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Some years ago, a marketing campaign for Dos Equis beer profiled a (made-up) personality, a suave gentleman whom it termed “the most interesting man in the world.” No one would call Javier Milei suave, but the tousled-haired, vulgarity-spouting President of Argentina may indeed be the most interesting man on the global scene, at least in international conservative circles.

Milei, an economist and media personality with hardcore libertarian principles, is seeking to wrench Argentina away from its longstanding commitment to big government, to which he attributes its decades of economic and social decay. While this would seem enough to keep any president busy, Milei has found time to travel the world, preaching his gospel in locales ranging from the suites of Silicon Valley tech lords to the conferences of Europe’s hard-right political parties all while engaging in tit-for-tat name-calling with Spain’s socialist prime minister.

He has stressed his strong support for the United States, Israel, and Ukraine, positions which put him at odds with most of Latin America’s other leaders. Prior to gaining office, he harshly criticized China, the Vatican, and Brazil. However, he has subsequently backed off, at least as regards the first two, displaying a measure of pragmatism that co-exists with his propensity for ideological combat. However, the evident personal antagonism between him and Brazilian President Lula da Silva has made managing relations with this key neighbor difficult.

On the Road

Despite the immensity of the challenges he faces in trying to change Argentina’s direction, Milei has set aside considerable time for international travel. Much has been devoted to seeking high-profile venues to promote his libertarian economics. He has met with the heads of Apple, Google, Meta, and OpenAI, as well as with Elon Musk, where the two “agreed on the need to free markets and to defend the ideas of freedom.”

He seems particularly welcome at conferences of international business leaders and of conservative activists. His first overseas trip was to the World Economic Forum at Davos, where he decried socialism as a “danger” to the Western world and described businessmen as “heroes” while also selling his reform plans for Argentina. His reception was such that according to the Financial Times, “the global business elite is infatuated” with him.

He followed up his Davos trip by participating in the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Maryland on February 24, at which he was hugged by former President Donald Trump. Also present was another Latin American president inspiring global interest on the Right, El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele, as well as one of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s sons, and Santiago Abascal, leader of Spain’s hard-right Vox political party.

Indeed, Spain, governed by Socialist Pedro Sánchez, seems to bring out Milei’s most combative instincts, as seen in a series of harsh exchanges with his Spanish opponents. On May 19, he participated in a mass rally in Madrid organized by Vox ahead of the European parliamentary elections. Hungary’s Viktor Orbán and Italy’s Giorgia Meloni also spoke (by video).

In his speech, Milei, in addition to accusing Sánchez of bringing “poverty and death” to Spain, denounced the Spanish prime minister’s wife as corrupt (she is embroiled in a scandal in which her husband has vigorously defended her). This came after Spain’s transport minister had suggested that Milei might have “ingested substances” during his campaign. The minister later apologized.

But whatever the provocation may have been, Milei’s personal attack on Spain’s leader while visiting his country did not go unanswered. The Sánchez government demanded that Milei treat Spain with respect and withdrew its ambassador in Buenos Aires, a move which Milei termed “arrogant.” On June 21, Milei returned to Spain to receive an award from Isabel Díaz Ayuso, the head of Madrid’s regional government and a leading figure in the conservative People’s Party. He used the opportunity to once again denounce Sanchez for his alleged ignorance of economics.

Some Pragmatism

While Milei has clearly delighted in his fight with Spain’s Sánchez, he has had to swallow hard and mend relations with some leaders with whom he has picked ideological fights in the past. While campaigning, he had said that he would not foster relations with China, merely leaving it to Argentina’s businessmen to decide if they wanted to trade with it. Early in his presidency, he insisted on Argentine authorities inspecting a Chinese deep space tracking station in the southern state of Neuquén, which had been installed during Cristina Kirchner’s administration.

