Javier Milei won Argentina’s presidential elections on Sunday, wrenching his country to the right with a bombastic anti-establishment campaign that drew comparisons to that of former US President Donald Trump—all against the backdrop of one of the world’s highest inflation rates.
His rival Sergio Massa conceded the run-off vote on Sunday evening in a brief speech even before official results were announced.
Milei’s victory marks an extraordinary rise for the former TV pundit, who entered the race as a political outsider on a promise to “break up with the status quo”—exemplified by his rival Sergio Massa, a career politician.
His campaign promises to dollarize Argentina, if enacted, was expected to thrust the country into new territory: No country of Argentina’s size has previously turned over the reins of its own monetary policy to Washington decisionmakers.
Milei—a social conservative with ties to the American right—opposes abortion rights and has called climate change a “lie of socialism.” He has promised to slash government spending by closing Argentina’s ministries of culture, education, and diversity, and by eliminating public subsidies.
Outside of his controversial plan for dollarization, Milei’s political program includes slashing regulations on gun control and transferring authority over the penitentiary system from civilians to the military—both measures part of a tough-on-crime approach.
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