Javier Miley
Far-right candidate Javier Miley won the second round of the presidential elections in Argentina yesterday. About 90 percent of the votes were counted. According to unofficial results, Milley received 56 percent of the votes, and Economy Minister Sergio Massa received 44 percent.
Massa, the candidate of the ruling Peronist party, called Miley, the candidate of the La Libertad Avanza (Freedom for Development) party, and congratulated her after the first results were announced.
Addressing his supporters in the capital, Buenos Aires, after his election victory, Miley said, “Today, Argentina’s reconstruction begins. Today is the end of Argentina’s decline. The model of collapse has come to an end. There is no going back.” He added:
“Argentina will return to a place in the world that it should never lose. We will work together with all the nations of the free world to help build a better world.”
In Argentina, where the annual inflation rate exceeds 140%, two out of every five people live below the poverty line.
On the other hand, Javier Miley promised during his election campaign to overcome Argentina’s economic problems with radical solutions.
Miley’s promises include closing the Argentine Central Bank and using the US dollar as the currency instead of the Argentine peso.
Milley, who described the Argentine Central Bank as “the largest garbage dump in the world,” said in his statement to Bloomberg 3 months ago, “Central banks are divided into four categories. “One is as bad as the Fed (the US Federal Reserve), and the other is as bad as those in Latin America, which are as bad as the Argentine central bank,” he said.
Miley stressed that he aims to prevent Argentina from paying its debts and prevent the country’s economy from defaulting, and said he would privatize loss-making public companies if elected president.
Miley, who has been a member of Congress since 2021; Privatize the health care system, and significantly reduce taxes and public spending; He wants to abolish the departments of health, education and environment, limit abortion rights and relax gun control and organ transplant laws. Miley, who opposes education about gender and identity issues in public schools, also denies climate change.
White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan congratulated Miley on his election victory and the Argentine people for holding free and fair elections. Sullivan said in a statement on his “X” account (formerly Twitter): “The United States looks forward to building on our strong bilateral relationship with Argentina based on our shared commitment to human rights, democratic values, and transparency.”
Miley has been compared to former US President Donald Trump and former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.
Trump congratulated the former television commentator, Miley, saying that she would “make Argentina great again,” referring to his election slogan.
The first round of the presidential elections in Argentina took place on October 22. Sergio Massa, who received 36.7 percent of the votes in the first round, and Javier Miley, who received 30 percent of the votes, were eligible to compete in the second round.
Sergio Massa
Feedback from Latin America
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva congratulated Miley after his election victory. In his statement on his X account, Lula da Silva said: “I wish the new government good luck and success. Argentina is a great country, and deserves our respect. Brazil will always be ready to work with our Argentine brothers.”
On the other hand, Maile described Lula, who criticized his policies during the election campaign, as an “angry communist.”
Colombian President Gustavo Petro said that the election result in Argentina was “sad for Latin America.” “Neoliberalism no longer has a proposal to solve society’s problems,” Petro said in his statement on his account
Chilean President Gabriel Buric said he “respectfully applauds” Miley for his victory and Massa for accepting his defeat. Buric made the following statements in his statement on his account X:
“I wish the best for the Argentine people. I know they will always have our respect and support.”