On November 19th, right-wing populist Javier Milei was elected president of Argentina in a runoff election that saw him defeat his center-left opponent, Sergio Massa, by the largest percentage of the vote in the history of Argentina’s democracy. This monumental victory acts as a touchstone, illustrating the difficult social, economic and political situation in Argentina and the draw that cults of personality laced with extremism can hold for those who feel powerless in a broken system.
Argentina is in the midst of an economic crisis causing distrust and anger at the government to rise to alarming levels. The soon-to-be former center-left administration has been marked with disapproval ratings as high as 60% to 80%, mainly due to ongoing inflation, which has reached triple digits and doubled in the past four years.
While popular anger may be directed at incumbent politicians — and there’s no doubt that current President Alberto Fernández has failed to substantially address it — the current crisis has been ongoing for many years. Starting in 2018 but rooted in prior economic policy, the crisis was spurred on by many factors, including the Central Bank of Argentina changing its inflation target but failing to reduce inflation, which led to a loss of confidence. This, combined with a severe drought that limited tax revenue, the already struggling state of the economy left by President Christina Fernández de Kirchner when she left office in 2015 and the poor policies of her successor President Mauricio Macri all helped start the crisis that has continued and worsened to the present day.
According to Fieldston history teacher Dr. Heideman, “At the heart of Argentina’s economic dysfunction is its relationship to the rest of the world economy. Argentina is an export economy, particularly focused on exporting commodities…This means that policies like currency convertibility play a central role in determining the fate of the Argentine economy. Essentially, governments of both the left (the Kirchners) and the right (Macri) failed to accumulate sufficient reserves of foreign currency, most centrally dollars. Both preferred to maintain low interest rates (which slowed the entry of dollars into the economy) over accumulating dollars. This failure has resulted in surging inflation and a depressed labor market.”
Argentina’s economy is no stranger to struggle; stretching back to the 20th century, the country has had many run-ins with inflation, along with an economic depression at the turn of the century that led to the resignation of its President at the time. When asked about Argentina’s history of economic struggle, Dr. Heideman pointed out that it “goes back to the military dictatorship that ruled the country in the 1970s and 1980s, which imposed very conservative economic policies that essentially strangled the economy in an effort to discipline Argentina’s working class. Since the dictatorship fell in 1983, Argentina’s economic history has alternated between periods of hopefulness (the early 1990s, the late 2000s) and periods of deep economic dislocation (the late 1990s and early 2000s, the period since 2018).”
This context is important; it highlights that these issues are deeply ingrained and not so easily overcome. It also explains why populist figures like Milei can rise to power, despite the potential for harm they pose.
Christina Fernández de Kirchner is a prime example of a deeply entrenched establishment politician; she was President from 2007-2015 directly following her husband’s presidency from 2003-2007, before becoming Vice President in 2019. The fact that one of the most prominent people in politics has continually failed to remedy economic hardship is not lost on many Argentinian voters. Argentinians are widely sick of the political establishment that has failed them time and time again.
Milei derives his power directly from the pain and suffering of the Argentine people. He used radical ideas that represented the destruction of the system to win the election. His solutions are simple and brutal, from abolishing the central bank altogether to dollarizing the economy. His rhetoric and public image are similarly crude and often vulgar; emphasizing his place as a political outsider, he curses often in speeches and has been nicknamed “the madman” and “the wig” by supporters due to his brazenness and the defining image of his never-combed hair. He often brandished a chainsaw during his campaign in a not-so-subtle act of symbolism. By pairing his successfully developed cult of personality with dramatic ideas around the economy and Argentinian politics, Milei has been able to send the fundamental message that he is different, he is new and he will bring change.
Unsurprisingly, Milei’s cult of personality and bold messaging do not make up for the abysmal content of his ideas. There’s a reason that over 100 economists published an open letter ahead of the election warning that his election could spell catastrophe for the country: while Milei presents his ideas as radical departures from traditional economics, many economists point out that they are really based in foundational laissez-faire ideology and full of easily identifiable risks. They argue that by significantly reducing government spending, Milei will exacerbate Argentina’s extreme poverty rather than solve it and that his proposals ignore historical precedent and simplify economics to a dangerous degree. Dr. Heideman agrees that “Milei’s key policy —full dollarization of the economy —[is] virtually impossible,” mainly because of Argentina’s failure to accumulate dollars.
Apart from his dangerous economic proposals, Milei also comes with some of the usual far-right politics akin to Republicans in the United States, mixed with a special strain of libertarianism. He is adamantly against leftist ideology, calls sex education a Marxist plot to destroy the family and wants to eliminate the government health and education ministries altogether. He doesn’t believe in climate change, feminism or abortion and has an often-articulated hatred of social justice.
Far-right politicians who build cults of personalities like Milei are dangerous, especially in times of strife. The United States saw their power with Donald Trump, and Argentina is now receiving a similar treatment with Milei. It’s easy to fall into their traps; when the political system fails the people, they will inevitably look outwards toward those who challenge the status quo and promise to change things for real. Dr. Heideman points out that there are many recent examples and “a lot of research on the link between financial crises and right-wing populism. After the 2008 financial crisis, right-populist parties surged in Europe. Parties like the Swedish Democrats, the National Rally in France and Jobbik in Hungary were very closely linked to the fallout from the economic crisis. In Greece, the rise of Golden Dawn, the most openly fascistic party in Europe, stemmed directly from the discrediting of the major parties in the Eurozone crisis.”
With someone like Milei, it’s easy to get caught up in the strange stories and bold messaging, but it’s essential to look past the endless news headlines about his cloned dogs, the numerous nicknames and the vulgar nature of his personality and focus on his ideology. Although his cult of personality got him elected, Milei will have an impossible time living up to his grand promises of change and fixing the Argentine economy. With personality and rhetoric-driven presidencies, the people will pay the ultimate price when real issues come to knock at the door.
