Argentina: Javier Milei is the new President & he promises an economic shock therapy

The 53-year-old politician is a fan of Donald Trump and introduces himself as an anarcho-capitalist

Argentinians went to the polls on Sunday to elect the country’s new president, with outsider Javier Milei beating Peronist former Economy Minister Sergio Massa.

The ultra-liberal economist won the second round of the presidential election with 55.6% of the vote to 44.3% of his opponent, centrist Economy Minister Sergio Massa.

These results were announced by the general secretariat of the presidency last night, shortly after Mr Massa conceded defeat.

Javier Milei “is the president elected by the majority of Argentinians for the next four years”, said Mr. Massa, who came first in the first round of elections on October 22.

Moments after the first partial results were announced, the Peronist (center-left) coalition candidate told supporters gathered outside his campaign headquarters in Buenos Aires that he had called Mr. Milei “to congratulate him and to wish him luck”.

In his victory speech, Javier Milei declared that “today begins the end of decline” and “the reconstruction of Argentina”, referring to the “end of the (political) caste model” which “made poor” the citizens of Argentina, and of adopting “the freedom model” in order to “become a world power again”.

See Also:

David Schwimmer remembers Matthew Perry in Chandler Bing fashion: “Could there BE any more clouds?”

Milei promises economic shock therapy that resonate with voters angered by triple-digit inflation, a looming recession and rising poverty.

Core supporters saw him as the only candidate capable of dethroning the political “caste”, as Milei calls mainstream politicians, and ending the years-long crisis plaguing South America’s second-largest economy.

The 53-year-old Milei , an economist who heads the Freedom Advances party, has been compared to right-wing leaders such as former United States President Donald Trump and former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and managed to win support from young voters.

Milei is also staunchly anti-abortion, favors looser gun laws and has called Argentina’s Pope Francis a socialist.

He used to carry a chainsaw as a symbol of his planned cuts, but has put it on the shelf in recent weeks to boost his modest image.