Juan San Cristóbal Lizama / Journalist. Master in Communication UNAM
The beginning of Javier Milei’s government in Argentina attracted particular expectation from the region and the entire world. After an eccentric campaign and an explosive runoff, the attention was on how the candidate becomes ruler and something else is with a guitar. In his first two months, an image of the now President is already being built.
One of the first conclusions is to separate the high vote that elected him over Sergio Massa (55.6%, with almost 15 million votes), from the political position of his own sector. They are not all those votes from the libertarian and far-right sector that the candidate proclaims, so his mandate must be opened to those who elected him. This idea applies both to his personal leadership discourse and to the deployment of his parliamentary coalition.
This has not been seen in either case, first due to the deployment of Milei through its digital networks, where it has dedicated itself to responding to attacks in a perhaps childish or impulsive way for its current political position, although very much in line with Donald Trump’s style of expressing himself outside of the inauguration. In parallel, the ruling party has not been skillful when it comes to putting her program on the agenda of the legislative branch.
Stopping inflation is another starting point, a campaign promise that was broken on the first day. The cost of living continues to rise (the rise in transportation reminds us of this every day) and the speech where he warned that “difficult days are coming” did not soften the impact, it became a catchphrase, a commonplace. The cuts in social programs brought people to the streets, a movement repressed by Patricia Bullrich, Macri’s candidate and now Minister of Security, a presence that also reduces the president’s popularity.
Last week, Congress rejected the Omnibus Law, a failure for the reform that sought to realize the promise of “dynamiting the State”, fought with its own coalition, of the alliance sectors, the deputies and also the governors, who separately They were distancing themselves from an economic imposition that lacked political support in the Chamber. The president himself ordered the withdrawal of the project, in an unprecedented setback for relations between the executive and congressmen. Here you can see the limited influence to align the ruling party, from the beginning it was never able to connect with parliament and impose its agenda.
Speaking of the agenda, these days the Argentine president is on a symbolic international tour, with an official visit to Israel, a country in the eye of the hurricane for its war against Palestine, in the midst of the most violent war conflict between both countries in the 21st century. . In their first bilateral meeting, Milei announced the transfer of the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a controversial international decision, initiated by Trump in 2018 and replicated by just a handful of nations (Guatemala, Honduras, Paraguay or Kosovo).
The return flight has a strategic pass through the Vatican, a face to face with Pope Francis, with whom the candidate was very aggressive during his campaign. Without knowing the result of this meeting, the truth is that the Pontiff will make the world see the social situation of the poor in Argentina, which will impose a social task on the economist’s management.
On the global stage, Milei begins to move at slippery steps, with disparate performances towards global benchmarks. In Russia, Vladimir Putin warned of the risks of dollarization, anticipating that this “will affect its sovereignty,” while China is dedicated to observing the first ties of the Argentine, who during the campaign was threatening towards the Asian giant, but then had to moderate in the face of Xi Jinping. For both powers, the fact that Milei has rejected the invitation for Argentina to be part of the BRICS group is a gesture that will not go unnoticed, conditional on the relationship he has with the next president of the United States and an eventual link between Milei and Trump.
The refusal to create alliances also weighs on him internally, with the shadow of Mauricio Macri growing over his government. The transversal conclusion is that “the caste was not touched”, despite the threats of the liberal politician towards the economic elite. That caste has become not a group of businessmen, but a ghostly enemy, which only grows in the head of Milei, who is burning the ships with a speed that can shipwreck him.
It is hot in Buenos Aires, the thermometer almost reaches 40º in summer and in the province the scenario is not better (Rosario, Córdoba, Jujuy). This week, Milei returns to his country and a delicate moment in the game awaits him, with the risk of scoring an own goal or receiving a quick rout. From the bench, Macri waits attentively if the fans ask for “changes.” The chainsaw, a symbol of his rhetoric, becomes dangerously uncertain, it sticks to its own path, a path where – to paraphrase his coalition – freedom does not advance.