President-Elect Milei Spews Economic ‘Nonsense’, Bound to Make Argentina ‘51st US State' – Expert

Javier Milei, the outspoken libertarian candidate known for his fiery rhetoric and self-proclaimed "anarcho-capitalist" beliefs, pulled off a surprise win in Sunday's Argentine presidential election. This unexpected outcome has reverberated across Latin America, sparking speculation among analysts about its potential implications for the region.

Often likened to Donald Trump, Javier Milei of the right-wing La Libertad Avanza alliance revelled in making numerous brazen promises while on the campaign trail. Thus, the outsider populist candidate who pulled off a shock win in the final round of Argentina’s presidential election on Sunday floated the idea of ditching the nation's currency, the peso, and "dollarizing" the economy, suggested stepping away from relations with Brazil and China, among other countries, and promising closer relations with Israel and the United States.

The Argentinian people voted for the right-wing firebrand economist out of “despair in a hopeless situation,” Professor Heinz Dieterich, former adviser to the late Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, told Sputnik.

Argentina is a country "in a terminal state: without a future," clarified Dieterich, who now manages a research centre at the Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana in Mexico City. The South American country is mired in foreign debt, with hyperinflation, and hyper-interest rates spiraling out of control, the pundit explained. Furthermore, “the political class is totally corrupt, there are no trustworthy national leaders, parties or historical projects; national identity and self-confidence have been undermined.”

Javier Milei, 53, won the presidential election on November 19 by gaining 56% of the vote, while his rival, Minister of Economy Sergio Massa, got 44% and conceded. Before becoming a lawmaker, Milei was employed as chief economist at Corporación America, one of Argentina’s largest business conglomerates.

Indeed, the second-largest national economy in South America, behind Brazil, Argentina is facing one of the worst economic downturns in decades. It has one of the highest inflation rates in the world – 143% in October. The country's gross domestic product (GDP) shrank 4.9% in the second-quarter of 2023, when compared to 2022, and is projected to contract even further.

Five years ago, Argentina became the largest debtor to the Washington-based lender – the International Monetary Fund - receiving $57 billion in aid. The program failed to revive South America's second-largest economy, with the government unable to meet the economic targets set by the IMF. At present, it is burdened with a $44 billion debt program set by the global moneylender.

Javier Milei, according to Heinz Dieterich, is a “version of the typical finance capital-tyranny of third world countries, under the strict control of the IMF and World Bank.”

“He will do what his bosses in Washington and the militaristic and financial Argentinian oligarchy (The City) tell him to do,” he added.

Incidentally, both Javier Milei and former Economy Minister Sergio Massa are “puppets of Washington colonialism and the Monroe Doctrine,” underscored the pundit, adding that Massa, a Peronista politician, was "the man of the State Department".

Recent developments in Latin America have been contributing to the growing shift toward multipolarity, representing a rejection of the policy announced by the fifth President of the United States, James Monroe, in 1823, aimed at securing sweeping influence over Latin American countries. The document at the time declared all countries of South America to be a zone of US interests.

However, Milei's election win in Argentina, and the plethora of statements the politician has made, may give Washington hope to secure a "tighter control of its Latin American backyard, especially bearing in mind its stand-off with China."

Regarding Milei’s campaign statements criticizing China and Brazil, saying he will not deal with "communists", and could reject BRICS, ex-president of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro “took the same position at the beginning of his presidency,” he noted. However, “economic realities and interests” altered that stance, he said.

Ahead of the election in Argentina, Milei and Massa projected sharply contrasting economic visions. After Argentina recently joined the BRICS economic bloc under current President Alberto Fernández, Massa pledged to solve the country’s economic crisis via cooperation with other BRICS countries. He had proposed borrowing money from the BRICS New Development Bank.

Milei, on the other hand, suggested veering away from Brazil and China, among other countries, towards forging a closer relationship with the US and Israel. He even went as far as to suggest adopting the US dollar as the country’s official currency over the Argentine Peso. Milei has also promised to shut down the country's Central Bank, and slash spending, among other potentially painful reforms.

It should be noted that commenting on a number of statements made by the Argentine president-elect during the campaign, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that Moscow had taken note of them, but will be guided by his remarks after the inauguration.

According to Professor Heinz Dieterich, you don't have to be an economist to understand that "from a macroeconomic point of view" the economic extremes Milei has been proposing "are complete nonsense," adding:

Its transcendental meaning is the end of the Argentinian sovereign nation and its annexation as a kind of 'Free Associated State" like Puerto Rico or a kind of the 51st state to the US,” Professor Heinz Dieterich said.