Javier Milei — Argentina’s Eccentric New President

I first learned about Javier Milei, who was elected president of Argentina this week, in 2018. In August of that year, the radical libertarian economist had delivered a lecture explaining the turbulence facing the Argentine economy. After presenting his views on the current economic policy, questions from the audience were opened. When it was her turn, a journalist asked Milei if he could explain why Keynesianism, which worked in the United States, would not and has not worked in Argentina.

This question enraged Milei. “Do you know the years of the Great Depression?” asked Milei wryly. “It was between 1929 and 1933,” and he continued, “And do you know in what year the General Theory was published? In 1936.” “It would be good for you to study it if you want to ask questions about Keynesianism”; “You’re saying something stupid”; “It seems to me that you even have comprehension problems”; “Your problem is arrogance because you don’t know a damn thing and you give your opinion about what you don’t know,” I’m not a totalitarian, I’m just saying you’re a don^key. You start giving your opinion on things you don’t know the fu^ck about,” he said, sparing her all diplomacy.

It was too much for the audience and fellow journalists, who publicly demanded that Milei apologize to their assaulted colleague. Milei refused. A rowdy session ensued, and the organizers eventually disrupted the conference.

Afterward, Milei became even more popular and controversial. It was after this period that he joined politics, became a deputy, and upon assuming office as a deputy in the parliament, Milei fulfilled one of his campaign promises by raffling his salary to a random person each month, aiming to “return money to the citizens.” He described this monthly raffle, which is open to anyone, as a way to get rid of what he considers to be dirty money and said, “The state is a criminal organization that finances itself through taxes levied on people by force. We are returning the money that the political caste stole.”

Javier Milei is eccentric in many ways. He earned the nickname el Peluca (“The Wig”) due to his hairstyle. He has consistently stated that he does not comb his hair because he leaves the “invisible hand (of the market) to help him out.” Regarding his romantic life, Milei is not married and said that if elected president, he would have his sister take the role of the First Lady. Milei had a dog named Conan. After it died in 2017 after suffering from spinal cancer, Milei spent $50,000 to clone Conan, whom he considers a son, because he understands cloning as “a way of approaching eternity.” One of the clones is called Milton (in honor of Milton Friedman).

Eventually, he decided to run for the presidency. If you were to draw up a list of things a candidate in Argentina shouldn’t do, Milei went ahead and did them anyway. He:

- referred to the Pope (who hails from Argentina) as “evil”

- reopened old wounds from the country’s dictatorship (1976–1983)

- praised the late British leader Margaret Thatcher (reviled by many locally for her role in the UK-Argentina war of 1982), and

- even mocked Argentina’s late football legend Maradona (though he drew the line at any criticism of present-day superstar Lionel Messi).

And yet somehow, Milei still won. Why? Three quick reasons:

First, voters were angry at Argentina’s ruling Peronists. Holding power for 16 of the past 20 years, the interventionist party now leaves behind a country with 40% poverty, 143% inflation, and $22B in debt payments due next year.

Second, Milei sought to smooth his edges, apologizing to the pope, walking back some proposals, winning endorsements from mainstream figures (including a former center-right president), and dropping his chainsaw schtick at rallies.

And third, he connected with younger voters, many of whom know only an Argentina in crisis (and who are active on Tiktok, where Milei has dominated). He promised to do away with the Central Bank in Argentina.

His messaging supports capitalism, viewing socialism as embodying envy and coercion, which he says has held Argentina back. Milei proposes reducing government ministries and addressing economic challenges through spending cuts and fiscal reforms, criticizing previous administrations for excessive spending.

In the end, many voters veered between anger at what the outgoing party leaves behind, and fear over what Milei might do next (he’s vowed to slash spending and replace the peso with the US dollar, while also referring to leftists as “sh^it”).

But investors seem to be excited about his victory. After his announcement, stocks and bonds rallied. One reason investors have long been wary of Argentina is a sense that the place just doesn’t change. So, one way to look at Milei’s victory is as a rebuke of that very idea: folks in Argentina have clearly voted for change here. And that may explain why business leaders, like the CEO of Argentina’s largest firm, are cheering Milei’s victory.

For world leaders, Argentina’s vote for change will mean different things: Milei hasn’t shied away from criticizing others (including the IMF and Argentina’s top trading partners, China and Brazil), while pledging closer ties to the US, and even hinting at a softening in Argentina’s territorial dispute with the UK.

But realistically, much will depend on how he translates rhetoric into reality. For example, how do you even dollarize an economy that has no dollars? With voters clearly running low on patience, Milei doesn’t have much time to deliver.

It’s worth noting that Argentina’s immediate neighbors (Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay) have sent conciliatory messages for now. Further north, Colombia’s left-leaning president tweeted that Milei’s victory was a “sad day” for Latin America.

I will be watching the situation in Argentina closely.