Javier Milei wins presidency in Argentina

[theymos]

Unexpectedly, Javier Milei won the presidency in Argentina. I'd been following this story because it's interesting to see a Milton-Friedman-style libertarian (or at least someone who identifies himself that way) suddenly get put in charge of an ultra-statist, pretty-screwed-up country.

I hope that he does really well and turns Argentina into a libertarian paradise where I can move someday. But I expect that it's going to be a huge disaster. Milei appears to be a bomb-thrower (like Trump or Bolsonaro) rather than a serious policy wonk, which absolutely will not help him now that he's the one in power. When he tries ending popular programs and firing government employees, people will riot. If I was him, I'd get a diverse group of really serious experts (mostly but not entirely libertarian-leaning), and see if they can come up with some sane policy changes which won't cause riots.

Any Argentinians here with an opinion? I'm not very familiar with Argentina, and I've only read a handful of articles on Milei, so my knowledge is only surface-level.

[Hispo]

We have some people from Argentina in the Spanish Speaking section of the forum. I am from Venezuela with friends from Argentina, so I am quite informed on the situation down there in the south.
I agree with you that Milie may have some helpful ideas to raise the economy of Argentina, but the fact he behaves in such a way which is not orthodox at all and won't play in his favor. Even though he seems to have the support of the youngest generations in Argentina, he won't be able to keep that support if he suddenly withdraws all social help and programs who many are counting on to keep going and face their dire situation...

The youth from Argentina voted for him not only because he managed to appeal to them, but also because voting for the other candidate (Massa) was voting for a continuation of the current administration and they are going so bad, they were wiling to give Milie a chance, regardless of his behavior and quite exotic ideas.

[SamReomo]

Unexpectedly, Javier Milei won the presidency in Argentina. I'd been following this story because it's interesting to see a Milton-Friedman-style libertarian (or at least someone who identifies himself that way) suddenly get put in charge of an ultra-statist, pretty-screwed-up country.

I hope that he does really well and turns Argentina into a libertarian paradise where I can move someday. But I expect that it's going to be a huge disaster. Milei appears to be a bomb-thrower (like Trump or Bolsonaro) rather than a serious policy wonk, which absolutely will not help him now that he's the one in power. When he tries ending popular programs and firing government employees, people will riot. If I was him, I'd get a diverse group of really serious experts (mostly but not entirely libertarian-leaning), and see if they can come up with some sane policy changes which won't cause riots.

Any Argentinians here with an opinion? I'm not very familiar with Argentina, and I've only read a handful of articles on Milei, so my knowledge is only surface-level.

I also don't know much about Argentina and that guy Javier Milei but I have heard that the guy is a Bitcoin supporter and if that's the case then maybe in his leadership he might make purchasing and holding of Bitcoin easier for the citizens of that country. If I'm not wrong then that guy is strictly against central banks or he shows that he is against central banks. That guy won the game because he was against the central banks and citizens supported him in his stance. His was against the banks and he shown the negative picture of central banks to the public of Argentina because in that country the Argentine peso has seen huge inflation in a year and that allowed him to get trust of the public.

That guy has shown that Bitcoin is the solution to solve the economical problems of Argentina and it will be a useful asset to fight against the inflation but the guy hasn't made Bitcoin a legal tender yet in Argentina, however I believe that if he stick to his words then maybe in few days to few weeks he make Bitcoin a legal tender for the country. The guy has vowed to shut down the central banks and replace the Argentinean peso with US dollar and may support the idea of decentralized finance in the country. The guy supports Bitcoin but we can't neglect his libertarian views and that's something worrisome for many citizens of the country. Although the guy is a libertarian but he's not posing strict policies himself but is trying to get votes in favor of his libertarian views.

