Argentina: Javier Milei
Hold up Argentina is a real country?
You know it's just kind of funny to see Americans suddenly care about what happens on the global stage. Used to be no one cared about any of this stuff, but now more and more seem to be trickling in from the edges.
Why is that?
The simpler question is to any why anyone pays attention to anything. When events tend to not have an affect on our personal lives, those events are much more easily ignored. However, we are now slowly crawling towards a more borderless and connected age. Hopefully an Age of Enlightenment, but I offer no promises in this regard.
Who is Javier Milei?
Well according to the Internet he is the "far-right" president elect of Argentina. Apparently he won the election just yesterday and people are losing their collective minds over it. Too be fair the guy is quite the character. He's clearly completely unhinged and manic.
But is he far-right?
Well we'd have no way of knowing now would we? Liberal media outlets only use the term 'far-right' when describing literally everyone who doesn't lean left. Please show me a single time in the last 2 years that anyone was referred to as simply "right-wing" and not "far-right". You'll be hard pressed I'm sure. I saw just the other day that Wikipedia labeled Elon Musk as a "far-right conspiracy theorist". I mean okay sure he's a troll and has said some crazy shit, but also it just seems a bit disingenuous to throw these labels out like candy.
New York Times Article
Argentina’s next president is a libertarian economist whose brash style and embrace of conspiracy theories has parallels with those of Donald J. Trump.
Oh okay so he's a libertarian
That's cool I guess. I mean how often does a libertarian win the presidency? The problem? The article uses the term "far-right" four times. What a surprise.
If we bust out our handy dandy Nolan chart we can see that being libertarian and being far-right at the same time is actually exceedingly difficult to achieve. Why? Because being libertarian means taking power away from the state. How can one enforce conservative policies with the state if they are actively seeking to take power from it? So while it is true that most libertarians lean slightly-right it is a pretty grand exaggeration to call that a 'far-right' victory. At the end of the day this is simply the narrative that sells when it comes to mainstream news.
a lurch to the right for a nation struggling under an economic crisis and a sign of the enduring strength of the global far right.
Go woke go broke?
I mean if we are being honest with ourselves this was obviously bound to happen sooner or later. Over the last political cycle the left has pushed very hard. That type of momentum can do nothing but rubber-band snapback into the opposite direction. We have front row seats to a worldwide political "flippening". Remember Italy's Giorgia Meloni? Yep, she was just the first of a long line of "far-right" leaders to take power within the current ecosystem. Honestly I think we can expect this situation to escalate over the next few years.
Mr. Milei, 53, an economist and former television personality with little political experience, burst onto the traditionally closed Argentine political scene with a brash style, an embrace of conspiracy theories and a series of extreme proposals that he says are needed to upend a broken economy and government.
Political Backlash
You know it's bad when TV personalities continue to win elections. People are simply so disillusioned with the state of the world and the economy at large that they seem to be willing to try anything to fix it. Will they be able to? That is yet to be seen, but there are some interesting outliers when it comes to this story.
First of all he's an Austrian economist.
This basically runs diametrically opposed to more traditional Keynesian economics.
In fact, Milei is making downright outrageous claims as to the path forward.
- He wants to abolish the central bank.
- He wants to adopt USD as legal tender.
- He's a strong advocate of Bitcoin.
https://twitter.com/WatcherGuru/status/1726387223459762345
Of course many of us over here in crypto land would scoff at replacing one central bank for another, but at the same time this entire situation gives off strong El Salvador vibes.
What we need to understand is that the Argentine Peso has lost 90% of it's value against the dollar over the last 5 years. Imagine that. Imagine complaining about paying 30% more for something when people in Argentina have to pay that 30% in addition to 1000% on top. It's just absurd. Of course it would be better if they just abolished the central bank and started using dollars and Bitcoin. That's a massive upgrade across every metric.
He has also proposed banning abortion, loosening regulations on guns and considering only countries that want to “fight against socialism” as Argentina’s allies, often naming the United States and Israel as examples.