However, quiet diplomacy appears to have improved relations, and critically, China, from which Argentina has borrowed extensively, appears willing to continue to roll over Argentina’s huge debt to it. There, however, are reports of a political price that Milei may have to pay in the form of an official visit to China, which is now being discussed—hardly the destination of first choice for a libertarian.

Pope Francis was another target of Milei’s pre-presidential criticism. Milei described the pontiff as a “filthy leftist.” The Pope, of course, is an Argentine and former archbishop of Buenos Aires, where he was a major figure in national life. He maintains a lively interest in his home country and often meets with leading Argentine personalities in Rome.

Since taking office, Milei has ceased his direct criticism of Pope Francis and, in fact, briefly met with him while in Rome for ceremonies marking the canonization of an Argentine saint. Similarly, the Pope avoided criticizing Milei by name. However, he has made clear his concern for Argentina’s poor, making oblique but easily understood criticisms of Milei’s policies. 

For now, however, Milei and the Pope maintain an uneasy coexistence. Francis has, on multiple occasions, expressed his desire to visit his homeland. However, given his extensive schedule of other travel, he does not seem likely to visit in the near future, something which is probably a relief to Milei.

Milei’s administration had made some effort to get along with Brazil despite the fact that he had previously called its current president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, a “communist” and “corrupt.” Also, during Brazil’s presidential campaign, he had made clear his support for right-wing then-President Jair Bolsonaro. Lula returned the favor by endorsing Peronist candidate Sergio Massa.

But Brazil is a key trading partner, and until recently, at least, Milei had kept his head down regarding Argentina’s huge neighbor. He retained as ambassador Daniel Scioli, a senior Peronist figure appointed to the job by his predecessor Alberto Fernández, and after Scioli resigned to join Milei’s cabinet, he named a senior career diplomat as his successor. Foreign Minister Diana Mondino has met with her Brazilian counterpart as well.

However, the two presidents seem incapable of overcoming the bad blood between them. Ahead of the July 8 Mercosur summit in Paraguay, Lula said that he felt that Milei still owed him an apology for his earlier remarks. It appeared that Milei would not rise to the bait, but ultimately, he responded that he had said nothing for which he needed to apologize, as his statements had been true, and that Lula had an “inflated ego.” Then, Milei decided that he would not participate in the summit and that Mondino would go in his place. 

And adding fuel to the fire, Milei accepted an invitation to speak at a “CPAC Brazil” event on January 6–7, where former President Bolsonaro also spoke. While Milei described Bolsonaro as a victim of “judicial persecution,” he avoided directly attacking Lula, avoiding a crisis like that with Spain. But for now, the chill in bilateral relations at the presidential level means they will continue to be conducted at the ministerial level and below.

Love for America (and Israel and Ukraine as well)

Milei has explicitly said that his priority is a geopolitical alignment with the United States and Israel. Such an explicit commitment puts him at odds with the broad tradition of Argentine foreign policy, which has historically been characterized by distance from and suspicion of the United States. This shift was displayed at the June 15–16 conference in Switzerland on a peace process for Ukraine, where Argentina signed the declaration looking towards peace on the basis of maintaining Ukraine’s territorial integrity. This contrasted, for example, with the stance of Brazil, which attended the conference as an observer but refused to sign the declaration. 

Earlier, he had declined an offer to join the BRICS+ grouping (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, in addition to potential new members such as Iran and Saudi Arabia). He has also expressed interest in Argentina becoming a “Global Partner” of NATO, a status that, while not creating any obligations, would make Argentina eligible to participate in training, exercises, and consultative meetings. 

Milei has shown unqualified support for Israel in its military operation in Gaza following the Hamas attack of October 7. This has contrasted with the view of most Latin American governments, which have generally insisted on an immediate ceasefire, and in the case of some, such as Chile, Colombia, and Brazil, have withdrawn their ambassadors in Tel Aviv. 

