“Today I am here to tell you that the West is in danger. It is in danger because those who should defend Western values are co-opted by a worldview that leads inexorably to socialism and, consequently, poverty,” said Javier Milei as he began his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday ( 17), marking his disruptive political stance from the beginning.
Upon assuming the presidency of Argentina, the “Lion” (called that by his supporters) established a change in the Latin American panorama that had been giving way to a “red tide” in the last 5 years. Your incisive way of speaking, your style rockstar and its position in favor of minimal State intervention, the reduction of public spending, the fight against corruption, the free market and the cultural battle, led it to be the main axis of a new scenario in the region that must now reorganize itself.
The victory of the libertarian liberal (as he calls himself) triggered reactions for and against that foreshadow times of tension in such a polarized Latin America. From the beginning of his campaign, Milei chose to align himself with staunch leaders of conservatism and liberalism. Jair Bolsonaro was the first to show support for the then right-wing candidate. In August 2023, the 38th president of Brazil recorded a video in which he expressed that they had “many things in common”, wished him luck in the elections and promised that he would visit him. After the message of support, Milei said that he was “infinitely grateful to President Bolsonaro for his affection, for taking risks and for his support”.
However, this rapprochement between the two right-wing leaders did not please everyone. Upon winning the elections, the current president of Argentina invited Bolsonaro and his family to his inauguration on December 10 last year and determined that he would receive the same treatment as any other head of state. Javier Milei also invited Lula Da Silva to the inauguration, however, the PT member rejected the invitation “because he felt personally offended”, according to his special advisor for international affairs, Celso Amorim.
It turns out that during the campaign, the former congressman said, in an interview with Tucker Carlson, that he would not do “business with China” or “with any communist”. “I am a defender of freedom, peace and democracy. Communists and Chinese, like Putin and Lula, don’t come in there,” he stated. Despite his position, Milei also explained that this does not mean that, if he were elected, Argentine businesspeople would not have the freedom to negotiate with whoever they want, “if they want to do business with China, Russiawith Brazil, with anyone, the Argentines’ problem”, he concluded.
Another act that would have angered the PT leader were the accusations of Brazil's interference in the Argentine elections through financial collaboration with the campaign of his opponent, Sérgio Massa. For Guilherme Frizzera, Master in Regional Integration from USP and Doctor in International Relations from UnB, although they exchanged barbs, “this will hardly affect relations” between both countries, it is necessary to “separate the ruler, who is the one who holds the temporary position , and the relations between the States that existed before, that continue to exist and that will continue after the departure of this ruler”.
Dictators and radicals were uncomfortable
But Lula was not the only one to view the economist's election in the neighboring country with “bad eyes”. The president of Colombia, the radical leftist Gustavo Petro; the dictator of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro; and even the dictator of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, harshly criticized the libertarian.
One of the reasons was Javier Milei's decision not to invite the dictators of Iran, Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua to his inauguration ceremony due to their constant violation of human rights and permanent support for international terrorism, which would have provoked the announcement of the Nicaraguan regime regarding the withdrawal of its ambassador to Argentina.
“In view of the repeated statements and expressions of the new rulers, the Government (…) proceeded with the withdrawal of its Ambassador, fellow writer and communicator Carlos Midence. The withdrawal comes into force immediately”, announced the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nicaragua, Denis Moncada, in a brief statement released on December 4, 2023 by the official press of Managua.
The statements by Argentina's current head of state stating that he would not promote relations with Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua Being “communist dictatorships” also irritated the three countries, which are exactly dictatorships and communists.
For his part, Nicolás Maduro stated, one day after Milei's victory, that “the neo-Nazi far right won in Argentina”. “To the Argentines, we say: you chose, but we will not remain silent, because the arrival of a right-wing extremist with a colonial project, absolutely colonial, kneeling before North American imperialism, is a tremendous threat”, concluded the dictator, of in whose government, until not long ago, a supporter of Hitler participated.
After the publication of a Mega Decree of Necessity and Urgency (known by its acronym DNU) which contemplates the deregulation of the economy, the leader of the left in Venezuela also carried out attacks on the Argentine president and described the text as “madness” and a “ disaster”. “Look at the disaster in Argentina. Did you realize? Craziness! A dictatorial decree by the far-right neo-Nazi president of Argentina, eliminating all the rights of the people, ending Argentina's economic sovereignty”, he pointed out.
