Argentina, facing the 'mirage' of Milei

With messy hair and striking sideburns, the ultraliberal economist Javier Milei has become the prominent image of the Argentine presidential elections and the candidate to win next Sunday.

A “supporting actor” in the electoral race until just a few months ago, the incendiary 52-year-old television commentator revolutionized the Argentine political ecosystem after obtaining the highest number of votes in the open primaries in August and currently leads the preferences in the polls .

An aggressive campaign that has included a promise to “set fire” to the central bank as well as the use of a chainsaw at events to illustrate his spending-cutting plans has had an impact among millions of Argentines angry with annual inflation of 138% and a growing poverty.

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Juan Luis Gonzálezan Argentine journalist who wrote a book about Milei titled Crazysaid that the economist has successfully managed to present himself as something new to replace the political elite, which many voters blame for decades of economic malaise, which has worsened sharply in recent years.

“He is an unstable leader,” said González, a critic of the far-right, adding that Argentina is “an unstable country.”

In addition to the dollarization of the South American country's economy and the disappearance of the central bank, Milei proposes a system of promissory notes for education, a gradual privatization of the health system, deregulation of the arms market and the repeal of mandatory Comprehensive sexual education, which he considers an instrument to destroy the family.

Some critics pointed out that Milei is a populist who promises unrealistic solutions to complex problems and that he will not be able to fulfill his promises, especially since the party he leads will have few governors at the provincial level and a Fragmented Congress.

Fernando Morra, a former deputy economy minister in the current Peronist government, admitted that Milei has injected energy into part of the population, although he warned that many of his proposals are difficult to implement or could worsen the crisis, taking it from hope to anger.

The Milei voter is a voter who is excited, he is one of the few who is going to the election with an illusion, but the problem is how (we) are going to handle ourselves if a disappointment occurs,” said Morra.

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