Milei’s commitment to Israel, however, goes beyond a desire to stay in tune with the United States. Although remaining a nominal Catholic, he is fascinated by Judaism and has studied with an Argentine rabbi whom he has since named his ambassador to Israel. Of course, the fact that Israel has a right-wing prime minister in Benjamin Netanyahu creates a bond. Milei visited Israel in February and was warmly received there.

The U.S. administration has been, in turn, generally supportive of Milei since he came to office, despite the fact that he had earlier dismissed President Biden as a “moderate socialist. But a socialist” (Milei’s definition of socialism often seems to embrace anyone who does not subscribe to his minimalist view of government). Biden called Milei to congratulate him on his victory, and Secretary of State Blinken has visited Argentina. When the head of U.S. Southern Command came to Argentina, Milei accompanied on her internal travel, underscoring his desire for a “strategic alliance.”

The bilateral relationship has stayed on an even keel despite the fact that prior to his election, Milei had displayed an affinity for President Trump. Trump, in turn, had effusively congratulated him on his victory, claiming it as a sign of global support for his approach to governance. The rapprochement between the Biden and Milei administrations may be in part due to Milei’s helpful positions on global issues, especially as support from other Latin American countries has often been wanting. 

But it may largely derive from the reality that it is in the U.S. interest that Milei succeeds in reviving Argentina’s economy or, at a minimum, that he avoids a crisis that would require direct American engagement. Argentina also needs the United States, the largest shareholder in the International Monetary Fund, which is massively indebted and from which it will likely seek fresh funds at some point. The Biden administration has sent senior Treasury and Commerce Department officials to Argentina for consultations and has been supportive of his painful economic reform plan.

Global Speechmaking Vs. Domestic Governance

Milei’s embrace by the global Right is, in some ways, a misreading of the man. He is a true believer in libertarian thought and passionate about economics, a subject in which he has graduate degrees from Argentine universities. The issues that currently animate the American and European Rights hold little interest to him. He does not speak of the dangers of immigration, which is not an issue in Argentina. In fact, the country faces the opposite problem, with large numbers emigrating in the face of a chronic economic crisis. Ironically, many venture to Spain, which they apparently do not find to be quite the hellscape Milei sees. 

Also, the protectionism prominent in current rightist discourse, from Trump to Le Pen, is alien to the libertarianism that Milei avows—indeed, boosting exports and attracting foreign investment figure into his plans for economic revival. And while he has taken hardline positions on crime and abortion, he rarely speaks on these issues.

His passion is shrinking the state. He has spoken admiringly of Margaret Thatcher, who is hardly a beloved figure in Argentina, where the Falklands War is remembered bitterly. His affection for the United States seems based on seeing it principally as a bulwark against global leftism. He views European social democracy through the lens of Argentina’s experience with Peronism despite the fact that the latter was a unique movement with roots also in militarism, Catholic social doctrine, and pre-World War II European fascism. This may be the ultimate source of his rather silly spat with Spain’s prime minister.

In the end, Milei will be judged by his performance in reversing Argentina’s decline. At this point, he has had some success in cutting spending and taming inflation at the price of a recession. He enjoys significant popular support for now and has been able to brush off concerns, such as those of Pope Francis, about his policies’ effects on the poor. The recent passage of legislation giving him greater authority to implement his economic plans has been an important short-term victory for him.

However, the question of whether he can engender a sustained recovery that attracts investment, creates jobs, and reduces poverty is still wide open. Meanwhile, as he wrestles with these issues, he will likely continue to take breaks to accept invitations to speak at international conferences at which he can denounce socialism and evangelize for libertarianism.

Richard M. Sanders is Senior Fellow, Western Hemisphere at the Center for the National Interest. A former member of the Senior Foreign Service of the U.S. Department of State, he served as Argentina desk officer, 1997–99, and as Director of the Office of Brazilian and Southern Cone Affairs, 2010–13.

Image: Lev Radin / Shutterstock.com.

Источник: nationalinterest.org