Libertarian wins presidential election in Argentina

In a victory that is nothing short of astonishing, libertarian economist Javier Milei won the runoff in yesterday's presidential election in Argentina by 11%:

From the Cato Institute:

America should be so fortunate. I imagine having a leader who has an unqualified respect for the fundamental rights of life, liberty, property and the underlying right of self-proprietorship. Sadly, that's a far cry from the "leader" we currently have in this country, but hope springs eternal. Maybe one day we can return to the lost tradition of Classical Liberalism.

Javier Milei's Ominous Warning to Americans
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/javier-milei-s-ominous-warning-to-americans/ar-AA1kdQpW

Needless to say, the Libertarians here in the United States (and I presume elsewhere) are thrilled with this development. One can only hope that it will inspire them to get their party's act together before inflation reaches 140%, our currency is worthless and 40% of the population is living below the poverty line.

Anyway, congratulations and good luck to President-elect Milei, and I wish him and the Argentine people success in turning their beleaguered country around.

 

Well at least they won the world cup and all that beer that Budweiser couldn't sell at the stadiums.

 

The headline has a nice right to it, and not only is the libertarian president-elect enjoying unprecedented popularity, so is his party Liberty Advances:

 

More on Javier Milei, who is being portrayed as "hard Right" by Leftist hacks in the media:

 

He is fairly socially liberal except on abortion, I have long said if conservatives would drop the religious portion of their base and concentrate on the economy instead of what people are doing in their bedroom then they would be an unstoppable political force in the US.

That isn’t going to happen though.

 

Seems to be a very interesting guy.
But he likes 'Israel', which bothers me a bit.

 

So it would seem.

Which brings me to a similar observation: when I look at the American people and the Libertarian Party I see a party that should be doing much better than it is. The LP has been hampered by poor leadership and even worse messaging and outreach for years, and things haven't gotten better under Angela McArdle's leadership. Some might argue things have gotten worse.

 

I recall reading about Milei, after the first election, when he'd finished behind Massa, the center-Left candidate, who'd been the country's finance minister. He'd sounded... colorful. But, without the 140% inflation, I don't see us going in the same direction. The article says that he's expressed support for legalizing (deregulating) the sale of human organs; and for eliminating gun laws. Somehow, those two things seem to go together.

<Snip>
Javier Milei, a breakthrough libertarian figurehead who was elected as president of Argentina on Sunday night, recently warned Americans to "never allow yourself to be seduced by the siren song of social justice" as he railed against "the ideals of socialism."

Speaking to Tucker Carlson in September, the then-candidate told U.S. viewers that those who shared his political outlook must be prepared to "wage a culture war every single day" and urged businesses to invest in "those who defend the ideals of freedom."
<End Snip>

I hope you keep us informed, @Talon , after the applause dies down, of developments in Argentina. I would expect that he can have a positive effect on the rate of inflation; let's see just how far he can bring it down, by replacing their own currency with the U.S. dollar (which I guess isn't quite dead, yet, despite what a number of members, here, regularly tell us). But the whole societal picture, will be important to consider, for anyone who wishes to make a case for this particular, Libertarian style of government. The first narrative to be followed, though, will be how well or how poorly Milei gets on, with Argentina's legislature.


This is my first opportunity to tell you, by the way, that I like your new avatar: very spiffy, in equal measure sophisticated, & dignified. I'd initially assumed that your choice had come out of your great appreciation of sculpture. I hadn't considered who the figure represented, though, had I thought about it, I probably would have said it evoked a Conquistador type of image. But "Google Lens," now tells me, this is the renowned Field Marshall for the Holy Roman Empire & then the Hapsburg Dynasty, Prince Eugene. Any particular relevance, to that?

 

That is going to depend largely on building on the support he already has from the center-right Juntos por el Cambio coalition which appears to be on board with most of his economic proposals. This has forced Milei to moderate some of his other proposals, such as the two you mentioned above, but he's willing to do that to get his economic policies passed. He may be hardcore advocate of free and open markets, which has earned him the label "libertarian" but his positions on social issues are more conservative than libertarian. I would say he's more of a Classical Liberal in the Lockean sense than a libertarian in the contemporary American sense.