Again, none of this screams "far-right"
Loosening gun control, imposing traditional family values, and and rolling back women's rights are pretty standard and normal right-wing platforms. He will also be labeled as "controlled opposition" for supporting USA and Israel, so that's a fun addition to the whole situation. Although he's probably just a little bit early to the party considering I can't imagine Biden being able to win another term next year.
https://twitter.com/nikcantmine/status/1726462936858947736
That's ironically some pretty liberal translation, friend.
Somehow I doubt there's a direct translation between Spanish and English that equates to "leftard" but what do I know. Still, this clips shows just how much hateful backlash has been brewing in the background. Yes, it is very toxic, but more importantly that toxicity is resonating, replicated, celebrated, and being parroted on social media.
We must accept that this is the current state of the world. People are struggling. They are angry, and that anger is being channeled onto a perceived enemy. Of course the real enemy is the state itself, no matter who is in power, but politicians are always going to politician. Never let a good catharsis go to waste.
In his victory speech, he attacked the political “caste” that he says has enriched themselves at the expense of average Argentines, saying “today is the end to Argentine decadence.”
Extreme "drain the swamp" vibes.
Perhaps the comparison to Trump is not that far off.
Still, some political analysts say that Mr. Milei’s ascent reflects many Argentines’ desperation for change rather than support for his ideology.
Probably accurate
Milei is a loud and aggressive maniac.
The people seem to be tired of smooth-talking politicians who walk the line.
https://twitter.com/BTC_Archive/status/1726370968426147878
Not hard to see why crypto Twitter is obsessed with this guy.
I mean let's be honest we are not a tough crowd to please.
He likes Bitcoin we love this guy!
Mr. Milei has embraced the comparisons to Mr. Trump and Mr. Bolsonaro. He has clear differences with the two other politicians, including his strong adherence to a libertarian ideology that has led him to support, in theory, policies like open immigration and drug decriminalization. But Mr. Milei’s political style resembles theirs in many ways. He harshly attacks his critics and the news media, he calls the scientific consensus on climate change a socialist plot, he argues that a shadowy cabal controls the country and he even has an unruly hairdo that has become an online meme.
Again, a lot of these talking points run strong within crypto as well, which is why his message is being so aggressively amplified within the space.
Conclusion
Javier Milei is a bit of a lunatic. He waves around a chainsaw at pep rallies to represent the cuts he will deliver to the government (taxes, central bank, etc.). Is it a good thing he was elected as the president of Argentina? I don't know... it might be a better plot for a movie than anything else. After all, he likely doesn't have enough political support within the government to actually make the changes he's promised. The simulation continues.
What I can say is that a happenstance such as this is almost certainly a small victory for crypto as a whole. We now have another loud voice from a small country screaming at the top of their lungs about the central banker scam and the promise of Bitcoin. Even if he's a dictator in training this is still a silver lining for the rest of the world. I guess we'll see how it goes. Argentina is now situated firmly on the crypto map. Pretty weird.
Haha, They both looking and the "Girlfriend" ain't even jealous! Great Meme!! I also read too, BUTT that meme though haha
LoL glad you're entertained, I stole it from Crypto Twitter.
I'm going to pretend you made it
I will allow it
There is a lot to recommend Austrian economics and I'm not aware of it ever being implemented in a large country.
If he can do for Argentina what Bukele has done for El Salvador that will be huge.
I hope so, that would be something for the whole continent of South America.
Bolsonaro didn’t go well in Brazil and both him and Milei seem have mutual admiration for each other, so I am curious to see how similarly or differently things will unfold in the next 4 years. He starts his government on Dec 10 so by early 2024 we will probably start to see how it is going.
It's difficult to imagine someone having success with such blatantly difficult promises to fulfill but yeah I'm curious to see how it goes.
Well, it can´t be much worse in that country. So give him a try!
Kneecap the Central Bank and let people use their crypto. Looking at the upcoming bull market, this could be something.
