Instead of giving his inaugural speech inside the Chamber of Deputies, as usually happens after the presidential inauguration in Argentina, Javier Milei will address the citizens today from the balcony of the imposing Congress building. It is a symbolic gesture, since the new president only has 38 of the 257 seats in Parliament and seven of the 72 in the Senate.
Milei intends to use his comfortable victory in the November 19 elections as a popular mandate to implement a radical destatization program, included in the so-called omnibus law, although many prefer the nickname chainsaw plan.
The package includes, in principle, closing more than half of the ministries, cutting some of the 350,000 civil servant positions, privatizing public companies and cutting spending to balance the accounts in 2024. “It represents, due to its magnitude, a challenge without precedent in recent history,” Clarín summarized yesterday.
However, it is unlikely to gain support from Congress. “[Milei] is going to defend everything he does in mobilizing people as a tool of power in front of the Chamber,” said Mariano Fernández, Milei's former colleague from the CEMA University.
No one would say it out loud, but turning one's back on Congress and speaking directly to the “people” is a tactic that recalls the true genius of political theater in Argentina: Eva Perón, whose gigantic portrait, silhouetted on the façade of the old Ministry of Works Public, it still dominates Avenida de Mayo five blocks down.
Unlike Evita, it is not very clear that Milei can count on the support of the “people” indefinitely. “There is going to be a very big social conflict,” Fernández added during breakfast at the Los Angelitos cafeteria in Buenos Aires. “The unions are already betting that this government will be short.”
Milei has abandoned the charges against the so-called caste. She incorporates two heavyweights from Mauricio Macri's government (2015-2019), such as Luis Toto Caputo, who will be Minister of Economy, and Patricia Bullrich, rival in the first round of the elections and new Minister of Security. Jorge Petri, candidate for vice president on the Bullrich ticket, will occupy Defense. There will even be a handful of Peronists in the so-called libertarian revolution.
The financial libertarians – defenders of dollarization already ruled out, at least in Milei's plan A – have been sidelined. Relations with Vice President Victoria Villarruel – liaison with the most conservative sectors of the Catholic Church and the armed forces, as well as far-right parties abroad, such as Vox – have also deteriorated.
After bothering the establishment inside and outside Argentina with his harangues against vested interests and politically incorrect rhetoric, Milei already considers himself an ally of the neoliberal consensus, a “disruptive” leader – willing to lead a draconian adjustment – but more disciplined in its relationship with power as always.
“Investors on Wall Street were concerned about his ability to govern (...), Milei's signs of moderation are seen favorably,” The Wall Street Journal summarized two days ago.
Milei has moderated, to some extent, his foreign policy speech. After causing a rift by calling China (and Brazil) communist enemies, peace has been made thanks to the diplomatic skills of the new Foreign Minister, Diana Mondino. A senior Chinese official – Wu Weihua – will attend the inauguration.
Others present will be King Felipe of Spain, the progressive president of Chile, Gabriel Boric, and the heads of state of Paraguay, Ecuador and Uruguay. Milei will meet with Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, and also with the president of Armenia, an appointment that is difficult to explain if it were not for the strong influence exerted on the new president by the magnate of Armenian origin Eduardo Eurnekian.
The Biden Administration will send a delegation led by the Secretary of Energy, perhaps a nod to Milei's desire to privatize the oil company YPF and attract multinational investment to the lucrative field in Vaca Muerta.
The absence of the Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, relativizes Milei's new pragmatism. By inviting former president Jair Bolsonaro and meeting with him this Friday, Milei closed the door on Lula. Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira will attend.
The presence of other ultra-conservative leaders – such as the Hungarian Viktor Orbán – confirm that, no matter how much Milei has “normalized,” his international allies are not from the most moderate club. Milei met for 40 minutes on Saturday with Santiago Abascal, the leader of Vox.
