Why the media despises Javier Milei

The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author.

Therefore, Javier Milei is very scary.

Here’s what the legacy media has decided: Argentina’s newly elected libertarian conservative leader is absolutely terrifying. Axios calls him a “far-right libertarian who has drawn comparisons to (former President Donald) Trump.” The New York Times writes: “Argentina prepares for its new ‘anarcho-capitalist’ president” and called Argentina’s election “Donald Trump’s moment”. “Who,” asks The Washington Post, “is Javier Milei, the far-right president-elect of Argentina?”

Not surprisingly, this is not how the press treated the election of ex-convict and leftist Luiz Inácio Lula de Silva in Brazil. “Brazil elects Lula, former leftist leader, in rebuke of Bolsonaro,” The New York Times reported last year. “Who,” asked the Washington Post, “is Lula? What do you need to know about Brazil’s president.”

Milei, as we said, is a scary character.

So what are their deeply terrifying positions? He has called for major cuts to the Argentine government, a necessity since Argentina has defaulted on its debts three times since 2001, has an outstanding $43 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund and is now facing another default. They received a $57 billion bailout just five years ago. Thanks to out-of-control spending, Argentina has had to print pesos by hand, which is why, according to the Ministry of Economy, the total money supply in Argentina soared by 30.7% annually between 2007 and 2022. The poverty rate in the country is 40%.

Milei’s media appearances may be flashy, but it all serves a purpose: a determination to make a massive change in Argentina’s economic trajectory. Milei has promised to slash and burn his way through government, cutting 11 of the 19 government departments; he campaigned with a chainsaw that he promised he would use against the “parasite state”. He wants to get closer to the United States and Israel, and away from China. He wants to dollarize the economy.

All this should be treated as good news. Argentina’s trajectory has been a total disaster zone for decades, despite the glorification of Peronism at the hands of Hollywood. And indeed, markets are treating Milei’s election as they should: Argentine stocks and bonds have jumped on Milei’s election, especially since he is Argentina’s first leader in generations to have a plan to avoid financial default.

So why the heartburn?

Because the reality is that there are many in the United States and Europe, especially on the political left, who are somehow more comfortable with the socialist radicalism of Lula De Silva, Gabriel Boric, and even Nicolas Maduro than with any that smacks of libertarianism or conservatism. . This is because Argentina is a living example of what happens when corporatism and social democracy are pushed to the limit: the replacement of governments by markets, the overregulation of industry in the pursuit of social redistribution, attempts to create autarky through tariff protections and trade restrictions. the endless populist promise that if the government is given all the power to protect “the people”, everything will be fine. This promise always results in deprivation and maldistribution, in tyranny and poverty.

Milei’s victory represents this realization.

So lefties hate Milei.

Now the media and the political left will try to put all Argentina’s failures on Milei’s shoulders. Milei still faces a partially Peronist legislature, as well as a judicial system stacked in favor of left-wing lunacy: Supreme Court magistrate Horacio Rosatti recently said any attempt at dollarization would be unconstitutional. This means that their power can be curbed; it still faces deep-rooted economic problems, and will need an infusion of foreign capital to right the ship in Argentina. If it falls short, capitalism and economic liberalism will be blamed for the failures of Peronism. This is always the pattern: corporatists screw up economies, and then capitalism is to blame.

But Milei can succeed. Investors should look south, put their money where their mouth is, to ensure that Argentina realizes its potential as a massive source of prosperity, wealth and power, and that its alliance with America becomes stronger as a result.

Ben Shapiro, 39, is a graduate of UCLA and Harvard Law School, host of “The Ben Shapiro Show” and co-founder of Daily Wire+. He is a three-time New York Times bestselling author; his latest book is The Authoritarian Moment: How The Left Weaponized America’s Institutions Against Dissent. To learn more about Ben Shapiro and read features from other Creators Syndicate writers and artists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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Ben Shapiro, 36, is a graduate of UCLA and Harvard Law School, host of “The Ben Shapiro Show” and editor-in-chief of DailyWire.com. He is the New York Times bestselling author of How to Destroy America in Three Easy Steps, The Right Side of History, and Bullies.

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