World News: Argentinians Elect Populist Javier Milei

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Category: World News

Published on Monday, 20 November 2023 17:55

Written by Olivier Longhi

Javier Milei's election as Argentine president confirms the rise of populism as a political alternative. In a downgraded country, the Argentines have chosen the populist experiment, while many attempts in America and Europe have ended in bitter failures.

Thus, Argentines elected with 55.7% of the vote Javier Milei, an anti-system candidate, defining himself as an anarcho-liberal, eager to attack the Justicia list legacy of Peronism. More clearly, the man, openly populist, intends to cut back on Argentine social spending, replace the Argentine peso with the dollar and give Argentina back the hope that had abandoned it eaten away by inflation of 140%.

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In the aftermath of a victory hailed by Jair Bolsonaro, former Brazilian president, and Donald Trump, former president of the United States, questions continue to emerge. Between the democratic will of the Argentines to bring to power a man described as new and the need to extract one of the largest countries in South America from the doldrums that have gripped it for several years, why embark on a path already taken by other nations in recent years, and whose results are no longer to be demonstrated?

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In 2016, the United Kingdom led the ebullient Boris Johnson to leave the European Union, only to regret a choice that pushes Rishi Sunak, British Prime Minister, to think about new forms of alliances with political Europe.

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In the United States, the Trumpian adventure ended with an impressive and pathetic storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021, by supporters of the former president refusing Joe Biden's victory. The list of those disappointed with populism is long and could go on and on, just as it would find supporters arguing the relevance of such discourses and such regimes, whether in Turkey, Hungary, or Russia.

However, Javier Milei's victory reflects, on an Argentine and South American scale, the malaise and social discontent of a country far removed from the great flows of globalization and its fruits. But on the other hand, many countries bathed in the products of globalization have also been able to give in to the sirens of populism.

The answer is therefore to be found elsewhere, and perhaps quite simply in the failure of previous policies in countries with strong and often visible social disparities. Because this is what these nations that have fallen into populism have in common: social disparities. Whole sections of the population feel, rightly or wrongly, marginalized or excluded from the socio-economic flows leading to social recognition and a certain economic affluence.

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Often acculturated, these same fringes of the population give in to poorly substantiated discourses that claim to simply solve the most complex social and economic equations. Moving forward, as Javier Milei claims, replacing the Argentine peso with the dollar, suggests that Argentina will thereby acquire the power of the world's leading currency and the advantages it carries.

The idea is appealing, but it refers to complex financial mechanisms that rely on a nation's creditworthiness and not on a flashy campaign argument. The rise of populism, ultimately global, is no longer reserved for a lot of nations with violent social realities resulting from the throes of unbridled liberalism, inhabited by populations incapable, for many reasons, of inserting themselves into the circuit of globalization.

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The latter should also be questioned as to its ability to generate a form of universal happiness so much vaunted by its supporters. It will be up to historians and sociologists to present in several years' time what the results of globalization have been. But for now, it is Argentina's turn to experiment with populism. With the results that we know in other countries that have tried the same adventure.

Bio: Olivier Longhi has extensive experience in European history. A seasoned journalist with fifteen years of experience, he is currently professor of history and geography in the Toulouse region of France. He has held a variety of publishing positions, including Head of Agency and Chief of Publishing. A journalist, recognized blogger, editor, and editorial project manager, he has trained and managed editorial teams, worked as a journalist for various local radio stations, a press and publishing consultant, and a communications consultant.