After Javier Miley won the elections in Argentina, the Russian-language internet was flooded with images of him dancing in outlandish costumes, shouting, using obscene language and promising to close down entire ministries.
But let’s try to understand who he really is and what his election means for Argentina and the world.
I largely explain his victory as “Right place, right time.” Miley began her election campaign in a very strange political moment for Argentina: the Kirchner family’s heyday had passed, leaving behind a void of huge personality size.
Nestor Kirchner managed Argentina from 2003 to 2007, and his wife Cristina Kirchner from 2007 to 2015.
In 2001, two months after the Twin Towers disaster in New York, the disaster hit the Argentine economy, affecting every family in the country. From that moment on, the legend of a prosperous Argentina remained forever in the twentieth century. It was difficult to imagine how to get out of this situation. Social discontent spilled into the streets and turned into clashes with the police. Then-President de la Rúa fled the presidential palace by helicopter. And the people had only one slogan: “Everybody go!” Argentina then faced a period in which four presidents changed in one week. Poverty, cruelty and lack of understanding of what will happen next.
And in 2003, a brave and cross-eyed lawyer in the prime of his life managed to give people hope. His name was Nestor Kirchner. For several years he managed to cope with the devastation and establish a system that emphasized social justice. He was succeeded by his wife, Christina Kirchner, as president in 2007. The main idea of u200bu200btheir reign was to lift the country out of poverty by providing all categories of citizens with affordable benefits that form the basis of middle-class life: food, universities, concerts, theaters, transportation (not only city trips, but even plane tickets). This period, in its dynamics and optimism, contrasted strongly with the despair of the crisis that preceded it.
Without going into details of Argentine history, we can say that both Nestor and Cristina were not only politicians, but also very bright people. The political press also highlighted parallels with historical figures in national history, especially Juan Domingo Peron and his wife Evita.
But in 2015, the elections were won by a team of large exporters who wanted to play with liberalism and the open economy because their interests were being violated under the Kirchner administration.
Why were they voted for? The press told the right number of people that in normal countries there are no customs barriers, you can buy goods from the USA without any disruptions at customs and unnecessary fees. And in general, stop feeding the poor, because if they wanted to live normally, they would have gone to work long ago. Otherwise, they live by benefiting from our taxes.
But life didn’t get any better. It became more expensive, many things became inaccessible to the majority, but there was pride in the millions of tons of lemons exported to the United States from the fields of the president’s family. But no one canceled aid to the poor.
The 2019 elections took place in an atmosphere of confusion and compromise. The candidate whose vice president was Christina Kirchner, who appears to be a Kirchnerite but is alive and critical of them, won. An ideal multi-step game for those who love politics, but not for real life. Everyone is tired. Even I’m tired of talking about it.
The last president, Alberto Fernandez, does not seem like a flamboyant person at all. There are people spoiled by power, but power made Fernandez worse. During his tenure, the pandemic and the international situation further overshadowed him. Additional money emission and inflation has become the number one policy in Argentina in the last three years.
And against this background, reckless but bright, crazy and radical Miley appears. This is a new person, he does not belong to any political group, no one knew anything about him before he appeared on talk shows six years ago.
He does not moan, he does not seek compromise, but he cuts the truth as it is. He is ready to defeat and destroy all this Kirchnerian cheapness.
Forget the prices. US dollar instead of peso. Dissolve ministries. Close the Central Bank. Legalize organ sales. Long live freedom! Anarchy!
One part of society is horrified, the other part is fed up with the instability: everything except social justice advocates!
It is difficult to say which of the new president’s promises will be fulfilled. The elite in Argentina are quite stable. We see that no one in real power has changed dramatically since 2001. Let us also remind you that before the second round of elections, the exporter political clan we know from 2015-2019 formed an alliance with an impressive candidate, providing him with additional support and ministerial portfolios.
So the legalization of organ and child trafficking, the relocation of the Argentine embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, the shooting of crowds at protests, and the privatization of everything may not have happened yet.
What if it isn’t?
The unions have a lot of power and it is not a problem for them to stop the activities of the entire country in one day. This will only increase the pressure. City police in Buenos Aires can react very harshly.
Meanwhile, there are many people below the poverty line in the capital. Hundreds of thousands. If they lose affordable products, financial aid, and the opportunity to study and travel on public transportation, they may as well declare themselves. And take Miley’s slogan about freedom literally.
As one might think, in a country where democracy has triumphed, there is actually no dialogue and the level of aggression and political fatigue is too high to even sit at the negotiation table.
What is certain is that very exciting days await Argentina.
Politics is always a spectacle. But an interesting trend in this case is to outsource the demonstration to professionals in this field. They are already the favorites and servants of the people, and serious matters are in the hands of those who know how to deal with them. And they don’t have to be the lead or put others in those roles.
In 1912, Argentina made citizens’ participation in presidential elections mandatory to avoid manipulation. This year’s elections show us what can go wrong with this system.
The author expresses his personal opinion, which may not coincide with the position of the editors.