Glad you like it. The equestrian statue of Prince Eugene in Vienna is quite nice, and I dare say superior to the one in Budapest (pictured below) which commemorates his army's decisive victory over the Ottomans at Zenta in 1697:



But I must admit that my interest is more historical than artistic. Every now and then I'll post a pic of some of my favorite historical figures in my avatar, and as one of the West's greatest military leaders Prince Eugene ranks near the top. Relevant to Mr. Milei, another historical figure I've featured in my avatar is the great Medieval theologian and logician William of Ockham, who developed the first individual rights doctrine in the 14th Century and is considered by many to be one of the great progenitors of libertarianism. Another would be the English Leveler who is quoted in my signature, who along with his colleagues John Lilburne and William Walwyn are considered the godfathers of libertarianism:

The Levellers
The Levellers, such as John Lilburne (1615-1657), Richard Overton (1631-1664), and William Walwyn (c. 1600-1681), were a group of radical libertarian activists and pamphleteers who were active during the English Revolution. They advocated individual liberty, property rights, constitutionally limited government, religious toleration, and free trade at a time when virtually none of these things existed in England. For their troubles, several of them were repeatedly imprisoned and their publications censored.
https://oll.libertyfund.org/collection/the-levellers

One thing's for sure, Mr. Milei has only passed his first test as a politician. Turning Argentina's economy around is going to be his greatest test.

 

The Big Question:

First, the question of whether or not Milei will be able to put his "anarcho-capitalist" economic theories and policies (and his popular mandate) to the test will have to be answered.

 

Steve Forbes on Javier Milei's victory in Argentina:

Why Javier Milei’s Victory In Argentina’s Presidential Election Is Great News

Here’s a ray of sunshine amidst so much economic gloom. On Sunday, Javier Milei was elected president of Argentina on a stunning free market platform, by the biggest margin since the country returned to democracy in 1983...

https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevef...ntial-election-is-great-news/?sh=6cd033927fe3

 

From the conservative, libertarian economic think tank, the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE):

 

Evidently, Argentinian libertarians have embraced the iconography of the American Revolution:



This is "Far Right" to the LW MSM....

 

It's not just that older imagery, being used by Milei & his supporters: they also wear baseball caps (red ones, I think) that say, "Make Argentina Great Again."

 

Just being to the Right of Marx will make Milei "Far Right" to many in the LW MSM.

Being a Libertarian?



It's gotten so predictable it's losing its entertainment value...

 

Actually, "far Right" is not the way I have seen & heard him depicted, but rather, as a "populist"-- sometimes with the suggestion that he might be a little bit eccentric, or at least that he has some unusual ideas, and campaigning methods. Sometimes, also, a line is drawn, connecting him to other populist leaders like Bolsanaro & Trump-- both of whom, Milei admires; and we both know that Trump is no far Right "conservative," or Libertarian (as that would require his having fixed, core principles of belief).

 

I'm on Google News looking at CBS, CNN, NPR, Reuters, The New Duranty Times and BBC (to name a prominent few) portray him as "Far Right", then there's The Nation, Democracy Now and The Guardian where everyone right of Chairman Mao is "Far Right".

I would agree he seems a bit eccentric and flamboyant, and I'm sure many of his supporters, particularly the young ones, enjoy the latter. As a connoisseur of fine political theater I can appreciate that but it's all campaign fun. What counts in his and his country's case are things like his resume:

Licentiate in Economics, Universidad de Belgrano, Argentina; two Master's in Economics, Universidad Torcuato Di Tella and CEDES/IDES. Former: Head Economist, Estudio Broda and Máxima AFJP; Senior Economist, HSBC, Argentina; Adviser of the Argentine Government, ICSID. Currently, Head Economist, Corporación América. B-20/G-20 Adviser and Member, Group of Economic Policy, ICC/G-20. Since 2012, leads the division of Economic Studies, Fundación Acordar, a think tank of national scope. For more than 20 years, University Professor of Macroeconomics, Economics of Growth, Microeconomics and Mathematics for Economists. Has written over 50 academic papers.

https://www.weforum.org/people/javier-gerardo-milei/

Pretty impressive. He's probably forgotten more about economics than I'll ever know.

