Populist leader Javier Milei swept to the Argentine presidency in 2023 with 56 per cent of the vote, and a clear mandate to implement his far-right libertarian ideas and take a chainsaw to the state.
The polarising figure – who became internationally renowned for literally toting a chainsaw on stage to illustrate his goals – won big again in the country’s midterm elections last October, with his party securing 40.8 per cent of the nationwide vote.
Nicknamed “El Loco” (The Madman) in his younger days and reportedly basing his shaggy-haired look on Wolverine, Milei has often followed Donald Trump’s playbook. He called the Pope a “leftist son of a bitch”, names Elon Musk as a personal hero and is famous for foul-mouthed tirades against his “bloodsucking” opponents.
Trump and Milei have frequently sung each other’s praises, with the unorthodox economist saying that “the world is a better place” following Trump’s rise to the presidency and the latter praising the Argentinian as a “terrific guy” and claiming that he is one of few who can “make Argentina great again”.
However, recent scandals and a struggling economy have seen the fortunes of the self-described “anarcho-capitalist” start to turn, with his positive image rating falling by more than six points in just one month, from 42.3 per cent in March to 35.5 per cent in April, according to polling by AtlasIntel.
The rapid drop in support for Milei – known for eye-catching stunts such as smashing a piñata shaped like a bank – may serve as a warning for Trump that his economic struggles and populist politics could hurt him in the November midterms.
Donald Trump and Milei have frequently sung each other’s praises (Photo: Alex Wroblewski/Getty)The Milei-Trump bromance
Trump has also recently found himself struggling in the polls, largely due to his unpopular war in Iran and the economic fallout caused by it.
Speaking to The i Paper, Andrew Moran, professor of politics and international relations at the London Metropolitan University, said: “The decline in Milei’s popularity could be a further sign that the Trump-style of politics is increasingly ineffective for the average voter and could be damaging at a time when Trump himself is continuing to fall in the polls.”
Steven Levitsky, professor of Latin American studies at Harvard University, said that in Latin America, Trump and his brand of politics is not overly popular, “so replicating him has limits”.
While they differ somewhat on economics – with Milei advocating for radical, free-market capitalism, and Trump favouring a more protectionist economy, utilising measures such as tariffs – both leaders share a similar brand of right-wing populism.
They have formed a close bond. The Argentine president was the first foreign leader to meet Trump following his 2024 election victory and has visited the US as president 17 times.
Francisco Carballo, a lecturer in Latin American politics at Goldsmiths, pointed out the similarities between the men. “They both despise the political establishment. They both use fear to appeal to voters: the fear of immigrants, the fear of the establishment, the fear of what they refer to as the radical left.
“They both align publicly with a very conservative, right-wing ideology, but in their private lives, they’re very libertarian. They are not religious or very conservative but espouse these views because they are convenient.”
Their alliance expands beyond ideology too, with Trump giving Argentina a $20bn (£15bn) bailout in October last year.
And the relationship could even lead to further diplomatic tensions between the UK and Argentina over the Falkland Islands, after Trump reportedly mused over the possibility of reviewing the historically neutral position of the US on the issue, as an apparent punishment for Britain’s perceived inaction during the Iran war.
Ignacio Albe, assistant director at the Atlantic Council’s Adrienne Arsht Latin America Centre, said that besides helping out an ally, Trump’s policy on Argentina is also aimed at securing regional influence.
“Latin America is the number one priority, according to administration documents laid out over the last year. There’s this idea of expanding and connecting with allies and sort of bringing up regional powers like Argentina,” he said.
“There will certainly be a cost to Trump if Milei continues to sink in the polls,” Albe added. “He has personally singled him out as one of his favourite leaders, and sort of tied his success to himself.”
However, he noted that if Milei has to leave office, Trump will have no qualms in brushing him aside.
“The President made it clear that America was ready to help Argentina, but also that ultimately, he likes winners. So if Argentina continues to struggle, the economy buckles and another president is elected, no matter their ideology, Trump will move on.”
But it will still be a blow for the US strategically, Albe said, because “as one of the main American allies in Latin America, Argentina’s success or failure is tied to US leadership in the hemisphere”.
