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Argentina: Milei, a “mini-Trump” or just a family resemblance?

Offensive, aggressive, even insulting, emerging from a radical right space with an “anti-establishment” discourse, liberal themes… Argentine President-elect Javier Milei is sometimes compared to a “mini-Trump”, “Trump of the pampa”, in reference to the former American president. But looking closely, the dissimilarities outweigh the similarities between the two men, with distinct backgrounds, origins and conditions of emergence. Even if Trump’s warm congratulations to Milei, as well as former far-right Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, betray a “family resemblance”, or at least affinities. Trump called Milei on Wednesday evening, saying “that his victory by a large margin had a great impact at the global level”, and announced that they would soon travel to Buenos Aires to meet him. – “Argentina great again”? -Milei, like Trump, frequently evokes the theme of “rediscovered greatness”, in reference to the “golden age” (around 1870-1930) when Argentina, a rich “breadbasket of the world”, was “a power world”, “promised land” of mass immigration. “Very proud of you (…) you are going to make Argentina a great country again”, launched Trump on Sunday in his congratulatory message. But if he dreams, thanks to liberal reforms, of bringing Argentina “to the level of the United States in 35 years”, the pinnacle of success for him is rather Ireland “within 40 years”. – Which liberal? -In fact, Milei’s references are very Argentinian: he often cites one of the fathers of the Constitution, the liberal theorist (1810-1884) Juan Bautista Alberdi, or pure economists: neo-liberals of the “School of Chicago” or the libertarian Murray Rothbard (in reference to whom he named his four dogs). In politics, Milei cites Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher as references, anchoring himself in the “conservative revolution” of the 80s. In fact, economically, Milei, a supporter of opening markets in all directions “is a libertarian, while Trump is as far from it as possible”, with his protectionist streak and defense of a national American industry, believes Michael Shifter, economist at the Inter think tank -American Dialogue in Washington. Trump is in the “transaction”, Milei more “an ideologue”, he images. Milei in reality rarely mentions the former American president (2017-2021). The last time in September on American TV, he praised in general terms Trump’s “defense of the ideas of freedom” and “the fight against socialism”. – Not from the same world – Milei has built a notoriety on TV sets, where for 6-7 years he was a popular, provocative panelist, guaranteed buzz and audience. Trump was also a familiar face with his reality TV shows, before entering politics. The parallel ends there. Trump is above all a businessman, a billionaire, who made his fortune in real estate like his tycoon father. Milei comes from the middle class, his father was a bus driver who created his transport SME. And he shaped himself in the academic world, professor of economics without particular fame but very proud of his title of “economist “, he lived mainly from his work as a consultant in the private sector (a group managing airports around the world belonging to an Argentine billionaire of Armenian origin, Eduardo Eurnekian). Of the two, Milei is the outsider, “emerging of the anti-establishment”, emerged into politics two years ago, and created his small party, La Libertad Avanza. When Trump built his conquest of the presidency on the apparatus of the Grand Old Republican Party, believes Gabriel Vommaro, political scientist specializing in the right at the University of San Martin. – Milei, “Argentinian product” – “There is a family resemblance , without a doubt, but it is an error to include them without nuance in the same movement, without taking into account local particularities”, believes Mr. Vommaro. The resounding victory of Milei (55.6% of the votes) owes a lot to local Argentine circumstances: a phenomenal fed up with twenty years of Peronist governments especially (center-left), and also “classic” liberals who have in no way been able to stem a chronic slump and inflation reaching 143%. Comparing the two “is a bit forced” because Milei “is the product of the depth of the Argentinian crisis, and the general despair that people feel”, summarizes Michael Shifter. – Cultural “battle” or “opportunism”? -The “cultural battle”, or “reaction”, in many countries, against a general momentum in favor of the rights of women, of LGBT+ minorities, for abortion, is a strong component, present in particular on social networks, which fueled Milei’s rise as she had fueled that of Trump. But if Milei “is indeed an ally, and if there are key players in this global cultural battle in his coalition, this theme is not central in his speech,” said Vommaro. For him the “battle” is more generally that of liberalism against the “cultural Marxism” dominant for decades, Keynesian economists and climate change watchdogs in the same bag. However, “he realized that there an opportunity to represent sectors that had no political voice,” adds the analyst. And he counts among his advisers an ultra-conservative Argentinian influencer Agustin Laje, a supporter of a referendum on abortion (legalized in 2021).lm-pbl/lab/ial/