I like the character of Milei. For starters, he's an economist, so at least some good will come from it, and he's open minded, which is quite anti stablishment. In my opinion, it's all good for Argentina. I hope greedy former goverment let him do his stuff.
How does a self-proclaimed anti-state anarchist actually govern a state? We might see the first real-world crypto economy. Forget USD... maybe he should look at HBD. :-)
A few decades ago, Argentina tried pegging their peso to the USD. It didn’t end well:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convertibility_plan
lol wow what a terrible idea
The people who don't know their history are condemned to repeat it... soon we will see where we will end up with all this. Honestly, I don't share most of his ideas, but as an Argentine I hope that his term goes well, for the good of all of us.
Speaking of Giorgia Meloni, so far she's sort of a disappointment... She may talk tough, but she's towing Washington and Brussels' line on important matters. I wonder if this Milei guy is the real deal. Mainstream media may paint him to be the next Trump, but he may turn out to be very far from what they're describing him to be.
In my sad little country, we've seen a conservative party appearing out of the blue and doing quite well in the last general elections. They're championing traditional values and all that, and they have a solid following because, as you say, people are angry and need some hope in a better future. However, the whole party is nothing but a creation of the secret service and the guy people pin their hopes on won't deliver.
This is what we have to assume will happen.
Nothing changes; new boss same as the old boss.
Ultimately all we can hope for is they adopt crypto and that helps the people a little.
That translation isn't far off. "Don't give absurd shitty leftistist even one millimeter" may be closer, but it doesn't convey a much different meaning.
He can absolutely get several of his campaign promises done as he wants to close cabinet level "ministries" and his more correct policy about money is to open the legal tender laws, and since Argentina is the worlds largest holder of physical US Dollars it would have the effect of dollarizing the economy overnight; but it wouldn't stop tether, bitcoin, reals, guaranis etc from being used either.
Considering that much like the US: enforcement of laws is executive... the majority of his economic promises could be prima-facie effective by the end of the year.
Many of the old laws had no teeth either, which is why blue dollar rates existed and I could sell (tether) dollars for pesos at the "grey market" rate literally in view of Casa Rosada(The Pink House - Presidents House)
He lacks a majority in the Argentinian parliament thankfully which will be one block on his reactionary social and economic agenda. This guy will be a puppet of US imperialism and act dutifully to further the murderous goals of American imperialism throughout the region. There is absolutely nothing to celebrate in this persons election. He will do everything in his power to protect and advance the transfer of wealth upwards. Just like Trump this guy will fail and corruption will remain endemic in Argentinian society/economy.
There is no majority on either side of Congress.
You sound like somebody who'd never been to Argentina... I've been from Tierra del Fuego to Formosa... and when I look out my window I see Argentina. That means I know what it's like to pay for a dinner with a brick of cash, and what real transfer of wealth is like... for the the price of some shoes today you could have bought a house 20 years ago.
Paraguay recently stopped selling electricity and bananas to Argentina because it couldn't pay the bills, and nearly started a war because Argentina was trying to tax cargo up the Parana/Paraguay river.
Speaking of imperialism... what are your thoughts on Las Islas Malvinas? Milei thinks the islanders should have the final word. The country is past the brink, and if his momentum can even keep the lights on there will be a reason to celebrate.
I believe that the Argentinian people should have the final word on what happens to those islands.
Argentina like most other countries in the global south are victims of the unfair terms of trade imposed by the US and its imperialist partners after WW2 on the rest of the world.
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A libertarian is the antithesis of a dictator. This tendency for the media to call others "right wing" or "far right" really means nothing. A libertarian has all of the tenets of the old definition of "liberal". The only problem with Milei is that he has no track record in working in this kind of capacity. He has never held public office before.
By giving him interviews and failing to ignore him, and calling him names, the media has been supporting him. There are people who hive been self proclaimed libertarians for many years and the old media here doesn't touch him. I heard that his opponent is the owner of the party Melei is now the leader of... Hmm... We shall see what really happens now. You can vote them in but you have no recourse once they are in power.
