Voters in Argentina elect far-right political outsider as president

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• Amna Nawaz:

  Argentineans went to the polls yesterday amid economic crisis, soaring inflation, and growing poverty and as many nations have in the last decade, including the U.S., they elected a populist outsider.

  Economist, author, and media commentator Javier Milei can now add another title to his resume, president-elect, thanks to an exhausted and angry electorate.

  Argentinean president-elect Javier Milei celebrated his election win amidst a euphoric crowd.

• Javier Milei, Argentinean President-Elect (through interpreter):

  Today, we turn the page on our history and we return to the path that we should never have lost.

• Amna Nawaz:

  Promising a new political era.

• Javier Milei (through interpreter):

  Stop this impoverishing model of the caste. Today, we embrace the libertarian model, so as to return to being a global power.

  (Cheering and applause)

• Amna Nawaz:

  Supporters filled the streets of Buenos Aires last night, hoping Milei's election means an end to decades of economic crises.

• Ruben Vargas, Javier Milei Supporter (through interpreter):

  I think, this time Argentina needed a change, and that's why I bet on this new proposal.

• Amna Nawaz:

  Milei won with some 56 percent of the vote, defeating establishment candidate Sergio Massa, who oversaw the nation's slide into triple-digit inflation as economy minister for the ruling Peronist party. Massa was leading after the first round of voting in October, but last night conceded the race before results were even released.

• Sergio Massa, Argentinean Presidential Candidate (through interpreter):

  Obviously, the results are not what we expected. And I have communicated with Javier Milei to congratulate him and wish him luck, because he is the president that most Argentines elected for the next four years.

• Amna Nawaz:

  An economist and former TV pundit, Milei has drawn comparisons to Donald Trump. And his rise to power has been swift. He was elected to Congress in 2021, promising to — quote — "blow up the system."

  A self-described anarcho-capitalist, he's pledged to shut down Argentina's Central Bank, adopt the U.S. dollar as national currency, and make deep economic cuts, policies he sold on the campaign trail by brandishing a chain saw and demolishing a Central Bank-themed pinata.

  Milei also opposes abortion rights, wants to end the Ministry of Women, Gender and Diversity, and to loosen gun restrictions. He also famously has four cloned dogs created in a New York lab whom he thanked when he won the August primary.

• Javier Milei (through interpreter):

  I want to thank the four-legged children, Murray, Milton, Robert, and Lucas.

• Amna Nawaz:

  A novice politician who's already grasped one of the profession's oldest rules: If you want a friend in politics, get a dog, or four.

  For more on what Milei's win means for Argentina and beyond, we are joined by Oliver Stuenkel. He teaches international relations in Brazil and is a nonresident fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

  Oliver, welcome.

  So why did Milei's message resonate with voters in Argentina so strongly right now?

  Oliver Stuenkel, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace: Hi, .

  So I think that Milei's victory is not altogether surprising, because neither the center-right government of Macri between 2015 and '19, nor the center-left government of Alberto Fernandez in the — over the past four years have managed to stabilize Argentina's economy.

  And, as a consequence, I think there was a sense that any change, even by a candidate who has proposed lots of radical ideas, many of which I think some of his voters don't even support, was seen as the best idea. This was a change election, a growing consensus that things cannot remain as they are.

  And the big question, of course, is whether Milei will govern now as the radical that he was during the first part of this electoral campaign, or the more moderate candidate that he projected himself to be during the run-off, when he tried to attract centrist voters, which he achieved, as the results on Sunday show.

• Amna Nawaz:

  Well, he steps into power pretty soon, right, on December 10, so we should get some answers fairly quickly. But what do you expect to happen?

  He has proposed, as you said, some radical ideas, getting rid of entire government agencies altogether, pegging the currency to — or, rather, changing the currency to the U.S. dollar. Do you expect him to see those through right away?

• Oliver Stuenkel:

  I think that will be very difficult, because Milei doesn't have a majority in Congress. He doesn't have a large party. He doesn't have any of the powerful political groups behind him, like Bolsonaro, for example, who had the armed forces behind him.

  So he will have to articulate some broad consensus involving more moderate lawmakers, the former president, Macri, and the defeated candidate, Bullrich, who is a traditional conservative, supported him in the run-off in an attempt to moderate him.

  So the dynamic we will see now is one between Milei's supporters of the first hour, who actually want to do away with old politics, who believe his rhetoric about destroying the political elite. But on the other hand, you have technocrats and more moderates, who Milei will need to govern. He won't be able to pass a single law without the support of established figures.

  He won't be able to govern without appointing bureaucrats who don't really share his ideas. Those are the very people he has criticized and attacked during the campaign as the deep state, and now will have to — he will have to work with them.

  So I think it will be very unlikely that he will be able to govern as a radical. However, he could try plebiscites and govern by decree, but that usually doesn't end well in Argentine politics. Also important to remember that most presidents who don't have a majority in Congress struggle to get things done, and many of them don't even finish their time in office.

• Amna Nawaz:

  In the minute-and-a-half or so I have left, I have to ask.

  Milei is close to the former far right Brazilian leader Jair Bolsonaro. He's also a supporter of former U.S. President Donald Trump. What does Milei's election mean for the relationship between Argentina and the U.S., led by President Biden, who has warned consistently about the rise of far right authoritarian leaders?

• Oliver Stuenkel:

  Well, it certainly poses an obstacle, because Milei, as you say, is a Trump fan. He's a Bolsonaro fan.

  So I don't think that Milei will be on talking terms to Brazil's President Lula. And that, of course, is a problem, because the two should be talking. Those are the two major economies of South America. They have got lots of issues to deal with.

  But in the past, between Bolsonaro, who is far right and left-wing President Fernandez, the two were already estranged. I think we will see perhaps the bureaucrats talking, while the presidents don't really speak.

  Now, for the United States, I think it will be necessary to somehow engage the Milei government, because there's also lots of issues the two will have to discuss. And I think, potentially, U.S. pressure on Milei to, for example, respect basic rights and to not threaten Argentine democracy, are certainly issues that will be discussed in the bilateral relationship between Argentina and the United States.

• Amna Nawaz:

  Issues we will be following.

  That is Oliver Stuenkel, nonresident fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, joining us tonight.

  Thank you for your time.

• Oliver Stuenkel:

  Thank you.