it represents a “return to the original creator of money and the private sector.” He criticized Argentina’s central bank, referring to it as a “fraud.”
In contrast to El Salvador President Nayib Bukele, who led efforts to make Bitcoin legal tender, Milei demanded the “dollarization” of the Argentine economy, where the inflation rate has recently surpassed 124.4%. However, Barclays analysts suggest that there is not strong support for a compromise on the proposal for dollarization.
Massa, on the other hand, opposes the dollarization of the economy and previously expressed his intention to launch a central bank digital currency (CBDC) to help with Argentina’s inflation crisis.
