Who is Javier Milei, Argentina’s eccentric banker and presidential front-runner?
Known as el Peluca (“The Wig”) because of his mental mop and sideburns, the libertarian, anarcho-capitalist Javier Milei is making waves in Argentine after winning the presidential primary elections at the weekend.
Milei and his party Liberty Advances won around 30 per cent of the vote, with the opposition United for Change on 28 per cent and the incumbent Union for the Homeland on 27 per cent.
Milei is satisfying the populist urge in Argentina which has poverty rates of 40 per cent and triple-digit inflation. He has called the political elites “robbers” and “thieves” who steal money from voters.
On the news of his impressive result in the polls, Milei said: “Today we have stood up to say enough to the model of decadence. Today we took the first step for the reconstruction of Argentina.”
What else do we know about the leather-jacket-wearing, gun-loving right-winger who is looking to rule South America’s third most populous country?
Javier Milei was born in Buenos Aires in 1970 and knew from the age of 12 he would study economics after the country was plunged into hyperinflation. Voters of the footballing nation will like that he was an amateur goalkeeper for Chacarita Juniors until he was 19. He sang in a band called Everest, which did Stones covers — so he’s fine in this Hound’s book!
He studied economics, then got two Master’s degrees before going into a successful career in banking. He’s written nine books and fifty academic papers and is a professor of economics. An admirer of Donald Trump, Milei has been in the Argentinian Congress since 2021 and likes to tout himself as a rebellious outsider.
He’s in favour of relaxing gun laws, shutting down the central bank and moving from the peso to the dollar. He thinks the only permissible circumstance for abortion is when a woman’s life is in danger and that global warming is a “socialist lie”. He also thinks the current sex education in Argentinian schools is a “system of state indoctrination” that aims to replace the family. Though he’s certainly no prude. On the contrary, he has admitted in interviews that he’s a fan of “free love” and even described himself as a “tantric sex instructor”.
Milei has five English mastiffs, some named after his favourite economists: Milton (Freedman), Murray (Rothbard), Robert and Lucas (Robert Lucas). The only person who is allowed to do his hair is his party’s vice president Lilia Lemoine, who also dresses in racy cosplay outfits.
Although he likes to sing to his fans, his fans chanted back at him after their early victory: “Make Argentina Great Again”. The presidential election will not take place until October but the primaries are a good indicator of who will win. Things are bleak in Argentina, there’s no denying that. It is a country in serious trouble, and that bodes well for Milei.
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