Here's a good article about that guy written by Susie Violet Ward
Source

[Jatiluhung]

What is very surprising about Javier Milei is that he has only entered the world of politics since 2021 or since he was elected as a national representative representing the City of Buenos Aires for La Libertad Avanza (wikipedia). And then now he has been elected President. I think this is really a great achievement. But looking at his educational background and who he was before entering the world of politics, he, who is better known as an economic expert, because it maybe he should indeed be able to make economic improvements there. Although there may be a big change there and of course various pros and cons will occur. But all this seems to have to be done. Because inflation is starting to get out of control and has reached high inflation levels (hundreds of percent) of course it will require slightly unusual handling. He is famous for his quite eccentric style. Maybe the leadership style will be a little the same. To be honest, this reminds me a little of the president of the Republic of Indonesia who also had an eccentric or distinctive style and later in his leadership he still maintained that style and apparently this also made him closer to the people. And now in the country where I work, namely Indonesia, the economy seems to be strengthening. In fact, several large mines that were originally controlled by foreign investors have now managed to have their shares fully controlled by this country. So, when I saw Javier Milei's style, I immediately remembered the characteristics that also exist in the president of the country where I work now.

[Lucius]

~snip~
Any Argentinians here with an opinion? I'm not very familiar with Argentina, and I've only read a handful of articles on Milei, so my knowledge is only surface-level.

The discussion on this topic has already been opened in the Bitcoin discussion because the president is supposedly pro-Bitcoin, and one member of the forum who is from Argentina has already written several good posts from which you can get a good insight about some things that are happening in that country.

I also think that Milei does not have nothing that can result in some changes for the better and that people voted for him only out of desperation and because he got the support of the former president.

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5474720.msg63191924#msg63191924

[coolcoinz]

If I was him, I'd get a diverse group of really serious experts (mostly but not entirely libertarian-leaning), and see if they can come up with some sane policy changes which won't cause riots.

That's a very good idea. He has 2 ways of approaching this. Either he remains 100% true to his words and starts doing as promised, in which case they're going to label him a nutjob and attack on all fronts, or thread lightly and try to slowly push as many ideas as possible, starting from the most acceptable ones.

He has to cut expenses and save money, but not at the expense of jobs. Argentina is rich in natural resources, so there's a way to make money and people will judge him on what he managed to improve.
I'd love to see him make bitcoin profits non-taxable and encourage mining. Make Argentina a safe haven for cryptocurrencies.

[Obim34]

I am also not familiar with the Argentinians and their electoral process but the influence of Messi made me look into their headlines and I feel he must be a very tough guy with his decision making and apparently disobeying his order requires a very strict punishment.

His plans to eradicate poverty from the Argentina country is one good fact about him only just according to the media if he would allow the sales and purchase of human organs then it becomes not appealing to me, who does that and why should it be legal, I think that alone will increase the death rate in the country and many will want to use that as a means of survival, by killing and selling those organs, I'm sure those organs are very expensive.

But in this space, hands are tied and I wish the best for Him and the Argentinians, I also wish him a good stay all out his four years tenure and hope he eradicates poverty from the lives of his citizens.

You can take a look at one of the headlines from BBC: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-67470549

[Kelward]

Any Argentinians here with an opinion? I'm not very familiar with Argentina, and I've only read a handful of articles on Milei, so my knowledge is only surface-level.

I'm not an Argentinian, and the handful of information that I've gotten so far about their new president, is from this thread. What I have observed here is that Javier Milei, was voted for mainly because of his stance against his country's central bank's practices that has affected their currency negatively. I'm happy that he has interest in bitcoin, hopefully he makes it a legal tender in Argentina, and with the right policies to back it up, the citizens will see the beauty of decentralized digital currency, in comparison to the centralized authority that they have been used to.

I wish the new president, all the best, especially as he's hopefully bringing bitcoin, onboard his new administration, this will surely increase bitcoin, adoption in that country.

[BADecker]

Looks like Milei has a big job ahead of him. Especially in the banking and finance arena.


Argentina's Milei says shutting central bank 'non-negotiable'


https://news.yahoo.com/argentinas-milei-says-shutting-central-142529379.html?guccounter=1
The comments, in response to what he called "false rumors", come as the outsider libertarian economist races to put together his team ahead of taking office on Dec. 10, with some signs that he is picking a more moderate Cabinet that expected.

Argentina's social security administration ANSES, a key institution given Milei's pledge to slash state spending and subsidies, will be lead by economist Osvaldo Giordano from the key central Cordoba region, the statement added.

That marks a shift from a previous plan that Milei would appoint a close ally to lead the administration.

Horacio Marin, a private energy sector executive, was also confirmed as the incoming chief of state oil company YPF.

