By Sofía Pacheco Niño de Rivera
The arrival of radical governments to power seems like an echo that reverberates in almost every corner of the planet, and now it is Argentina that gives way to an ultra government. The conventional right has nothing to do with the proposals that Javier Milei, president-elect of Argentina, is determined to implement when he arrives at the pink house.
It is definitely an astonishing victory that leaves endless morals about electoral behavior and political campaigns. Despite the fact that the polls largely favored Sergio Massa, his main opponent in these elections, Milei takes the baton of the Presidency supported by almost 15 million votes, 12 points above Massa even though he had triumphed in the first return of the elections.
Everything can change and the messages delivered in the campaign are worth and weigh enough to redefine the course of a country even until election day. For Milei, a man who just two years ago made his debut in the political space, who carries chainsaws to his rallies and whose motto is “I don’t come to train lambs, I come to awaken lions”, the card of authenticity worked for him and he carried it to be the president elected with the most votes since Argentina returned to democracy 40 years ago.
A candidate’s authenticity connects and resonates with the electoral base. People do not want an impeccable politician, the voter prefers a genuine candidate even if he does not resonate with their causes, because citizens really vote for “continuity or change”, while politicians sometimes do not present projects consistent with ideologies, and that is why today they do not Ideologies win, formulas triumph or lose only. Thus, the Milei phenomenon makes it unimaginable for a character like him to ascend to the Presidency.
Milei is voted as synonymous with change, regardless of whether this change implies automatic improvement or challenges. Argentines know what it means to undergo surgery without anesthesia, where the remedy may hurt, but they are willing to try a solution. A solution that is different from the one that the ruling party proposed to them, and that Massa only half-heartedly proposed.
In many parts of the world, especially in America, people vote against the status quo or the establishment. Apparently the free trial that citizens give with their vote to the candidate expires at the end of the first term of government, so if governments, even if it is a strategy to maintain power, they should make more efforts to materialize campaign promises and ensure continuity of their party in government .
The pain that the people of Argentina will suffer will also occur because Milei’s route to power will not be paved with governance partitions. Currently, it only has 38 of 257 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 7 of 72 seats in the Senate, La Libertad Avanza (Milei Party) will have to do a titanic job to ensure that its projects transcend the Legislature. Otherwise, he will govern by decree of necessity and urgency, which will have a great political cost for him with a high probability of a social revolt.
Sofía Pacheco Niño de Rivera has a degree in International Relations. She graduated from the Universidad Iberoamericana and has specialized in international law and foreign trade. During her career she has worked in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the General Directorate for the United Nations and served as Director of International Affairs and Standardization in the Ministry of Economy, participating in the negotiation of multiple trade agreements with Mexico, mainly the USMCA. . During her time in the Government she also served as a Parliamentarian in the Mexico City Congress coordinating the Gender Equality Commission. She currently serves as Secretary of International Affairs in the PRI National Network and Executive Secretary of COPPPAL Youth. She participates as an international media analyst and is an associate of PJ COMEXI.