Milei’s economic ideology has been described as ‘anarcho-capitalism’. Upon entering office, he embarked on a crusade to slash government spending, symbolised by a chainsaw (Photo: Tomas Cuesta/Getty)Milei’s rise to power
Milei stood for the 2023 election as an outsider, having created his political party only three years before.
His campaign consisted of a collage of radical political and economic ideas, including deregulating gun possession, creating a marketplace for human organs and downplaying the human rights violations of the military junta in the 1970s.
The 55-year-old pledged to eliminate the country’s central bank and government subsidies, privatise healthcare and education and dollarise the economy. He followed through on very few of these policies, but was successful in cutting back government spending and bringing inflation under control.
Experts believe that Milei – who claims he used to work as a tantric sex coach and has five cloned mastiff dogs named after economists – was so successful at the ballot box because he marked a distinct split from the establishment parties.
“The principal factor that contributed to Milei’s win is that public discontent in Argentina over the status quo was sky-high,” said Levitsky.
“Argentina has long been prone to economic crisis and poor governance, but the decade before Milei was elected was awful. It was a combination of terrible economic performance, the highest inflation in Latin America except for Venezuela, mounting corruption scandals and a very intense lockdown.”
Milei’s ascendancy to the presidency came as part of a swing rightward in Latin America in recent years.
From the self-described “cool dictator” Nayib Bukele, who has brutally clamped down on criminal gangs in El Salvador since his election in 2019, to the recently elected far-right leader of Chile, José Antonio Kast, numerous right-wing populists have risen to power across Latin America.
Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele is one of many right-wing Latin American leaders who have come to power in recent years (Photo: Yuri Cortez/AFP)However, Levitsky explained that this is not a sign that Latin America is experiencing surge to the right on ideological grounds.
“The left has governed much of the region for most of the 21st century – it’s true in Argentina, it’s true in Brazil, it’s true in Chile. Voters are simply turning against the status quo, which sort of inevitably points them rightward.
“Both Milei and Kast were voted in mainly because voters liked their opponents even less. They were considered sort of the least bad of two options.”
Carballo explained that “Milei has reinvented the language of populism”.
“Argentina has been running on populism for decades and he has brought it from the left or the centre left to the right,” he added.
Milei’s management of the economy – up until the last few months – kept his support relatively strong. But his focus on culture war issues such as abortion (which he calls “aggravated murder”), banning gender-inclusive language and tightening immigration limits did not resonate with the average voter, as Argentinians are generally more centrist, explained Albe.
“Part of the reason for this is General Jorge Rafael Videla (the right-wing dictator who ruled Argentina from 1976-83 and under whom up to 30,000 people were tortured and killed),” Albe explained, “but also going back generations, the country has always been more progressive. Pragmatism is part of the Argentine DNA.”
General Jorge Rafael Videla oversaw the deaths of up to 30,000 Argentinians under his right-wing military dictatorship. ‘The country has always been more progressive,’ says an expert (Photo: Getty)Milei’s plummeting popularity
Despite Milei’s comfortable win in October, his stock has rapidly fallen. Initially, his economic policies were successful in bringing rampant inflation under control, reducing it from more than 200 per cent to around 30 per cent per year.
However, Albe pointed out that “when you cut spending so dramatically – almost 20 per cent of total real-term central government spending was cut – it will have direct economic effects. Public infrastructure projects were suspended and they have not been restarted. Public employees had their salaries frozen and many more were fired.”
GDP shrank by 2.6 per cent in February compared to January – the largest fall since 2023, and Albe said Milei is unlikely to be able to get the economy pointing in the right direction before the next election in October 2027.
Milei’s administration has also found itself embroiled in political scandal, with federal prosecutors investigating his chief of staff, Manuel Adorni, over alleged corruption. Adorni has denied any wrongdoing.
The president also came under investigation after a supportive social media post caused a surge in the value of the $LIBRA cryptocurrency in February last year, before a rapid crash.
Levitsky said these scandals have damaged his image as a populist outsider, signalling to voters “that no, these guys are not actually different, they are just like everyone else. It tends to really deflate them and puncture their status as someone who can change the country.”
“But ultimately he will ride and fall with the economy, as most Argentine presidents have,” the professor added.
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