In the 2023 Argentine presidential election, Javier Milei and Victoria Villarruel were respectively elected president and vice president of Argentina, defeating peronists Sergio Massa and Agustín Rossi (of the Union for the Homeland) 55.7% to 44.3% of the votes. It was the highest percentage of the vote since Argentina's transition to democracy. Milei and Villarruel took office on 10 December 2023. Their victory represented a significant political upheaval in Argentina, challenging the traditional political dynamics and signaling a new era in Argentine politics characterized by radical changes and uncertainties. Milei's campaign and eventual victory in particular were subject to intense scrutiny and analysis both nationally and internationally, as he was variously described as a far-right populist, right-wing libertarian, ultraconservative, and political outsider by major news outlets across the globe, and compared to both Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro, among others.
In the politically turbulent landscape of Argentina, Milei, a former goalkeeper, rockstar, and economist-turned politician, emerged as a controversial and polarizing figure in the 2023 presidential election. Representing the Libertarian Party as the presidential candidate of La Libertad Avanza, Milei's campaign was marked by a blend of populist and economic libertarian ideologies, which he staunchly defended against the far-right label given by international news media. Villarruel, the vice-presidential running mate, exerted some significant influence on Milei despite some differences of views, and attracted attention and controversy due to her connections and historical revisionist views regarding the National Reorganization Process, for which she has been described as an ultraconservative.
Amidst an economic backdrop of rising interest rates and volatility, Milei's ascent in Argentine politics was seen as a reaction to the frustrations with both Peronist and non-Peronist governments. His surprising victory in the August 2023 Argentine primary elections, followed by success in the October 2023 general elections, reflected a significant shift in the Argentine political landscape. Milei's advocacy for the abolition of the Central Bank of Argentina and the adoption of dollarization were met with criticism but underscored the radical nature of his economic policies. His foreign policy and social views were also seen as radical.
Launched in June 2022, Milei's campaign gained momentum as Argentina grappled with soaring inflation, exceeding 100% in May 2023. His radical proposals, including the free sale of firearms and human organs and the repeal of Argentina's abortion law, sparked widespread controversy and debate. His stance against the law that legalized abortion in 2020 was particularly contentious, as he proposed a referendum to potentially revoke it. Besides his August 2023 primary elections win being deemed a major election upset, it brought him to international attention. He was considered the front-runner going into the general election, where it was thought he would further improve his primaries margins and even win in the first round; the October 2023 results showed an underperformance from Milei, who maintained his voting percentage from the primaries, with Massa surprisingly coming up on top in what was seen as a backlash against Milei and his politics. Thus, the polls for the November 2023 runoff showed a tight race that would be decided by undecided voters. Ultimately, Milei won in a landslide victory and became the president of Argentina. Observers generally saw Milei's win more as a discontent for the status quo rather than support for his politics.
Background Milei began his political career in 2021, when he was elected to the position of national deputy (a member of the Argentine Chamber of Deputies since December 2021) in Buenos Aires, representing La Libertad Avanza, which he leads. Other than that, he had no political experience and presented himself as an outsider and anti-establishment candidate. During his 2021 election campaign as a national deputy, Milei pledged not to raise taxes and was known to raffle his salary. As a national deputy, in line with his opposition to the state, Milei had several absences and did not present any projects, was not a member of any of the 46 commissions of the lower house, and participated little in the debates that took place. He supported some bills and resolutions of his colleagues, made questions, and voted against; through his monthly salary raffle, he returned more than seven million Argentine pesos.
Overview
Milei identifies with anarcho-capitalism and paleolibertarianism, while being for practical reasons a minarchist; he describes himself as a . During his political campaign, commentators categorized his ideological views as a blend of populist, right-wing libertarian, and conservative strands, along with ultraliberal economics, right-wing populist, ultraconservative, and far-right politics, and representing anti-politics. He has also been variously described as a far-right populist, far-right outsider, far-right libertarian, and libertarian populist, and labelled far right or radical right by international news agencies like Al Jazeera English, the BBC, and Reuters, newspapers including The Economist, The Daily Telegraph, the Financial Times, Le Monde, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal, news magazines like Time, and several Argentine and Spanish-language publications including among the others El Diario, elDiario.es, El Mundo, El País, Perfil, Télam, and . Milei rejected the use of the far-right label to describe his views, and said: "I'm a liberal and libertarian, these positions are things of the left, because for the left, everything that is not on their side is on the right."
