-Analysis-
The list of participants at the swearing-in of a controversial new president is always instructive. It was no exception with Argentina’s new president, Javier Milei, the man with libertarian ideas and a chainsaw as the symbol of his plans for the South American nation.
For the latest news & views from every corner of the world, Worldcrunch Today is the only truly international newsletter. Sign up here.
It was not surprising that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, leader of an “illiberal” democracy, made the trip. So did former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who resembles Milei in many respects. Lula, Bolsonaro’s successor in Brazil, was not in attendance, having not forgiven the Argentine for calling him a “communist.” Also present was the leader of Spain’s far-right Vox party.
More surprising was the presence in Buenos Aires of… Volodymyr Zelensky, who had left behind his ongoing war in Ukraine for a perfectly official ceremony. It says a lot about the isolation of the Ukrainian president, who doesn’t want to miss an opportunity to plead for his country, and against Russia, at a delicate moment.
Intrigue and interest
Since the Russian invasion, Zelensky never misses an opportunity to present his case. Remember his countless video-conferences in parliaments and even at the Cannes Film Festival. A swearing-in ceremony is both a social event and a highly political moment.
Zelensky has a stake in making his voice heard, wherever he can.
What’s more, it was an opportunity to cross paths with Orban, a few days before an important European decision on aid to Ukraine, which the Hungarian Prime Minister has threatened to veto. In fact, Orban’s friends are due to hold private talks in Washington with the Republican Party today, on the issue of aid to Ukraine. These European friends of Vladimir Putin are calling for an end to the U.S. aid to Ukraine. Zelensky has a real stake in making his voice heard, even at such an unlikely meeting as the ceremony in Buenos Aires.
Elsewhere in Europe, France had indicated that it would only send its ambassador to Argentina, but wound up sending a top cabinet minister.
It seems that despite his eccentricity, Javier Milei provides intrigue and interest.
Radical deregulation
If the far-right feels an affinity with Milei, it’s his libertarianism, a political philosophy born in the U.S. that defends total individual freedom in the face of state power, that people seem to be most curious. Among Milei’s projects are the abolition of the Central Bank, the “dollarization” of the economy, radical deregulation, and a massive reduction in government spending.
Will he have the means ? His party is a minority in the Argentinian Parliament and will have to compromise: he has already appointed an Economy Minister more orthodox than him, to reassure the markets.
Argentinians, who voted for him at 56%, hope that Milei will manage to pull the country out of bankruptcy. He promises to restore Argentina to its former glory, which he idealizes by claiming that it was the richest country in the world at the beginning of the 20th century. That is yet another preview of his talents for hyperbole.
