“I’m not here to lead the sheep, I’m here to wake up the lions.”
Argentine presidential candidate Javier Millais, a representative of the Liberal Vanguard party, defined his political landing and surprise victory in Sunday’s political elections with these words. primaries from the country.
With 30% of the vote, 52-year-old Mi Lei has become like this favorite to win the presidential election, It will be held on October 22nd.
The candidate, who defines himself as a liberal, transcends the two forces that have governed for the past two decades: Marxism (collaboration) with 28% of the vote and the official Peronist-Kirchenist alliance, the Unión por la Patria got a 27% share.
Despite the surprising results — polls gave him just 20 percent of the vote — the truth is that Javier Millais has become a controversial political phenomenon in Argentina in recent years.
An economist and dog lover, Miray has shaken up the political debate in recent years with proposals such as dollarizing the economy, privatizing publicly traded state-owned companies and shutting down (in his own words, “dynamite”) central banks.
It also floated the idea of allowing the sale of weapons and the sale of organs in Argentina, among other things.
Among other things, he opposed the legalization of abortion and education about gender and identity in public schools.
But perhaps his direct criticism of the traditional sector of Argentina’s politics, which he dismissively calls “the caste,” drove him to connect with younger voters, disaffected by the country’s status quo.
Milley has been compared to other far-right politicians such as former U.S. President Donald Trump and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.
“We have succeeded in building this competitive alternative, which will not only end Kirchnerism, but also the parasitic chora (thieves) and useless political castes that exist in this country,” said the results after they were officially announced. he promised.
But what are your recommendations, some of which have been characterized by many analysts as “Aggressive and eccentric”?
“Blow up the Central Bank”
Argentina is currently facing a dire situation, as inflation hit 100% last year.
In fact, the Millet phenomenon started when he, an economist at the University of Belgrano, appeared on a TV show as an economic analyst.
In these plans, he put together the basis of his economic proposals: first, dollarize the economy, following the model of other countries in the region, such as Ecuador.
“Ecuadorians are much better than Argentines. Ecuadorian numbers are impressive. Incomes have increased tenfold and inflation has been crushed,” Millais told Spanish newspaper El Pais.
Second, central banks shut down. Milley has insisted in various interviews that the creation of this entity (which happened in 1935) was the beginning of all the country’s problems.
third: Severe cuts in public spending. His proposals include reducing the number of presidential ministries to just eight (there are currently 18 ministries, not counting other state agencies).
“We are committed to analyzing national reforms that will increase efficiency and reduce costs. Total public spending must be reduced, but not suddenly cut, let alone liquefied through inflation, but prioritizing certain spending,” Ucema economist and government team Member Diana Mondino told Argentine newspaper El Pais. .
Candidate La Libertad Avanza proposes to reduce subsidies to companies that provide services and transfer the value of real rates to users.
Another proposal in the folder is the elimination of dollar stocks, an existing measure to limit the dollar’s depreciation.The amount of dollars that citizens of Argentina can receive per month.
The proposals, notably the dollarization of the country and the closure of the central bank, have been strongly criticized by other economic experts.
“The proposal to shut down the central bank would mean returning to a discussion that was settled two centuries ago”, economist Guido Agostinelli told the newspaper Página 12.
The economist argued that countries need to regulate financial markets to protect citizens’ savings, adding that there would be no developed country without a central bank.
“The latest experience of depositors’ deposits not being guaranteed is the ‘corralito’ of Economy Minister Domingo Felipe Cavallo, and today that is what the entire liberal faction claims,” he added.
Organ rejection and sale
But aside from his radical economic proposals, it was his ideas that caused the biggest stir in the social sphere.
Millay has repeatedly said, especially during the presidential campaign, that he supports Argentines being able to freely buy weapons as insecurity has increased in some parts of the country.
Perhaps the most controversial proposal is to legalize the market for organ sales, an activity prohibited by state law.
“There are 7,500 people who are suffering, waiting for a transplant, and something is not going well. My suggestion is to find a market mechanism to solve this problem”, said the candidate for the TN TV channel.
The claim was flatly rejected by Carlos Soratti, director of the National Central Coordination Institute for Ablation and Implantation (Incucai), which oversees organ donation in the country.
“These exotic proposals were made a century ago, but are absurd today. The issue goes back a century and has its roots in the bioethical debates that developed the history of organ transplantation in the early twentieth century,” he said in said in a statement.
In addition to these controversial remarks, another point of controversy is his second presidential candidate: vice presidential candidate Victoria Villarruel (Victoria Villarruel).
Villaruel, the soldier’s daughter, has come forward for questioning crimes committed during the junta that ruled Argentina from 1976 to 1983.
Of these, thousands were tortured and disappeared by security forces.
“We must condemn the terrorists who attacked in the seventies, seized power, rewrote history and ensured impunity”he said at a political meeting.
It was she who led proposals to deregulate arms sales and judicial reforms that could free dozens of soldiers and police officers convicted of crimes against humanity.
Verónica Torrás, director of the Open Memory Institute, rejected these positions to Spanish newspaper La Verdad, saying: “We are facing a threat to the minimum consensus, which is to reject state terrorism.”
But those aren’t the only controversial aspects of his campaign. Millay has been accused of misogynistic behavior in various political arenas.
Multiple outlets have reported the abuse of female journalists interviewing him, and political analysts say his show opposes nearly every program dedicated to gender issues.
“In my government, there will be no cultural Marxism, and I will not ask forgiveness for having a penis. If it were up to me, I would close the Ministry of Women’s Affairs,” Milley said in an interview.
education and health
Of course, in his proposal to cut public spending, Millet made it clear that major social issues would be cut: health, education and social development.
The proposal is straightforward: combine the three departments that deal with these issues into one, which I call “Human Capital.”
In the field of health, it is proposed to create a so-called “universal insurance”, where users and doctors agree on the cost of medical services.
In the field of education, Milley proposed a “student voucher” approach, that is, schools are no longer compulsory or free education.
“The compulsory system doesn’t work. If you want to study, you have a voucher and you can study. The money the state raises for this will be distributed to school-aged children and parents will be provided with vouchers so they can choose for their children what they want. desired school.”
This move was widely opposed by people from all walks of life.
“Compulsory education is not a weapon to be placed on the head of society, but a necessary drive to survive. I am always worried about the violent appearance of what he has,” said Victoria Morales Golleri, representative of Juntos por el Cambio. Morales Gorleri told Telam news agency.
In addition to criticism of the points of his proposal, Argentine judges are currently investigating Millais for various crimes.
One of them is the alleged sale of support for candidates for local government in Argentina. Businessmen and politicians have denounced the ultra-liberal candidate for asking for nearly $10,000 in exchange for his party’s support in provincial elections that are being held to coincide with the presidential election.
Now, the Oct. 22 “House of Roses” battle has become clear.
In addition to the gains achieved by the Javier Millais campaign, “Together for Change”, which represents Max Chrismo and the moderate right, has also chosen former security minister Patricia Burridge as its candidate.
The ruling RPA party has chosen current Economy Minister Sergio Massa as its presidential candidate.
Remember, you can receive notifications from BBC Mundo. Download new versions of our apps and activate them so you never miss out on our best content.