Before dreaming of reaching the Argentine Presidency, Milei used to finish reading the newspapers and comment on what he had read. And she said that even Justice should be privatized as a way to combat corruption, said a friend who worked with the economist. During the presidential campaign, Milei did not comment on her ideas regarding Justice. But he promised that he will dollarize the Argentine economy – a promise that generated strong expectations among voters of different generations and economic and social classes, exhausted by the very high inflation and supporters of the culture of saving in dollars as a way of trying to protect their money in the face of historic inflationary escalation. Argentine inflation exceeded 140% in the last 12 months until October this year, according to official data. Still according to official data, poverty affects around 40% of the national population and in many cases the poor have work, but at meal time they look for popular and free food centers, maintained by governments or NGOs. In other words, the salary is lost in race with price markdowns.
It was in this context that Milei was elected. His political career began in 2021 when he was elected federal deputy and together with the vice-president-elect Victoria Villarruel formed the bench of the fledgling A Liberdade Avança. In the last elections of this year, 2023, the bench grew and now has around 40 deputies and eight senators. However, they are insufficient to approve the projects of his future government in the National Congress, where Milei will depend on the support of Macrismo gathered in the divided Together for Change front. The support of former president Mauricio Macri and former candidate Patricia Bullrich for Milei’s election was decisive. Macri was identified as one of the great victors of the electoral race and especially in his struggle with Kirchnerism, represented by former president and vice-president Cristina Kirchner and by the candidacy of the Minister of Economy, Sergio Massa, of the Union for the Fatherland, defeated by Milei.
Milei won in 21 of the 24 Argentine provinces and even though Peronism reigned for decades, the now elected president had strong support. This was the case in the province of Buenos Aires, which represents more than 35% of the national electorate and where Massa’s victory was narrow. In other words, Milei was widely voted for where Peronism seemed unbeatable, such as in the province of Buenos Aires, in addition to provinces with a strong presence of public servants who opted for ‘libertarian’ despite his promises of serial privatizations for different sectors of the country’s economy. . (This Monday (20), he already announced that he will privatize public media outlets and the oil company YPF – which is a public limited company with the State holding 51% of the shares – Milei did not give details of how he will implement the measure).
The Peronism machine was not enough to contain the electorate’s dissatisfaction with the economic damage to their lives. Milei won with 55.69% and a difference of more than 10% in relation to former candidate Massa, who received 44.30% of the votes. It was one of the biggest votes in history for a presidential candidate.
During the campaign, Milei used to sport a chainsaw that symbolized spending cuts and her criticism of what she called political ‘caste’. During the campaign, videos emerged of interviews with Milei talking about the sale of human organs and the freedom to carry weapons. It was clear that the economic crisis spoke louder at the polls than fear regarding her ideas. On Sunday night, in his victory speech, Milei said that the government of Alberto Fernández and Massa must be responsible for the administration until the last day and opened the doors to those who want to be part of his management. He knows he will need support in the National Congress, in addition to the challenge of the traditional reaction from unions – almost all linked to Peronism/Kirchnerism – and social movements. Milei said that he will respect the contracts and also stated that his measures will be immediate because the severe crisis needs speed.