Milei faces major hurdles to implement his more radical reform plans, which include dollarizing the economy, shutting the central bank and privatizing state companies like YPF, which will take time if they can be done at all.

His libertarian coalition has a limited number of seats in Congress and no provincial governors. Milei also has to juggle demands from the more mainstream conservative bloc, whose public backing was key to him winning the run-off election last week.
...

[alani123]

Can any Argentinian chip in and tell us, will Milei be able to pass any of his proposals given that his party only has a minority of seats in the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies?

I feel like western media are making a big deal out of his big words. If Milei's proposals are going to be blocked or watered down by the country's legislature then what's the point?

[OgNasty]

He seems to be moving quite quickly on his promise to rid his country of central banking. I haven’t heard a ton of talk about Bitcoin from his Administration, but one would have to assume that is the direction they will be considering going. It seems like maybe El Salvador will be inspiring more countries to take this route.

[Hispo]

He seems to be moving quite quickly on his promise to rid his country of central banking. I haven’t heard a ton of talk about Bitcoin from his Administration, but one would have to assume that is the direction they will be considering going. It seems like maybe El Salvador will be inspiring more countries to take this route.

Economically and politically I believe the leader of El Salvador and Argentina are different.
Javier Milei is more like a showman someone who has much charisma and is willing to use it to reach a political mean, it is similar to what Trump achieved back in 2016.

On the other hand, Bukkele does not intend to exploit his charisma, is not a showman, he jumps right into action and applies politics which are supposed to increase the security and the standard of living of the population in El Salvador. He had proven himself to be very tough against criminals in his country.
One can only hope Milie will soon stop talking too much and shows some of the same strength Bukkele has, for the good of his people.

[Gyfts]

Milei's suggested he would replace Argentinian pesos with USD while at the same time being critical of the central banks. Doesn't make sense.

For logistical reasons I suppose he isn't in a position to suggest Argentinians adopt Bitcoin, they're a cash based society more than some other western countries. Though you do not solve the problem of central banks by kicking out one and replacing it with another.

[pinggoki]

Can any Argentinian chip in and tell us, will Milei be able to pass any of his proposals given that his party only has a minority of seats in the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies?

I feel like western media are making a big deal out of his big words. If Milei's proposals are going to be blocked or watered down by the country's legislature then what's the point?

I'm not an Argentinian but I can probably infer that this proposals have the possibility of not being fully supported by the other people in the country I mean there's definitely some opposition left in the current Argentinian government so I am sure that a veto of his proposed policies can happen, that's what's happening in my country too, as long as the government contains an opposition then you know that policies are going to have a hard time being approved unanimously. Your feeling about his words is warranted because the western media is mostly sensationalist when it comes to the truth, if they feel like it's too boring then they just have to hype it up a little to generate more reactions be it positive or negative.

[Mate2237]

This is a good news to the bitcoin family by having a president that support bitcoin. I congratulate the citizens of Argentina and by this those who are pro bitcoin will be very happy and there will no restriction of the uses of bitcoin in the country. I have not heard the name of Javier Milei before and this is the first time I am hearing but from what I noticed is that, anyone who support bitcoin is a economic developer. The person adopt bitcoin because he or she wants to change the narrative of the economic situation in the country.

Therefore, for Javier Milei, he has a good plan for the country. I also heard the news in my local Television Channel and I was happy that Bitcoin supporter won a presidential election and this will set the page for others to contest in the various countries to win.

[Blind Legs Parker]

I think you forgot to mention how much he loves bitcoin and how much he's got to be an economic saver.

[paxmao]

Unexpectedly, Javier Milei won the presidency in Argentina. I'd been following this story because it's interesting to see a Milton-Friedman-style libertarian (or at least someone who identifies himself that way) suddenly get put in charge of an ultra-statist, pretty-screwed-up country.

I hope that he does really well and turns Argentina into a libertarian paradise where I can move someday. But I expect that it's going to be a huge disaster. Milei appears to be a bomb-thrower (like Trump or Bolsonaro) rather than a serious policy wonk, which absolutely will not help him now that he's the one in power. When he tries ending popular programs and firing government employees, people will riot. If I was him, I'd get a diverse group of really serious experts (mostly but not entirely libertarian-leaning), and see if they can come up with some sane policy changes which won't cause riots.

