The star of Argentina’s ongoing election cycle is a libertarian economist who has proposed complete dollarisation and claims climate breakdown is a “socialist lie”. Every TV channel covers him. His name is brought up in taxis and hair salons, by both those who think he is the last hope for the country’s troubled economy’s and those who are panicked by his proposals.
Beyond dollarisation, Javier Milei proposes an end to free and compulsory education, which he would replace with a system based on school vouchers; a gradual privatisation of the healthcare system; deregulation of the arms market; and scrapping mandatory sex education, which he views as a ploy to destroy the family. Many of his proposals have left him mired in controversy, such as when he expressed support for a free trade in human organs, regulated by only the market.
Five years ago, 52-year-old Milei wasn’t even a politician. Now he consistently polls third in the run-up to Argentina’s presidential election on 22 October. Key to understanding his rise are the country’s young people – and their anger.
