In the Argentine tango, there is a tender balance of give and take, an enticing exchange of power called "duende," which Argentines bring to the ebb and flow of life. But for the past 80 years, the gargantuan Argentine political establishment has been taking without giving back in the dance of power. The tide of Argentina's history has not ebbed toward fiscal responsibility or true democracy.
By spending other people's money, controlling prices, rallying "picketers" to blockade roads, spreading "Goebbellian-level propaganda," and flagrantly printing money to pay their snowballing debts, the populist Peronist establishment, which scholar Loris Zanatta called "a poverty factory," has run Argentina's economy to the ground. An incessant stream of scandals has proven that the entrenched power structure is inherently corrupt.
Thus a change in tide away from the status quo was long overdue. When libertarian Javier Milei was elected president of Argentina in October 2023, he compared his rise to power with the fall of the Berlin Wall. A brilliant economist who doubles as a tantric sex teacher and seeks wisdom from his cloned dogs, Milei embodies the Argentine spirit of individuality. The Western world should consider Argentina's cultural flamboyance along with the economic urgency of the moment before vilifying Milei's eccentricity, or accusing him of autocratic aspirations.
Javier Milei's unconventional personality has been characterized as whimsical and unyielding. The Guardian labeled him "far right," quoting an Argentine cosplayer calling him an "anti-hero", and a "wolverine." Foreign Policy called the president a "wannabe fascist." Within the Western international community where high regulation, big state spending, corporatism, and massive welfare are au courant, Milei's espousal of economic austerity measures, free market reforms, and a hardline attitude toward crime and corruption have cast him as belonging in the same category as the stereotypical 21st century right-wing autocrat.
But those allegations are short-sighted and out of context. Milei is a libertarian economist, not an autocrat. His first speech as president was conciliatory; his early concessions on controversial topics like tax reform and climate change featured his openness to compromise and improvement.
Milei recently compromised with Congress on his controversial omnibus bill, removing 100 of the 600 proposed reforms, and reversing his policy to fully privatize the Argentine state-owned energy company YPF.
"We didn't concede anything, there are improvements. If someone proposes an improvement, we accept it," he said according to Bloomberg. When the bill failed to pass legislation, the Milei administration temporarily withdrew the bill, noting, "We don't need it now, only in the long-term."
For 21st century Argentina, where annual inflation reached its zenith at 211.4 percent in 2023, Milei's reforms could be exactly what Argentina needs.
And there could already be signs Milei's plan is working. In December, his team reevaluated the Argentine peso and implemented a 50 percent devaluation (which he called "shock therapy" to the economy). He liberated prices on different items to their market value. Argentine outlet Ámbito Financiero reported inflation in food and beverages at 2.1 percent for the third week in January, "marking the fifth consecutive week of decline." For context, the third week of December registered 11.5 percent. This means, for the first time in years, inflation is actually slowing.
According to economic analyst Metodi Tzanov, Argentina's economy ministry aims to reduce the fiscal deficit by 5.2 percent, implementing revenue-enhancing policies and slashing subsidies.
"The reduction of welfare with intermediaries is important but will be politically difficult. These intermediaries are powerful Peronist organizations that have been using clientelist practices to command thousands of people. Cutting these transfers off is a good way to reduce the deficit and undercut bad institutions that shouldn't exist, but the organizations will take their fight to the streets," Tzanov wrote in his Emerging Markets Insights newsletter.
Last week, thousands joined a nationwide protest against Milei's omnibus decree. The protest was organized by Confederacion General de Trabajo, a sprawling labor union. Eighty percent of Argentines consider labor unions to be the most corrupt institution in Argentina.
While the international autocratic community features right-wing parties threatening mainstream Europe, despots like Hungary's Viktor Orbán, or even the authoritarian rhetoric of former President Donald Trump, it's often overlooked that the gravest threat to democracy in Latin America comes from the extreme left. Examples of such left-wing dictators include Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega, and Nicolás Maduro's Chavism in Venezuela. Peronism is sui generis but follows a similar playbook of the faux-democracy, omnipresent state.
For those concerned about the rapidly shifting geopolitical balance of power in Latin America toward countries like Iran and Russia, Milei's foreign policy is good news. Argentina recently passed on joining the BRICS bloc and professed allegiance to the United States and Israel.
"Our geopolitical alignment is with the United States and Israel. That's our international policy. We won't align with communists," Milei said.
That may sound extreme, but in the South American tango of power, right now Argentina needs a strong lead.
Kristina Foltz is a Rotary scholar. She writes on Latin American affairs.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
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