BUENOS AIRES (CN) — Just a few years ago, Javier Milei was a fringe television pundit and economist known for his eccentric hairdo, his temperamental outbursts, and his self-described “anarcho-capitalist” libertarian ideology.
On Sunday, he was sworn in as Argentina’s new president, launching the inflation-wracked Latin American country into an unpredictable four years led by someone who has vowed to slash public spending, shutter the country’s central bank, and replace Argentine pesos with U.S. dollars.
“Today, a new era begins in Argentina,” Milei stated at the top of his first official address as president. “Today, we declare the end of a long and sad history of decadence and decline, and we begin the path of rebuilding our country.”
Instead of delivering his inaugural address in Congress, as is customary, the newly sworn-in president opted to step outside and speak before a jubilant crowd of his supporters, his back turned to the congressional building. The unusual move — not Milei’s first departure from Argentine political tradition — was widely regarded as a rejection of the political establishment.
In a 33-minute speech that traversed Argentine history and economic theory, Milei celebrated the public for choosing libertarianism but warned that under his economic shock approach, things will get worse before they get better.
“We do not seek nor desire the tough decisions that will have to be made in the coming weeks, but unfortunately, we have been left with no choice,” the president declared from the steps of Congress. “However, our commitment to Argentines is unalterable. We are going to make all the necessary decisions to fix the problem caused by 100 years of wastefulness by the political class.”
In keeping with his campaign rhetoric, Milei used his speech to lambaste Kirchnerism, the center-left political movement that has held power in Argentina for 16 of the past 20 years. “Let me be very clear,” he said. “No government has received a worse inheritance than the one we are receiving.”
The Milei administration is inheriting a country suffering from dizzying annual inflation that has topped 140%. This time last year, one U.S. dollar could buy around 312 Argentine pesos with the unofficial but widely used black market rate. Today, a dollar can buy you almost 1,000 pesos. Poverty is also on the rise, with two in five Argentines living below the poverty line.
Argentina’s economic woes, which preceded the government of former President Alberto Fernández but worsened significantly during his term, stem from a pattern of problematic economic management repeated by numerous administrations. Overspending, printing too many pesos and a $44 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund have only made matters worse in recent years.
Milei’s economic proposals are a radical departure from Argentine tradition. He campaigned on a promise of dollarizing the economy, closing the country’s central bank and significantly reducing government spending. Many economists have expressed concern over the president’s proposed economic experiment, arguing that it is more likely to hurt Argentina’s most vulnerable populations rather than help them.
In his inaugural speech, Milei doubled down on his sweeping proposals. “There is no alternative to adjustment, and there is no alternative to shock,” he said. “For gradualism, there needs to be financing. And unfortunately, I have to remind you: There is no money."
The president acknowledged that his shock approach is likely to spur further unemployment, wage loss and poverty for Argentines in coming months. “But that’s not very different from what has happened in the last 12 years,” Milei said, adding that short-term economic turbulence is the “last pill to swallow before we can begin reconstructing Argentina.”
Frustration with the status quo and a seemingly unending economic crisis drove 56% of the Argentine electorate to vote for Milei, who has little political experience, over establishment candidate Sergio Massa, the former administration’s economic minister.
People like Fernando Acosta, a cryptocurrency worker who lives with his mother and daughter in the coastal city of Quilmes, are ready for change.
“I’m a worker, a middle-class person,” Acosta said. “People here have to live paycheck to paycheck. Trying to save pesos is really complicated. What people do when they get paid is immediately turn around, buy food, and cover their basic necessities.”
In Acosta’s eyes, Milei is Argentina’s only hope. “Practically 50% of Argentines believe that Javier is the only option,” he said. “We’re putting our faith in him because his proposals are genuine. He did not lie to us by promising us gold and silver, like other presidents have done. He tells us the truth.”
It’s not entirely clear how Milei plans to pull off his sweeping changes, since his nascent political party, Liberty Advances, only holds seven of the 72 seats in Argentina’s Senate and 38 of the 257 in its House.
“I don’t think he has the political muscle necessary to push his agenda,” said political analyst Juan Negri, a professor at Torcuato Di Tella University in Buenos Aires, pointing to Milei’s legislative minority and lack of a traditional political party. “He is a very weak president.”
Since winning the election last month, Milei has cooled some of the more inflammatory stances he took at the start of his campaign, and has begun to forge alliances with members of the political establishment — or, as he often calls it, the “political caste.” That includes former center-right president Mauricio Macri, and former center-right presidential candidate Patricia Bullrich, who will resume the role of security minister she held during the Macri administration.
“I think we’re seeing him understand that the campaign is over and that a new political game needs to be played,” Negri said. “He seems to be aware of his political weakness, which is good news.”
Acosta, the Milei supporter who lives in Quilmes, is heeding the president’s inaugural warning and preparing his family for difficult months to come. But he’s hopeful, he said, and hopes his fellow Argentines can muster some optimism too.
“Society voted for something, and if people really believe in democracy, they have to allow him to do things,” Acosta said. “If he does things wrong, I believe that society itself is going to make him see that. But we really hope that things work out, God willing.”
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