Milei supports former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro and former United States president Donald Trump, especially their anti-communism and criticism of socialism, and he has been compared to them for sharing an anti-leftist and anti-social justice platform. When asked about Trump and Bolsonaro, he said: "I have a clear agenda, which goes against everything that is socialism or communism. Everyone who is against socialism or communism is on the side I am on. This is my guiding principle, then we can have all the differences you want. In that group we have liberals, libertarians, people from the center, conservatives, from the center-right, but the limit is that no one crosses the limit of social democracy and all expressions further to the left. My alignment with Trump and Bolsonaro is almost natural."
Milei's 2023 presidential campaign and August 2023 primaries win brought him international attention, as the international press widely reported on his rise in the polls and prominence and electoral upset, and used a range of labels to describe him. Due to his primaries upset win, he was described as a far-right populist or outsider. Reuters reported that Milei is a "radical right-wing candidate", Time called him a populist, El País described him as an "ultra-right libertarian and 'anarcho-capitalist' who represents angry Argentina", CNN saw him as an outsider, The Economist headlined that "Argentina could get its first libertarian president", CBC News described him as a "libertarian firebrand", and the BBC described him as a "Trump admirer". He has also been compared to American conservative Tucker Carlson, Ron DeSantis, and Marine Le Pen of France's National Rally. He maintains close ties with the Spanish far-right party Vox, from which he borrowed the anti-caste rhetoric, as well as the former far-right conservative Chilean presidential candidate José Antonio Kast. Milei said: "People realize that we're getting poorer and that the only ones making progress are the politicians, the parasites."
Commentators observed that Milei and his running mate, Victoria Villarruel, held differences on certain issues. Milei does not oppose the 2010 law that legalized same-sex marriage in Argentina, while Villarruel supports civil unions but is opposed to egalitarian marriage, and disagrees with him on questions like organ trade legalization, on the grounds that the human body is not a good; their differences of views have been explained as philosophical issues due to Milei's economist background. They also held different views on the National Reorganization Process and the Dirty War. Villarruel is the daughter of a military personnel and engages in historical revisionist accounts of the military dictatorship, and has been accused of Argentine state terrorism denial. While Milei publicly expressed that he is not a defender of it, he has attracted controversy for having questioned the 30,000 disappeared toll. Observers also pointed to the influence Villarruel ultimately had on Milei.
Presidential ticket The only solutionfor Presidentfor Vice PresidentNational Deputy(2021–2023)National Deputy(2021–2023)Coalition parties: Libertarian Party National Democratic Party Democratic Party
Campaign A member of the Libertarian Party, Milei was the candidate for president of Argentina as part of La Libertad Avanza. His running mate for vice president of Argentina was Victoria Villarruel, the daughter of a military personnel who has engaged in historical revisionist accounts of the military dictatorship, and has been accused of Argentine state terrorism denial. Milei announced his candidacy in an April 2022 interview with Clarín. Milei's campaign, which was managed by his sister Karina, officially began in a June 2022 event that was deemed a fiasco due to low attendance.
As inflation rose above 100% in May 2023, Milei's position in the polls increased. During the campaign for the 2023 Argentine primary elections, Milei generated controversy after he suggested that he would allow the free sale of firearms and human organs, as well as criticism for his comments deemed to be mysoginistic. Furthermore, he intends to revoke the law (Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy Bill) that legalized abortion in Argentina, which was approved in 2020, and is against its decriminalization. In an August 2023 interview with Alejandro Fantino, he suggested holding a referendum to do so, saying: "Just because something is legal, it does not mean that it is legitimate. I am against it (the Voluntary and Legal Interruption of Pregnancy Bill) because it is against the right to life. ... At least I would hold a referendum. And, if the result is in my favor, the law is eliminated. But let the Argentines choose. Let's see if the Argentines believe in the murder of a defenseless human in the womb of the mother." Gun laws in Argentina are restrictive. According to his party's electoral platform, Milei proposes the "deregulation of the legal market" for weapons and "the protection of its legitimate and responsible use by the citizens".
Milei's rise has been described within the context of the last two presidencies. Analysts described a win for Milei as a more dramatic version of the pro-business government of former president Mauricio Macri, who tried to introduce market reforms after taking office in 2015 only to clash to the political opposition and plunge headlong into a financial crisis that ended with the country asking the International Monetary Fund for another rescue package. Alberto Fernández, Macri's successor, has struggled to fix the economy amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Argentina and a severe shortage of foreign currency, leaving the country vulnerable to another debt default. Fernández is so unpopular that he decided not to run for re-election. In August 2023, Milei stated that he would not end social programs, which support millions of people in a country where almost 40% of the population is impoverished; he described them as "victims, not victimizers". He added that ending this type of social assistance would take up to fifteen years.