Source: AFP
They are both abrasive, prone to insults and profanity, and boast an indomitable mop of hair.
But comparing Argentina’s president-elect Javier Millay to former US president Donald Trump could be misleading, analysts say.
In the same way that the US media dubbed former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro the “Trump of the Tropics”, headlines have been quick to refer to Millay as the “Trump of the Pampas” – referring to Argentina’s vast flat grasslands.
“There are some similarities, but there are probably more differences,” said Michael Shifter of the Inter-American Dialogue think-tank in Washington.
He said Miley was a product of “an Argentine phenomenon … and the depth of the crisis and the widespread despair that people feel.”
Millay, a 53-year-old libertarian outsider, won Argentina’s presidential election by threatening to overthrow the establishment and riding on voters’ anger over 140 percent annual inflation and soaring poverty levels.
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A showman like Trump, Miley first gained public attention through appearances as a television panelist, where he ranted about the failures of government without concern for political correctness.
He and his allies have sought to ignite culture wars, like those taking place in the United States, around gun rights, abortion, feminism and gender issues.
But pre-election polls showed that most voters — who are more concerned with the economy, security and corruption — backed him despite those views, not because of them.
Milei’s unexpected surge in popularity has delighted conservatives in the north, with American firebrand Tucker Carlson flying to Buenos Aires to interview him and Bolsonaro’s son accompanying him to his campaign seat for the first round.
His vow to return Argentina to its “golden age,” when it was one of the world’s richest countries at the dawn of the 20th century, also echoes Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan.
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Trump, like Bolsonaro, has expressed his delight at Miley’s victory, sending him a message saying he was confident he would “make Argentina great again”. He also promised a trip to Buenos Aires to meet with him after a phone call on Thursday, Miley’s press office confirmed.
“Far-right figures are giddy about Milei’s victory and will try to recruit him into their global movement,” said Benjamin Gedan, director of the Argentina Project at the Washington-based Wilson Center.
“He clearly sympathizes with many of these individuals and their political parties. That said, there are indications that he will chart a more independent course.”
Very different ideas
Gabriel Vommaro, a sociologist and political analyst based in Argentina, told AFP that it would be a mistake to assume the two men are part of the same movement “without taking local specificities into account”.
Millay beat Economy Minister Sergio Massa, who had overseen a crippling of the country’s inflation after decades of falling. Many voters told AFP they see Millay as the lesser evil.
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And he is far more of an outsider than either Trump or Bolsonaro were, having only formed his Libertad Avanza party two years ago, which has only 38 of the 257 seats in Congress.
“The problem with Miley is that he is likely to be weak rather than very strong. Is he closer to Trump or Pedro Castillo?” said Gerardo Munck, an Argentine professor of international relations at the University of Southern California.
Castillo was an inexperienced Peruvian outsider who was fired in 2022 by an opposition-dominated Congress after he tried to dissolve it and rule by decree.
While Milei believes the free market should determine all trade relations, Trump is a nationalist who champions protectionism and local industry.
“His ideas are very different, Milei is a libertarian, Trump is the furthest thing from a libertarian you could imagine,” Shifter said.
Millay also promised to abolish several government ministries and the central bank.
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“Miley is much more of an ideologue in some ways. Trump is not a true believer, he only believes in himself,” Shifter added.
With his country on the brink of economic disaster, Millay has also toned down some of his post-election rhetoric, taking a more conciliatory tone toward China, for example, after previously vowing not to do business with the country.
“Argentina is broke and flirting with hyperinflation. It needs all the friends it can get,” analyst Gedan said.
Source: AFP