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Javier Milei is known as mini-Trump and won the Argentine elections. Photo/Reuters
BUENOS AIRES – Libertarian economist Javier Milei defeated Economy Minister Sergio Massa to become Argentina’s president-elect. Milei’s economic proposals are certainly radical, but the populist leader’s personal life – from his love of “tantric sex” to his cloned “four-legged children” – has attracted just as much controversy.
Here are 5 facts about Javier Milei.
1. Outsiders
Photo/Reuters
According to RT, Milei is a newcomer to the world of politics, forming the Liberty Advances coalition in 2021 and winning the elections to the Argentine Chamber of Deputies in the same year.
Her 2021 campaign offered a glimpse of what’s to come in this year’s presidential campaign, with Milei denouncing her left-wing rivals as “useless parasites who never work,” and vowing to “drive out these criminals.”
Before entering the political arena, Milei was a prominent economist and author, and a frequent guest on television debates. Milei was an aggressive debater, and frequently hurled profanities at his opponents, famously calling Buenos Aires Mayor Horacio Rodriguez Larreta a “disgusting person,” and the governor of Buenos Aires province a “vicious little thing.”
2. Clear Victory
Photo/Reuters
Milei beat Massa with nearly 56% to 44% of the vote in a runoff election on Sunday, although pre-election polls showed him with a narrow lead over the economy minister, and Massa won 36% of the vote to Milei’s 30. % in the first round.
Left-wing groups have dominated Argentine politics for more than half a century, with Peronist candidates – such as Massa – winning 10 of the 13 elections they have been allowed to contest since 1946. Since the end of Argentina’s military dictatorship in 1983, Peronist groups have held power for more than half a century. a total of 28 years.
Over the past decade, inflation has soared to nearly 150%, the number of Argentines living in poverty has risen by 40%, and the peso has fallen to a record low against the US dollar. Because Massa was closely linked to the downturn, analysts say many traditionally left-leaning voters sided with Milei, seeing him as a shock therapist capable of revitalizing a sluggish economy.
3. Radical Reform
Photo/Reuters
Milei describes himself as an “anarcho-capitalist,” who champions free markets and views government intervention in the economy as an infringement on personal freedom. Throughout her campaign, Milei routinely brandished a chainsaw, a dramatic illustration of her promises to slash social spending, close the country’s central bank and reduce the number of ministries by more than half.
Milei also promised to lift capital controls, end government protection of national industry, and ultimately abandon the peso in favor of the US dollar.
4. Wild Personality
Photo/Reuters