As for Trump, I agree with you that he's no Far Right conservative and he's certainly no libertarian by any stretch of the imagination (Rand Paul pointed this out in 2016 regarding Trump's position on private property rights). I've heard some people refer to him as a Northeast Liberal, presumably along the lines of Mitt Romney and the Bushes, but I have a difficult time categorizing him so I don't bother. Certainly, him and Milei have the populism thing in common, but as Frederico Fernandez pointed out in his article above (Post #12) the similarities end there, for the most part. Evidently, that goes for his supporters, too - I'm not seeing the nefarious red hats in the crowd:





Correction, CBS - Milei said he's bringing a chainsaw to government, not the economy.

I'm thinking the comparisons to Ron Paul might be more apt, but I can't say I've done a side-by-side comparison of their positions on all the issues.

 

ROAR!! GET OFF MY LAWN!!!

 

Funny, that it works out this way-- that all the mainstream sources that you check, call him "far Right," when none of those that I hear or read, do. I just Googled him, to check the reality, as you'd described it, and the first article I came to, by the AP, does not match the others that you'd named. It seems a pretty good article, though:

<Snip>
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — His legions of fans call him “the madman” and “the wig” due to his ferocity and unruly mop of hair. He refers to himself as “the lion.” He thinks sex education is a Marxist plot to destroy the family, views his cloned mastiffs as his “children with four paws” and has suggested people should be allowed to sell their own vital organs.

He is Javier Milei, Argentina’s next president.

A few years ago, Milei was a television talking head whom bookers loved because his screeds against government spending and the ruling political class boosted ratings. At the time, and up until mere months ago, hardly any political expert believed he had a real shot at becoming president of South America’s second-largest economy.

But Milei, a 53-year-old economist, has rocked Argentina’s political establishment and inserted himself into what has long been effectively a two-party system by amassing a groundswell of support with his prescriptions of drastic measures to rein in soaring inflation and by pledging to crusade against the creep of socialism in society.

‘ANARCHO-CAPITALIST’ LIBERTARIAN
At the heart of his economic plan for Argentina is a proposal to replace the local currency, the peso, with the U.S. dollar. He has repeatedly said the only way to end the scourge of inflation, which has topped 140%, is to prevent politicians from continuing to print money. As such, he plans to extinguish the Central Bank.

A self-described “anarcho-capitalist,” Milei’s libertarianism was a novelty for Argentina. He has spoken in favor of loosening the country’s labor laws and promoted a vision of starkly smaller government to boost economic growth. That entails eliminating half of the government ministries, including health and education. As a symbol of the deep cuts he champions, he has at times campaigned with a revving chainsaw in hand.

Reducing the state’s size dovetails with his calls for the “political caste” to be purged from Argentina’s government, much as former U.S. President Donald Trump spoke of “draining the swamp” in reference to the entrenched establishment. Milei has often drawn comparisons to Trump, a leader he openly admires.

Before entering the public spotlight, Milei was chief economist at Corporación America, one of Argentina’s largest business conglomerates that, among other things, runs most of the country’s airports. He worked there until 2021, when he won his seat as a lawmaker.

CULTURE WARRIOR
Milei doesn’t just see himself as a right-leaning politician, but also as a culture warrior with the mission of shaking up Argentine society. Some of Milei’s positions appear to echo more conservative Republicans in the U.S. while his fiery, profanity-laden rhetoric has already lifted him to prominence in the global culture war that at times overwhelms political discourse in the U.S., neighboring Brazil and elsewhere.

