Argentina, a nation once ranked among the wealthiest in the world, has found itself grappling with severe economic challenges over the past 25 years. Then, one year ago, provocative libertarian economist Javier Milei was inaugurated as its new president.
Known for his flamboyant persona and radical views, Milei is one of the most polarising figures in global politics, celebrated by some as a visionary reformer and dismissed by others as “El Loco” (“the mad one”). He pledged to take a “chainsaw” to the state and promote a free-market approach.
His pro-capitalism stance extends to the promotion of culture wars. Last month, he fired his foreign secretary for voting along with 186 other countries against the US embargo on Cuba at the United Nations. Only the US and Israel voted against it. He withdrew Argentina’s delegation of negotiators to the UN climate summit in Baku, claiming human-caused climate change is “a socialist lie”.
