Javier Milei: Argentina’s First-Ever Libertarian President
In Argentina—one of the most statist countries in the world—a libertarian economist is now the president-elect.
Voters in Argentina have elected a libertarian as president for the first time in their history. On Sunday, Argentina had its second round of voting, and Javier Milei received 55.69% of the vote against the Peronist Sergio Massa’s 44.31%. In a country that suffers 143% annual inflation and a poverty rate hovering around 43%, Milei has a long and difficult road ahead.
Milei’s win marks the first time in 40 years that someone outside Argentina’s two largest parties was elected. La Libertad Avanza, Milei’s 3-year-old political party, finally broke through the entrenched and archaic political apparatus. In a tweet back in June, Milei stated that Argentina was choosing between the old politics and the new ideas. During his presidential campaign, Milei pledged to tackle Argentina’s inflationary unhealthy economy by dollarizing the peso and minimizing government spending.
¿DE QUÉ SE TRATA ESTA ELECCIÓN?
Los argentinos tenemos una oportunidad histórica. Después de décadas de fracasos en las que los mismos de siempre se repartieron el poder, hoy tenemos la oportunidad de hacer algo distinto. Dar vuelta esta triste página de nuestra historia.
— Javier Milei (@JMilei) June 24, 2023
In a country where only 6 million people work in the private sector and pay taxes to maintain 20 million public workers and pensioners, Milei has a long way to go. How can he steer the ship that is barely staying afloat? His plan is to minimize state regulations and trade barriers to let economic growth flourish. He has also raised closing the central bank, ending currency controls in the economy, and reversing the irresponsible fiscal policy and government spending of the past few years.
Leave all creative energies uninhibited. Merely organize society to act inharmony with this lesson. Let society’s legal apparatus remove all obstacles the best it can. Permit these creative know-hows freely to flow. Have faith that free men and women will respond to the Invisible Hand.
This piece was first published on FEE.org, you can find it here.