Milei opposes feminist policies and abortion, which Argentina legalized in recent years, and has proposed a plebiscite to repeal the law. He also rejects the notion humans have a role in causing climate change. In a television appearance, heh denounced Pope Francis, who is Argentine, as an “imbecile” for defending social justice and called the head of the Roman Catholic Church “the representative of malignance on Earth.”
<End>

https://apnews.com/article/javier-milei-profile-argentina-election-82488d49cca5aee10d4b911bde530922


So, after your saying that the MSM is misrepresenting him-- and I don't doubt, that some may be-- the sample article I picked, never called him "far Right," but instead, ironically, detailed his positions, many of which match those of our current crop of Republicans. He is strongly Pro-Life/anti-abortion (which does not seem a very Libertarian perspective, IMO); he rejects the conclusions of climate science; he wants to loosen labor laws (as have numerous Republican states, recently); and he wants a starkly smaller government, through eliminating half of the government ministries (including those of Health, and of Education)-- anyone remember the ill-fated, Republican Primary candidacy of TX Gov. Rick Perry?-- and, of course, is committed to crusade against the "creep of socialism." These views make Milei sound like a pretty far Right conservative, don't they? Add to that, he wants to eliminate the country's Central Bank.

But that is only half the picture. The article notes how these "Right-leaning" policy ideas "dovetail" with his populist (my word) side, as a "culture warrior." He is also pledging to purge government of the "political caste"-- read: political elites, and Deep State. This all seems very familiar-- to me, anyway.

 

Strange you're not picking that up. Is it because I was on Google News and you weren't?

When I Google any of the news outlets that I mentioned and add "Javier Milei" and "Far Right" to the search query I keep getting those same outlets referring to him as "Far Right".

Of course, I never stated that every news outlet is portraying him as Far Right in all their articles and editorials, but obviously a great deal of them are.

That aside....

Being opposed to socialism is "Far Right"?

If that's a measure of anything it's how mainstreamed the Far Left has become on the Left. Naturally, that and the totalitarian tendency of the Far Left would lead to the disingenuous portrayal of anyone who questions or opposes its own radical orthodoxy as an "extremist". We've seen and heard that song and dance before.

As for Milei's position on abortion, I personally don't agree with it and I think it calls into question his libertarian credentials, but I don't consider being "Pro-Life" extreme. As for his position on climate change, I believe he rejects ceding more power and wealth to the Far Left based on its claim that a naturally reoccurring and cyclical phenomenon is man-made. I don't consider that position "Far Right", either. As for his advocacy of a smaller, limited, fiscally responsible government, I hardly consider the principles our own government was founded upon as "Far Right", although the Far Left would have me believe that nonsense. Another thing we have to consider and appreciate is the position Argentina and its president-elect are in. Argentina currently has only 6.2 million people working in the private sector who are trying (and failing) to support 18.7 million government workers, pensioners and welfare recipients - this is clearly unsustainable, and it is why that nation is in the desperate situation it finds itself. If Argentina is to turn its country and economy around, it has no choice but to slash the size, scope and expense of its over-bloated and corrupt government, and Argentinians recognize that they have in Javier Milei a man who has the willingness, courage and expertise to do it. Quite frankly, he is the right man in the right place at the right time.

Yes, we've heard that before too, but I'll remind you that a corrupt political caste - politicians and bureaucrats, nomenklatura and apparatchiks - that serves its own interests instead of those of the people it is supposed to serve should be purged, and this shouldn't be a Right or Left thing.

 

Well, of course, if you put the words "far Right" into your query, you'll get hits with that terminology. I had simply Googled "Milei."

No-- I was comparing the things Milei says with the things we hear from the far Right, here. And I disagree with you, that the mainstream Left, here, could be accurately described as "Socialist." So yes, I would say that those who refer to Democrats as Socialists, are expressing a very far Right (& erroneous) perception.

What's up with your using the word "extreme," so much? I had never said anything about "extreme," did I? Nor do I think that you had, before this post. You had said that the MSM were all describing Milei as "far Right." I had commented that I, personally, had not noticed that. So you Googled Milei (with the words, "far Right," I now discover), and said you saw a ton of sources, all using that term. So I retried a Google search, and my top article, said no such thing. Nonetheless, in the description of Milei's views, I noted that there was a lot of similarity to the rhetoric and views of those, here, on the far Right-- of "mainstreamed" politics, to borrow your term, such as those in the Republican Freedom Caucus; IOW, excluding militias, and so forth. Therefore, one's being totally against allowing any abortion (FYI), is not a "moderate" Right position, but a far Right one.

LOL-- I think I figured out the discrepancy in our views: if you don't think that man is a great contributor to Global Warming, or that wanting to ban abortion, are "extreme" views-- guess what? YOU are kind of far over, on the Right, yourself.