Any Argentinians here with an opinion? I'm not very familiar with Argentina, and I've only read a handful of articles on Milei, so my knowledge is only surface-level.

Regardless of how Milei pictures himself, his agenda is a classic Austrian & Chicago schools of economics, not a libertarian.

Argentina is over the top with debt, they are in hyperinflation (depending on your definition of choice for that) and is a country that is balancing precariously the need to pay in dollar with el "cepo" to the exports (yes, you are reading correctly, a country which taxes exports... what could go wrong). El "cepo" forces to buy pesos with US dollars at an unrealistic change rate.

He has moderated the song - victory was not that surprising - but the general direction of travel is:

- Get quick cash nationalising the jewels of the crown, such as YPF (oil company).
- Slashing through subsidies and handouts to nearly everything, including the massive transfers to the "provincias" (provinces).
- And the biggest gamble: dollarising the economy and pretty much removing the Central Bank of Argentina.

My view: Argentina needs to do something. Years and years of unproductive spending and massive public debt are creating all short of problems - a country that should've been rich, has around 30% of poverty, that includes people who work and are still poor.

Will Mileis programme work? If it is implemented with a mastery that I am not sure Milei's team can muster, it will probably start correcting the economy, but even in that case there is a social hell to pay. His presidency can end very quickly if he doesn't get it surgically right.

Still, correcting Argentina will take more than one mandate. His bet is an expansion of the economy, but that does not happen instantly and frankly... anyone investing in Argentina should know that... well, is "kind of risky".

https://youtu.be/H0Ff3nESRH0

Edit to add: For those that think that removing the Central Bank is a good idea, notice that dollarizing the economy does not shut down the Central bank, it just outsources it to a foreign central bank. I wonder if that is "freedom".

[aoluain]

What is very surprising about Javier Milei is that he has only entered the world of politics since 2021 or since he was elected as a national representative representing the City of Buenos Aires for La Libertad Avanza (wikipedia). And then now he has been elected President. I think this is really a great achievement. But looking at his educational background and who he was before entering the world of politics, he, who is better known as an economic expert, because it maybe he should indeed be able to make economic improvements there. Although there may be a big change there and of course various pros and cons will occur. But all this seems to have to be done. Because inflation is starting to get out of control and has reached high inflation levels (hundreds of percent) of course it will require slightly unusual handling. He is famous for his quite eccentric style. Maybe the leadership style will be a little the same. To be honest, this reminds me a little of the president of the Republic of Indonesia who also had an eccentric or distinctive style and later in his leadership he still maintained that style and apparently this also made him closer to the people. And now in the country where I work, namely Indonesia, the economy seems to be strengthening. In fact, several large mines that were originally controlled by foreign investors have now managed to have their shares fully controlled by this country. So, when I saw Javier Milei's style, I immediately remembered the characteristics that also exist in the president of the country where I work now.

Thats a very good synopsis overall and a good comparison to Indonesia, your points
about having or taking a different approach to addressing the massive inflation are valid
and as OgNasty points out above he has already start making moves.

I think most people are afraid or concerned about extremes in politics either right or
left wing but maybe its the extreme right which will reshape the country in
this case for the better.

[yazher]

The youth from Argentina voted for him not only because he managed to appeal to them, but also because voting for the other candidate (Massa) was voting for a continuation of the current administration and they are going so bad, they were wiling to give Milie a chance, regardless of his behavior and quite exotic ideas.

This was a good idea because you cannot afford to vote for the same administration ideology when you know that they don't have any goodness with them while you have the chance to change it. Thankfully, they were brave enough to vote for Milei and now they can start to establish some new rules and work on some necessary sectors to fix their nations and to stop the corruption. This has the same vibe when we had the most successful president in our country's history and surely when the top boss is just everything around him will follow him and others below them as well. It's just like a waterfall effect whenever the top is crystal clear, it won't get affected by the polluted part below until it completely clears up.

[Y3shot]

I don't know much about the newly president of Argentina,  but one thing I noticed about him is the he is a Bitcoin lover and now he has become the president of Argentina he may make bitcoin legal tender. I think the people of Argentina will really enjoy having a president like him. I read an information where he said he is going to ban the central bank in Argentina, I don't Really know how this is true.  The understanding of bitcoin this president has will Really make good difference from the previous leaders of the country.