Member of the Chamber of Deputies of the Argentine Nation since 2021, there is something called google :D
Hi @edicted . I am happy to be a part of this community and hope to make many friends here. Now I start my new life after prison. I will be grateful for your support.
Very weird. I like him already... and the comparison? Oh hell, the media will talk, and people always want to say something... critics... meh...
It is an interesting event no doubt.
In Argentina we live badly and very badly, we are very egocentric to begin with, but in your case you look towards the future but you do not analyze the current president or his predecessors or colleagues. You can say what you want about any country, its presidency, its currency and what measures they should adopt, but you don't live there, if you really want to understand the people of Argentina, sell one of your hives and come see with your own eyes because "Javier Milie" will be a better president than the current one. One fact for you to keep in mind: our current president believes that "Hugo Chavez" is still alive :D
The crisis afflicting Argentina for many decades now is a crisis of the capitalist economic system, changing the puppet at the top of government won't change anything. The upwards transfer of wealth will continue under this guy and the endemic corruption won't go away either. Like Trump he's another fantasist divorced from the reality of the real world. I predict over the next 12-18 months he will face a huge wave of opposition. The Argentinian working class and unions have a rich history of struggle against reactionaries such as this guy.
This means things are not going well in Argentina right now
Well, the man may be the best option so you can always give home a try
I do not share the almost child like illusions which many in the BTC community have in the new president of Argentina. He wants to make the working/middle class of Argentina pay for the economic crisis afflicting the country. He has promised to make huge cuts in government spending in numerous areas by abolishing numerous government departments. In the real world this means tens of thousands of people being sacked. This reactionary has no solutions to the economic crisis facing Argentina and if you believe that adopting the US dollar and making noises about BTC will solve those then you are an economic illiterate.
The central banker scam is another fallacious argument of the libertarian ie ultra right wing BTC community. As Marx explained in Das Capital the rapacious exploitation of those sell their labour power is inbuilt into the very fabric of capitalism. Getting rid of central banks won't change that nor will going back to the mythical 'golden age' of a gold standard.
The new president of Argentina will face a huge wave of opposition as he goes forward with his reactionary economic agenda and allies himself with the murderous foreign policy goals of US imperialism.
Bitcoiners and anyone who doesn't live in Argentina (99.5% of the population) have the luxury of not taking this issue seriously. If it works out they benefit and if it doesn't work out it doesn't affect them. That's not a childlike illusion so much as a standard self-centered attitude.
To say that central banks do not extract value from the citizens that use their product is provably false. This is the entire business model of a central bank and cannot operate in any other way. To say that Bitcoin can't help citizens store their value outside the control-grid infrastructure would also not be a wise platform to stand on.
Unfortunately there is indeed a very high chance that this outcome fares poorly for the people of Argentina, which after all is the main topic of conversation.
I have some confidence in him as do all of us who elected him. However, there are things that worried me, since he said he wanted to put an end to the caste (taking power away from those who have been in government for years) but then he had no choice but to associate himself, for example with the PRO party (Juntos por el cambio).
In that party there was Mauricio Macri, Patricia Bullrich (former presidential candidate) and others. I believe that the victory was due to that union, because many of the PRO voters decided to support Milei because they asked him to do so in order to leave Kirchnerism behind.
Now we will see what happens after December 10. The measures he will take are very drastic as you mentioned in the article. Elimination of the central bank, dollarization (to completely eliminate inflation), elimination of several ministries, and I guess modification of the penal code among other changes. We will see what happens, fingers crossed! 🤣
You described perfectly what a far right means in Europe's standards, abortion it's not only imposing traditional family values but cutting women's rights and going back 30 years in the current political situation here.
Idk how things are in Argentina but I'd say that his "zurdos de mierda" declarations aren't from a liberal or even an libertarian politic, he is clearly a right wing populist but we will see, there is a lot of difference between what's promised and delivered in every candidate/gov.
We all hope he will save our economy
Suer News, the backlash has begun, nit unprecedented nor a surprise.
Play stuopid games, win stupid prizes.