Javier Milei (53), a candidate from the far-right party La Libertad Avanza (Freedom Advances), has won the Argentine presidential election. Former U.S. President Donald Trump sent a congratulatory message to Milei, who is locally known as “Argentina’s Trump.”
On the 19th (local time), former President Trump posted on Truth Social account, “The whole world was watching! I am very proud of you (Milei),” and “You will turn your Country around and truly Make Argentina Great Again!”
Milei secured 55.86% of the vote in the final round of the presidential election, with 91.81% of the votes counted. He has effectively won the election, beating the ruling party candidate, Sergio Massa (51), who received 44.13% of the votes.
In the primary vote last month, Milei trailed behind Massa (36.78%) with a vote share of 29.99%. However, he staged a dramatic comeback in the final round of voting, which was a head-to-head match between the top two candidates.
In Argentina, people also know Milei as an “eccentric politician.” His performance of drastically cutting government spending, known as the “chainsaw performance,” and his remarks rejecting the theory of global warming have led to comparisons with former President Trump. Locally, they refer to him as “Argentina’s Trump.”
Despite criticism, Argentine voters chose him due to the terrible economic hardship they are currently experiencing. As of last September, Argentina’s cumulative inflation had reached 142.7%. The Argentine peso is repeatedly collapsing in the international foreign exchange market.
Amid this, Milei proposed a radical pledge to introduce the U.S. dollar as the official currency instead of the peso and dismantle the Central Bank of Argentina. He also announced a pledge to allow gun trading and to distance Argentina from China and Brazil while strengthening diplomacy with the U.S.
By. Lim Joo Hyung
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