The personal relationship between the new White House leader, its main advisers and President Javier Milei is deep, unpublished and, for now, leaves no room for doubt.
The leader of Casa Rosada is trying to capitalize on this bond, but it is not yet known how many benefits he will really get.
Milei openly bet on the tycoon victory over Democrat Kamala Harris. He admires Trump’s style for years and the American also praises him.
The two presidents are similar in many ways: they are “outsider” of politics; They became popularly known on television; love social networks; fight against “The Caste” and “The Swamp”; and hate the Woke culture.
Milei has become a popular figure in the US and many call him “Mini Trump”. However, its libertarian approach differs substantially from protectionist and anti-free market policies defended by the Republican.
For Benjamin Gedan, director of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and founder of the Argentine project, “Personal Friendship between Milei and Trump is undeniable. Malei admires Trump, and Trump likes leaders who praise him. But regardless of praise. From Buenos Aires, there are real synergies between the two, “he told Clarín.
“Trump and his far-right allies see Milei’s cultural battle and his commitment to the overall ideological struggle. Milei is also respected in Washington and Wall Street for the pro-market reforms, the drastic fiscal adjustment he implemented and the intention to weaken the state institutions he administers, “he continued.
“However, it is unclear whether Milei’s VIP status in the US will produce concrete benefits to Argentina.” Gedan recalls that “Trump also liked the last conservative president of Argentina (Mauricio Macri), but still imposed fares of the country’s exports,” referring to biodiesel, lemons and beef.
There are still no signs that hopes of the Argentine government of a bilateral free trade agreement with the US will materialize.
Gedan states that “the US needs new partners in Latin America to isolate opponents such as Venezuela and minimize the influence of external actors such as China and Russia. But Trump, with his “America First” policy, does not invest much in international relations or favors foreign assistance. ”
Marco Rubio’s appointment as secretary of state is good news for Milei, because the senator repeatedly expressed his support for libertarian reforms.
A few days ago Rubio praised the Senate libertarian: “He is a serious and well -trained economist,” he said. “He is doing things very necessary to restructure the direction of the Argentine economy in a very positive way,” he added.
An obstacle in the relationship between Argentina and the US may be the appointment of Mauricio Claver-Carone as a special envoy for Latin America. When the employee was president of the Inter -American Development Bank (IDB) had very hard confrontations with Guillermo Franco, Argentine representative in the body at the time and today chief of staff of the Milei government
Mark Jones, Professor of Political Science and Latin America Specialist at Rice University, told Clarín that “no Argentine president had such a close relationship with an American president as Malei with Trump. Obviously Trump has a lot of priorities and goals that have nothing to do with Argentina, but if he can give Milei a hand in a way that does not bring him much costs, he will help. “
Martín Castellano, head of Latin America Research at the Institute of International Finance (IIF), told Clarín that “regardless of personal relationship, the fact that they have many common ideas can contribute positively, helping Argentina. The bilateral and transactional negotiation style, based on pragmatism, of both administrations can benefit the two countries, strengthening the bilateral relationship. “
The narrow bond may facilitate the arrival of investments, but “they will depend in much of other factors, such as a consistent and sustainable economic policy that allows total economy stabilization and creating favorable conditions for economic growth,” he added .
Argentina is very close to closing a new agreement with the IMF and expects to get a disbursement of about $ 11 billion or more. The Argentine government believes that with Trump in the White House – and due to the US weight of the body’s executive board – the possibilities of the next program to be approved smoothly and with the highest volume of fresh money as possible will increase.
“The Argentine government is well positioned as US political ally in the region, increasing the chances of reaching an agreement with the IMF involving new financing to strengthen reserves,” Castellano said.
For Gedan, “Trump may be an IMF ally, but ultimately Milei will have to gain the confidence of US investors, not the White House, so that their economic project thrives.”
The Argentine president was received by the Washington elite as a rock star, received awards for his reforms and was invited special to Trump’s inauguration. The connection between the two is strong. From now on, as the White House head, the Republican will have the opportunity to show how so much love can translate into concrete results.