https://www.reuters.com/world/americ...er-2023-11-19/

Argentina elected libertarian outsider Javier Milei as its new president on Sunday, rolling the dice on an outsider with radical views to fix an economy battered by triple-digit inflation, a looming recession and rising poverty.

Official results showed Milei with near 56% versus 44% for his rival, Peronist Economy Minister Sergio Massa, who conceded in a speech. His candidacy was hampered by the country's worst economic crisis in two decades while he has been at the helm.

"Obviously the results are not what we expected. I have contacted Javier Milei to congratulate him," Massa said. "From tomorrow the responsibility of providing certainty belongs to Milei."

Milei is pledging economic shock therapy. His plans include shutting the central bank, ditching the peso, and slashing spending, potentially painful reforms that resonated with voters angry at the economic malaise.

"Milei is the new thing, he's a bit of an unknown and it is a little scary, but it's time to turn over a new page," said 31-year-old restaurant worker Cristian as he voted on Sunday.

Milei's challenges are enormous. He will have to deal with the empty coffers of the government and central bank, a creaking $44 billion debt program with the International Monetary Fund, inflation nearing 150% and a dizzying array of capital controls.

Some Argentines had characterized the vote as a choice of the "lesser evil": fear of Milei's painful economic medicine versus anger at Massa and his Peronist party for an economic crisis that has left Argentina deeply in debt and unable to tap global credit markets.

Milei has been particularly popular among the young, who have grown up seeing their country lurch from one crisis to another.

"Our generation is pushing the presidency of Milei to stop our country being a pariah," said Agustina Lista, 22, a student in Buenos Aires.

Milei's win shakes up Argentina's political landscape and economic roadmap, and could impact trade in grains, lithium and hydrocarbons. Milei has criticized China and Brazil, saying he won't deal with "communists," and favors stronger U.S. ties.

The shock rise of the 53-year-old economist and former TV pundit has been the story of the election, breaking the hegemony of the two main political forces on the left and the right - the Peronists and the main Together for Change conservative bloc.

"The election marks a profound rupture in the system of political representation in Argentina," said Julio Burdman, director of the consultancy Observatorio Electoral, ahead of the vote.

Supporters of Massa, 51, an experienced political wheeler-dealer, had sought to appeal to voter fears about Milei's volatile character and "chainsaw" plan to cut back the size of the state.

"Milei's policies scare me," teacher Susana Martinez, 42, said on Sunday after she voted for Massa.

Milei is also staunchly anti-abortion, favors looser gun laws and has criticized Argentine Pope Francis. He used to carry a chainsaw in a symbol of his planned cuts but shelved it in recent weeks to help boost his moderate image.

After October's first-round vote, Milei struck an uneasy alliance with the conservatives, which boosted his support. But he faces a highly fragmented Congress, with no single bloc having a majority, meaning that he will need to get backing from other factions to push through legislation. Milei's coalition also does not have any regional governors or mayors.

That may temper some of his more radical proposals. Long-suffering voters are likely to have little patience, and the threat of social unrest is never far below the surface.

His backers say only he can uproot the political status quo and economic malaise that has dogged South America's second-largest economy for years.

"Milei is the only viable option so we do not end up in misery," said Santiago Neria, a 34-year-old accountant.

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Javier Milei's plans as president of Argentina are focused on implementing a series of radical reforms aimed at overhauling the country's economy and political system. These reforms include:

Adopting the US dollar as the official currency: Milei believes that Argentina's chronic inflation can only be curbed by abandoning the peso and adopting the US dollar. This would eliminate the central bank's ability to print money, which Milei sees as the primary cause of inflation.

Privatizing state-owned enterprises: Milei advocates for privatizing a wide range of state-owned enterprises, including energy companies, transportation providers, and public services. He argues that this would lead to greater efficiency, lower costs, and improved service quality.

Dismantling the central bank: Milei proposes abolishing the central bank altogether, arguing that it is an unnecessary and harmful institution that has failed to manage the economy effectively.

Slashing government spending: Milei has pledged to cut government spending by up to 30%, arguing that the current level of spending is unsustainable and a major drag on the economy.

Reducing taxes: Milei intends to simplify and reduce taxes, with the goal of stimulating economic growth and creating jobs.

Reforming the judiciary: Milei believes that Argentina's judiciary is corrupt and inefficient, and he has pledged to implement reforms to make it more independent and accountable.

Fighting crime: Milei is a staunch supporter of law and order, and he has vowed to crack down on crime and violence.

Promoting individual liberty: Milei is a libertarian who believes in limited government and individual freedom. He has pledged to protect individual rights and reduce government regulation.

