Javier Milei won Argentina\u2019s presidential elections on Sunday, wrenching his country to the right with a bombastic anti-establishment campaign that drew\u00a0comparisons\u00a0to that of former US President Donald Trump \u2013 all against the backdrop of one of the world\u2019s highest inflation rates. <\/p>\n
His rival Sergio Massa conceded the run-off vote on Sunday evening in a brief speech even before official results were announced. \u201cMilei is the president elected for the next 4 years,\u201d said Massa, adding that he had already called Milei to congratulate him. <\/p>\n
Following his election victory,\u00a0Milei\u00a0told a\u00a0local radio\u00a0station that he will visit the US and Israel before his inauguration in December. <\/p>\n
His trip to the US\u00a0will have \u201ca spiritual connotation\u201d since he is aiming to\u00a0visit his \u201crabbi friends,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
When asked about his schedule,\u00a0Milei\u00a0said that he would take a plane to the United States and then go to Tel Aviv, via New York, in the next few days. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe discussed this yesterday with the Israeli Ambassador in Argentina,\u201d he said, adding that he intends to visit the Organization of American States (OAS) during his time in the US. <\/p>\n
Milei\u2019s victory marks an extraordinary rise for the former TV pundit, who entered the race as a political outsider on a promise to \u201cbreak up with the status quo\u201d \u2013 exemplified by his rival Sergio Massa, a career politician. <\/p>\n
His campaign promise to dollarize Argentina, if enacted, is expected to thrust the country into new territory: no country of Argentina\u2019s size has previously turned over the reins of its own monetary policy to Washington decisionmakers. <\/p>\n
Shortly after the results were announced, Milei was greeted by cheers and thunderous applause from his supporters as he took to the stage and gave a fiery speech, pledging to take the country into a new political era. <\/p>\n
\u201cToday we turn the page on our history and we return to the path that we should never have lost,\u201d Milei said. \u201cToday we retake the path that made this country great.\u201d <\/p>\n
Milei, a social conservative with ties to the American right, opposes abortion rights and has called climate change a \u201clie of socialism.\u201d He has promised to slash government spending by closing Argentina\u2019s ministries of culture, education, and diversity, and by eliminating public subsidies. <\/p>\n
\u201cMake Argentina great again!\u201d Trump posted on his platform Truth Social Sunday, in reaction to Milei\u2019s win. \u201cI am very proud of you,\u201d he wrote. <\/p>\n
Similarities to Trump have not gone unnoticed in the United States as it prepares for its own presidential elections. Milei succeeded in attracting attention at home not only because of his political style \u2013 including wielding chainsaws and raging outbursts \u2013 but also because of the novelty of his positions and eagerness to upset the status quo. <\/p>\n
Echoing the Trumpian slogan, \u2018Drain the swamp\u2019, Milei\u2019s supporters shout \u201c\u00a1\u00a1Qu\u00e9 se vayan todos!!\u201d which translates as \u201cMay they all leave!\u201d \u2013 an expression of fury at politicians from both sides of the spectrum. Argentina\u2019s left is currently in government, following rule by the right from 2015 to 2019. <\/p>\n
Outside of his controversial plan for\u00a0dollarization, Milei\u2019s political program includes slashing regulations on gun control and transferring authority over the penitentiary system from civilians to the military; both measures part of a tough-on-crime approach. He proposes using public funds to support families who choose to educate their children privately and even privatizing the health sector, which in Argentina has always been in public hands. <\/p>\n
Several outspoken comments landed Milei in hot water, without deterring his most ardent supporters. He triggered an uproar when it appeared Milei was in favor of opening a market for organ transplants, although he later\u00a0retracted\u00a0his declarations. He was similarly forced to apologize after calling Pope Francis, who is from Argentina and is seen as an icon of progressive politics in South America, \u201can envoy of Satan\u201d in 2017. <\/p>\n
Milei\u2019s unexpected political ascent will be closely scrutinized around the world as a potential sign of a resurgence of far-right populism in the region. Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro endorsed Milei\u2019s candidacy, while leftist leaders in the region \u2013 including current Brazilian leader Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva and Colombia\u2019s Gustavo Petro \u2013 abandoned a tradition of non-intervention to back Massa in the election run-up. <\/p>\n
Public opinion polls had shown the two candidates neck-and-neck in recent weeks. <\/p>\n
The candidacy of Massa, a lifelong politician, came to represent Argentina\u2019s political establishment over the course of the race against Milei. Inflation reached painful heights during his tenture as economy minister, at 142% year on year, but Massa argued that the current government\u2019s actions were working to temper the pain \u2013 an argument that failed to convince voters exhausted by a cost-of-living crisis. <\/p>\n
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n Javier Milei won Argentina\u2019s presidential elections on Sunday, wrenching his country to the right with a bombastic anti-establishment campaign that drew\u00a0comparisons\u00a0to that of former US President Donald Trump \u2013 all against the backdrop of one of the world\u2019s highest inflation rates. His rival Sergio Massa conceded the run-off vote on Sunday evening in a brief <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":11904,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-11903","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11903","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11903"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11903\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11904"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11903"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11903"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11903"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}