A populist outsider who drew comparisons to the rise of Donald Trump and the MAGA movement soared to a landslide victory in Argentina's vote for president on Sunday after Buenos Aires switched to paper ballots.
Javier Milei won 56 percent of the vote, compared to 44 percent for socialist Economy Minister Sergio Massa, the National Electoral Directorate said.
“Today, the reconstruction of Argentina begins,” Milei told supporters at a victory celebration. “It’s the end of Argentine decadence.”
Milei opposes abortion, has vowed to cut ties with China, and doesn’t believe climate change is man-made.
Related: Argentine conservative candidate: ‘I won’t do business with any communist’, September 17, 2023
Like Trump, Milei also challenged election previous election results.
In the first round of voting in August, Milei had been leading by wide margins in polling only to see Massa lead by 7 points.
“There were irregularities of such proportion that they put the result in doubt,” Milei said at the time. He continued: “Whoever counts the vote controls everything.”
Although legacy media, as it did with Trump's contesting of the 2020 election, dismissed Milei's charges as a conspiracy theory, Buenos Aires switched to all paper ballots in the vote for all positions in Sunday’s general elections, ditching the voting machines used to choose local authorities in the Aug. 13 primaries.
As the results came in on Sunday, it was evident from the get-go that Milei was headed for a huge victory. And, those results came in quickly.
Human Events editor Jack Posobiec noted on social media: “How did Argentina know the election result so fast? Oh, they banned electronic voting machines."
Milei’s proposals include adopting the U.S. dollar as the national currency, scrapping the central bank, prioritizing commerce with capitalist nations like the U.S. over China, and cutting the number of government agencies from 18 to 8.
"The victory of the firebrand economist over the ruling Peronist movement opens the door to a broadscale economic overhaul that he has promised for this country of 46 million people," the Wall Street Journal noted.
Massa had been hobbled by his role steering economic policy for 16 months in President Alberto Fernández’s leftist administration, which was blamed by Argentines for what economists called the worst crisis in a generation as inflation is running at 143%, more than 40% of the population is living in poverty, and factories have been forced to halt production because of a shortage of dollars to pay for imports.
Milei said on Sunday: “Today we turn the page of our history and return to take the path that we never should have lost. Today, the impoverishing model of the omnipresent state – which only benefits some while the majority of Argentines suffer – ends. Today ends the idea that the state is loot to be divided among politicians and their friends. Today ends that vision that the victimizers are the victims and the victims the victimizers. Today, we retake the path that made this country great, today we again embrace the ideas of liberty.”
Former U.S. President Donald Trump, who leads in most 2024 presidential polls, posted a congratulatory message following Milei's victory.
Fernández posted a message on Sunday night assuring the public that he would aid Milei in organizing an “orderly transition.”
“The people have expressed their will. Millions of Argentines voted and defined the destiny of the fatherland for the next four years. I am a man of democracy, and I don’t value anything more than the popular will,” Fernández wrote. “I trust that as soon as tomorrow we will begin to work with Javier Milei to guarantee an orderly transition.”
In an interview with American journalist Tucker Carlson in September, Milei conveyed his disgust with large-government politics.
Ep. 24 Argentina’s next president could be Javier Milei. Who is he? We traveled to Buenos Aires to speak with him and find out. pic.twitter.com/4WwTZYoWHs
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) September 14, 2023
Argentinian’s new president has zero tolerance for the woke left.pic.twitter.com/BzlSs5pe5j
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) November 19, 2023
Here is the man who was just elected President of Argentina, detailing his plans for the government.pic.twitter.com/RLaglC2OBj
— Spike Cohen (@RealSpikeCohen) November 19, 2023
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