Argentine President Javier Milei traveled to the United States to receive an award from orthodox Jewish community Chabad Lubavitch and meet with billionaire Elon Musk.
The former event took place in Miami, where Milei and his sister, Karina, were named as "ambassadors of light" due to their contributions to "freedom and Israel."
"Argentine President Milei represents light amid so much darkness," said rabbi Sholom Lipskar, who hosted the ceremony.
Though not formally Jewish, Milei has vowed to convert. He has also expressed his unwavering support for Israel and seeks to move the Argentine embassy to Jerusalem.
During a passage of his speech, he recalled a passage of the Books of the Maccabees from which he took a term he uses to refer to his supporters: "Las fuerzas del cielo," or the "forces from the heavens."
When a journalist ruled out he could build a powerful congressional coalition with just two deputies, Milei, then a deputy-elect, said "victory doesn't depend on the amount of soldiers, but the forces that come from the heavens."
Milei, a self-described anarcho-capitalist, has been embraced by the global right due to his free market economic views and his denouncement of the left and what he describes as socialist and communist governments.
He was a high-profile speaker at conservative conference CPAC in February, where he also met with presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump. "Make Argentina great again," Trump said as they posed for photos backstage.
Milei is also set to meet with billionaire Elon Musk on Saturday in the context of a trip to Tesla's Gigafactory in Texas.
Musk, who has defended right-wing stances and embarked on a crusade against what he calls the "woke mind virus," has been praiseful of Milei since he took office.
Local outlets reported that the meeting could include topics as potential investments by Musk's companies in Argentina in areas such as the automotive and communications industries.
© 2024 Latin Times. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