I'll have to pick up, with the rest of your reply, later. Enjoy your evening.

 

Argentina lifting both middle fingers to the leftist pope.

 

Inflation has been an international crisis, and in this crisis Argentina has been experiencing it worse than anyone else. Having inflation reach 8% here in the US has been a challenge, so I couldn't even imagine what having an inflation rate that exceeds 100% must be like for the people of Argentina. I don't really know enough about monetary policy to hold a solid opinion on whether or not dollarizing Argentina's economy is a good idea, but it is my understanding that Milei is more than just a cult of personality, and is actually someone who is educated in economics. I can only hope his policies will benefit Argentina's economy, but I do have my concerns on what his policies on certain social issues will mean for women's reproductive rights, and the terminally ill. Some of his positions on social issues do not seem to be libertarian stances.

 

Now, let's think about this for a moment. Milei's main appeal is that he wants to bring down inflation that is running up to 140%. How does he want to do this? By getting rid of the peso and replacing it with the dollar.

https://www.npr.org/2023/11/09/1197956768/elections-dollarization-argentina-inflation

In other words, get rid of the central bank and make Argentina 100% dependent on the US Fed and their monetary policy.

Now, think about how the "America first" nationalist crowd would react if a US president elect would propose to make our currency 100% dependent on some other country's monetary policy? Seems like America first is Milei's policy.

 

And that's all I did at Google News, but that's beside the point that he's being portrayed as "Far Right" by a broad swath of the LW MSM.

Am I surprised? Of course, not.

Milei's core values are quite similar to those of the Founders of our own country. Strange how the belief in small, limited fiscally responsible government and individual rights, freedom and responsibility have come to be portrayed as "Far Right" by many on the Left.

Which brings us back to my comment that if the Left considers opposition to socialism "Far Right" that speaks to how Far Left the Left has become, I'll stand by that comment. Whether or not that means most Lefties here are socialists, aka "progressives", I left an open question. Being as how I've been a member of this forum for 15 years, I know that many of them are not but can't say I've been polling my PF peeps across the aisle, either. As for those who refer to Democrats as Socialists, I wonder where they got that idea - from Democrats themselves?

76 Percent of Democrats Say They'd Vote for a Socialist for President, New Poll Shows
https://www.newsweek.com/76-percent...te-socialist-president-new-poll-shows-1486732

When I was a young JFK Democrat during the Cold War Era I found the prospect of this rather unthinkable, but taking a long view of the history and trajectory of the Democratic Party since 1948 I've been forced to reconsider that.

What's up with Lefties (e.g., the ones in the MSM) portraying people who don't subscribe to their own ideas and positions as extreme and/or "Far Right"?

For the record, I did not say all of the media were portraying Milei as "Far Right" and as I pointed out earlier, my initial search query in Google News did not include the term "Far Right" - the news outlets provided that themselves - which is why I asked if the discrepancy having to do with us conducting our searches from different points.

As for being opposed to abortion in all cases, including rape and incest, I personally consider that position rather extreme, just as I consider Democrat Kathy Tran's position on unrestricted abortion access (up to the point of birth) extreme. That being said, I'm also aware that there are people on the Left who oppose abortion, so I consider this an issue that transcends Left and Right, Democrat and Republican:

Democrats for Life of America
https://www.democratsforlife.org/index.php/about-us/mission

I've made my position on abortion clear for years, and I don't deny that the climate changes. The Medieval Agricultural and Commercial revolutions were all made possible by a corresponding warming period and then it was followed by a cooling period, which happened to lead to millions of deaths on account of crop failures and the spread of disease. This is a naturally reoccurring and cyclical phenomenon and I know that ceding more power and money to the extremists who are pimping a "climate crisis" for their own self-aggrandizement isn't going to halt the natural processes of the earth and universe. I will also add that there is nothing extreme or unreasonable about supporting practical, common sense environmental and preservation policies, but I do consider the Far Left's desire and campaign to destroy the fossil fuel industry extreme, and as we've seen over the past couple of years, the only thing that campaign has accomplished is the high inflation that is making life more difficult on the middle and lower classes in our country.