Argentina’s president elect, libertarian economist, Javier Milei
"Far Wrong on Politics"
The mainstream press peddles misinformation about Argentina's election...
by Bill Bonner
"I don't know what's right or left,
I'm too drunk to even stand.
Why the devil won't you help me,
Please take your foot off of my hand..."
~ "Pinkard and Bowden," as sung by Willie Nelson
Paris, France - 'The US mainstream press has totally misunderstood Argentina’s new president, Javier Milei. Intentionally, we presume. We pay attention to Argentina. Partly because we have an office in Buenos Aires and investments in Salta Province…and partly because we learn from it. When it comes to politics and finance, there is no goofy, absurd and counter-productive trick the Argentines haven’t tried at least once.
We study their trip of the last 120 years – from king of the road…and then, down into the gutter. And now we get to watch as they try to tow themselves back on the highway. (We even played a small part in Milei’s election. The New York Times says an endorsement from former president Macri helped put Milei over the top. Our office down there put Milei and Macri together.)
Crushing the Establishment: But look at the press coverage. Here’s The Washington Post: "Argentina set for sharp right turn as Trump-like radical wins presidency."
"BUENOS AIRES — A radical libertarian and admirer of Donald Trump rode a wave of voter rage to win Argentina’s presidency on Sunday, crushing the political establishment and bringing the sharpest turn to the right in four decades of democracy in the country."
Turn to the right? Does this reporter know his left from his right? A Buenos Aires voter explained it to him: “I have three jobs, and it’s never enough,” he said, holding his six-month-old daughter after voting in a working-class neighborhood of Buenos Aires. “We’ve already seen what Peronism has done. We need a change.”
And here’s a Reuters report with more misinformation: "Argentine far-right libertarian Milei sweeps to victory." Far right? Think again! The New York Times, meanwhile, wanted to make it even clearer what we were dealing with on the pampas. It called Milei a “mini-Trump.’ "Everyone in the mainstream seems to think Milei is a right-winger…like Trump, Desantis, or Haley. Even Trump himself seems to believe it, sending his well-wishes to Mr. Milei following the victory announcement."
It falls to us to fact check. And what we find is that the only thing Milei and Trump have in common is their enemies. The New York Times…The Washington Post…the Establishment…the press…academia…the politicians and bureaucrats – none welcomes a fake reformer…and certainly not a real one. The earnest professors…weapons suppliers…columnists and up-and-coming reporters…newly elected members of Congress….Wall Street honchos – all have a keen interest in ‘what is.’ They are the ones who shape public policies. They are the chief…and maybe the only…beneficiaries of them.
‘What isn’t’ – a world in which the chips fall where they may…not necessarily where the elite want them…that is, a world with less government – is unwelcome. In the world that is, they see government as the source of wealth and power. The only question is, where does it go? To the left, poorly represented by Mr. Biden? Or to the right, poorly represented by Mr. Trump?
Vermin Politicians: On the ‘left,’ Mr. Biden promises more of the same – more rules, more regulations, more deficits and more debt. He will continue spending on favored projects…boosting asset prices…generous pay-offs for lobbyists and insiders…and more profits for cherished industries – notably poverty-fighting, microchips and the military. If any of these things are threatened…say, by a ‘debt ceiling’ or a recession, the Biden Team will do whatever is necessary to get the pumps working as soon as possible.
Mr. Trump, on the ‘right,’ is another matter. Generally despised and distrusted by the Great and the Good, he is the perfect foil for the elite left – a fake and incompetent reformer. Both Biden and Trump believe that “the People’ can’t be allowed to err and stray like lost sheep. They need direction; they will give it to them – at the barrel of a gun, if necessary. And they will use the gun to eliminate the ‘vermin’ that don’t agree with them.
But that is what makes Mr. Milei different. He is neither right nor left. For him, the vermin are those in the ‘political caste.’ He aims to clear them out - the profiteers, hangers-on, lobbyists, consultants, think tank ‘experts,’ parasites, bureaucrats, and other freeloaders – and let ‘the People’ decide for themselves what to do with their own money. Will he succeed? Not likely, but we will keep our eyes open."
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