However, the criticism did not stop there. On Monday (15), Maduro described the libertarian liberal as a “fatal error” in the history of his country and Latin America, due to his economic policies, especially his idea of implementing a drastic reduction of the State. “I don’t want you to rectify it, but I hope this message reaches you, that you are wrong (…) You are a mistake in the history of Latin America, Milei, a fatal mistake in the history of Argentina,” he said in an annual message before the National Assembly in Caracas.
Shortly afterwards, the Argentine president responded to Maduro's message and said that he “didn't expect SO MUCH PRAISE…!!!”. “Maduro's socialist impoverishment saying that I am a historical error in Latin America confirms that we are on the right path…!!!”, he expressed while waiting for the flight to Zurich, Switzerland.
Gustavo Petro It was another of the Latin American leaders who entered into this arm wrestling with Javier Milei. The president of Colombia said that the “Leão” victory represented “sad” news for Latin America. “The extreme right won in Argentina; It's your society's decision. It's sad for Latin America and we'll see… neoliberalism no longer has a proposal for society, it cannot respond to humanity's current problems”, he published on his social networks.
But Nayib Bukelepresident of El Salvador, who had congratulated Milei on his victory and who considers him an ally, responded to Petro's publication in a mocking tone, “now say it without crying”.
The president of Colombia also posted on current Government to Congress) that establishes charges for foreign students attending A
rgentine public universities. The decision only affects those who do not have permanent residence in the country.
“We will receive 20 thousand Colombian students who studied for free in Argentina. They will literally be expelled from the country, for them there was no so-called 'freedom'”, said Petro.
Phrases in the wind
For Doctor Fernando Pedrosa, professor and researcher at the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Buenos Aires, far from becoming a concern, “the criticisms of Petro and Maduro must be taken within the framework of this right-left polarity in which both are the elements most extremists in current Latin American politics. (…) I believe it is not of great importance and has no impact on Argentina. They also do this to please their followers. It’s something that doesn’t cost anything for Maduro and Petro, just say it”
Despite this polarity on the American continent, left-wing heads of state congratulated Milei on his election and called him to dialogue, as was the case, for example, with the Luis Arce, president of Bolivia; it's from Gabriel Boric, president of Chile; who was present at the inauguration ceremony of the former deputy. The most right-wing representatives also supported the economist, as was the case with Daniel Noboaelected president of Ecuador; Santiago Peñapresident of Paraguay; Luis Lacalle Poe, president of Uruguay; and Nayib Bukele himself, president of El Salvador.
New political board
In 2024, presidential elections will be held in Venezuela (second semester, no date set yet), El Salvador (February), Panama (May), Dominican Republic (May), Mexico (June) and Uruguay (October).
According to Pedrosa, “we are seeing these changes of governments, where although the left has a majority, it is not seen that it is something that can be consolidated over time, nor in the opposite direction. Petro lost the regional elections, Boric could not sanction his constitution, Corrêa could not impose his candidate, the Bolivian left broke down. But Lasso had to leave and it does not seem easy for Lacalle Pou to find a successor who will repeat the success of the National Party. We are seeing demonstrations by voters that show more their disagreement with the parties in power than their long-term ideological support.”
Frizzera also agrees that there is “a tendency towards punishment on the continent, where voters are electing opposition candidates for current governments, whether right-wing or left-wing”.
Regarding this year's elections, the Argentine professor and researcher believes that Andrés Manuel López Obrador's party (AMLO) “will win again with its candidate” and that the “Frente Amplio has a good chance of returning to the Uruguayan government”. “Donald Trump also has a chance of winning, but this has to do with internal and not regional dynamics,” he emphasized.
For his part, the doctor in International Relations from UnB makes a similar analysis to Pedrosa. Frizzera says that unlike most countries in the region, “today it is expected that there will not be a punishment vote in Mexico. The current president is extremely popular.” In the case of other countries, with the exception of Venezuela and El Salvador (he considers that there are no democratic regimes there), Frizzera thinks that the population will use the “punishment vote”.
With this new scenario being defined, Milei must choose the best strategies and allies that will serve as his basis when establishing his international policies. His renunciation of joining the BRICS and his recent criticism of socialist models in his speech at the World Economic Forum, in Davos, outline the path along which the libertarian liberal must follow seeking to align himself with countries such as the United States and Israel.
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