Milei's proposals have been met with mixed reactions. Some have praised his bold and radical vision for Argentina, while others have criticized his plans as unrealistic and potentially harmful. It remains to be seen whether Milei will be able to implement his agenda if he is elected president.

And this is how you save your country.

He needs a haircut asap

Dudes got that crazy evil Hollywood villian vibe, but they are the ones that tend to do the best job

Can he run here 2024

Sounds good but the thing with a libertarian head of state is whether they can handle the power they're given. Does he stick to his guns on individual liberties (for everyone) or does he go into a full totalitarian panic the first instance something doesn't go his way?

Libertarians are the biggest retards around.

Also LOL @ adopting US dollar because of inflation wrecking the peso. Good plan buddy

From an economist standpoint, there's a very high likelihood this fails catastrophically if he does manage to implement it all.

But also from an economist standpoint, it'll be cool and fun to see what works and what doesn't. Very ambitious experiment.

Could they even be doing worse?
Why not try

Dollarization has worked great in Venezuela. You seem to have limited understanding of how these things work.

I spent two months in Argentina a couple years ago, and it’s exactly what they need. They’re in the process of hollowing out their economy. Basically Argentina is what the current US policies lead a country to after a couple decades of being in place.

They have great tourism and a lot of resources, but those resources need to be away from control of government bureaucrats, as they just use them to maintain power.

People have been legit miserable there for a while. Capitalism gives people hope and the ability to earn, which most people there don’t have.

Bro hasn't left the 70s with that hair style.

is he a real libertarian? how do i invest in argentina?

The dude is 100% based and exactly what the country needs after their left-wing government printed an obscene amount of money and spent it on frivolous programs

The Argentine peso has lost 10X its purchasing power against the dollar in the last five years, one of the worst performances of an industrialized economy on earth

https://www.google.com/search?q=usd+...obile&ie=UTF-8

Can you elaborate why you think it will fail?

Do you think a free market is a new experiment? Is socialism required for an economy to be successful?

The hard part is ripping the bandaid off. After that, they should see tremendous growth, so long as no one panics and begins to interfere too soon. Therein lies the test.

Argentina, like many other South American nations, was once a successful nation just like European countries, but non-whites become the majority and mix in with the white people, the society inevitably begins to crumble. Same will happen to the USA. USA is still 65% white/Asian/Eurasian (58% white and 6% Asian) , but once blacks and hispanics cross 50% of the population, it will crumble like South America, South Africa and Mexico. You are already beginning to see this in major cities (Chicago, NYC and Detroit).

This guy can only help so much, but since almost the entire Argentina is mixed with native South American population, it will will continue to fail. Same happened to Brazil and South Africa.

At least they don't have to worry about joggers running around in the streets.

Argentina had the bright idea of getting rid of most of its jogger population in the 18th century, before they could face any international backlash or interference by other nations.

Smart move.

Yes, there's never been a free market experiment in a modern, even semi-developed country. Only corporatist/cronyist economies exist in the west. No one even knows if it's actually possible to stop the top 1% of capital owners from manipulating labor and equity markets in their favor, since we just tacitly accept it.

What mechanism is he going to use to enforce fair markets? Only the implied threat of prison? It's all theory to this point.

Viva la libertad carajo!

This is any sensible citizen's wet dream.

I wish him and Argentinians the best.

Your a completelly delulu deranged incel, you have no fuking clue about what you're talking about and you're only showing your worthless and subhuman stupidity, no wonder there's not a single female on earth that would want to reproduce with your pathetic disgusting genes that's why you're a lonely piece of chit you fuken incel worm coksuker. Fuk you athousand time over you pathetic incel worm

What year did capitalism end and socialism begin in the US? What are your definitions of “modern” and “semi developed”. What causes “Cronyism”

You said "no female will reproduce with me" yet you are 34, childless and unmarried.

Stop projecting. We all know that you are an incel who will die alone/with no family/wife/children just like all the incels you hate.

Also, everything I said was 100% true.

Said no Marxist ever.

Location: PERU





PERU






























PERU

1. Hard to say that we ever had free markets. Lots of people point to the creation of the fed, removal from the gold standard, and cranking up the money printer as the major inflection points in recent history.

2. I'd loosely call modern developed economies post WWII OECD countries.

3. Cronyism is caused by people and institutions being able to distort markets, causing market failures. The one they teach in schools is always Standard Oil.

Good luck to him. It never ends well for leaders who want to do this....... OR not involved with the central bank to begin with.

Based. I consider myself to be libertarian. I have a general hatred of government