Buenos Aires:
Argentina elected right-wing liberal Javier Meili as its new president on Sunday, casting the dice on an outsider with radical ideas to fix an economy struggling with triple-digit inflation, a looming recession and growing poverty.
Riding a wave of voters’ anger with the political mainstream, Miley won by a larger margin than expected. He received almost 56% of the vote, while his opponent, Peronist Economy Minister Sergio Massa, received just over 44%, who accepted.
“The collapse model is over, there’s no turning back,” Miley said in a defiant speech after the results. At the same time, he also accepted the challenges facing him.
“We have big problems: inflation, lack of work and poverty,” he said. “The situation is serious and there is no room for light-hearted measures.”
Hundreds of Miley supporters in downtown Buenos Aires honked horns and chanted her popular slogans against the political elite – “Knock them all out” – as rock music blared from speakers. As the excitement spread, some people burst fireworks.
“We have come to celebrate this historic victory,” said Efrain Viveros, a 21-year-old student from Salta state. “I’m honestly happy. Miley represents change for the better. We don’t have a future with Massa, our future is back.”
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Miley is promising economic shock therapy. His plans include closing the central bank, defunding the peso and cutting spending, potentially painful reforms that resonated with voters angry at the economic malfunction.
“Miley is the new thing, she’s a little unknown and it’s a little scary, but it’s time to turn a new page,” said Christian, a 31-year-old restaurant worker who voted Sunday.
Miley’s challenges are huge. They must deal with empty government and central bank coffers, the International Monetary Fund’s crippling $44 billion loan program, inflation nearing 150% and a complex series of capital controls.
Some Argentines portrayed the vote as a choice of the “lesser evil”: fear of Miley’s painful economic medicine versus anger at Massa and his Peronist party for the economic crisis that has plunged Argentina into debt and disrupted global credit markets. Unable to harness.
Miley is especially popular among youth, who have grown up watching their country slide from one crisis to the next.
“I may not agree with or identify with everything Miley says, but she is our future,” said Irene Sosa, a 20-year-old student celebrating outside her election bunker. “Miley represents the future of young people like me, Massa was everything that is wrong with our country.”
Miley’s victory has shaken up Argentina’s political landscape and economic roadmap, and could impact trade in grain, lithium and hydrocarbons. Miley has criticized China and Brazil, saying that she will not deal with “communists” and favors stronger US ties.
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Despite this, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva wished Milli good luck and success after the results were announced, and said it was important that democracy be respected.
Former US President Donald Trump congratulated Miley and said that libertarians will make Argentina great again.
Meanwhile, leftist Colombian President Gustavo Petro said it was a “sad day” for the region.
‘deep breakdown’
The victory of Miley, a 53-year-old economist and former TV pundit, breaks the hegemony of the two major political forces on the left and right – the Peronists who have dominated Argentine politics since the 1940s and its main opposition, the Together for Change conservative bloc.
“This election symbolizes a deep rift in the system of political representation in Argentina,” Julio Birdman, director of consultancy Observatorio Electoral, said before the vote.
Massa’s campaign, 51, a seasoned political wheeler-dealer, had sought to appeal to voters’ fears about Miley’s unstable character and plans to reduce the size of the state.
“Miley’s policies scare me,” Susana Martinez, a 42-year-old teacher, said after voting for Massa on Sunday.
Miley is staunchly anti-abortion, favors looser gun laws and has criticized Argentina’s Pope Francis. He used to carry a chainsaw as a symbol of his planned cuts, but took it down in recent weeks to help promote his liberal image.
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After the first round of voting in October, Miley formed an uneasy alliance with the Conservatives. But he faces a highly fragmented Congress, with no single faction holding a majority, meaning he will need to garner support from other factions to advance legislation. There is no regional governor or mayor in Miley’s coalition.
This may soften some of his more radical proposals. Long-suffering voters are likely to have little patience, and the threat of social unrest is never below the surface.
His supporters say only he can uproot the political status quo and economic malaise that has plagued South America’s second-largest economy for years.
“Mili is the only viable option, so we don’t have to suffer,” said Santiago Neria, a 34-year-old accountant.
