Argentina's new president Javier Milei: severing ties with parents, advocating for the abolition of the central bank, supporting Bitcoin

Author: Cat Brother, Wu Shuo

Editor: Colin Wu, Wu Shuo

On November 19, Javier Milei, the candidate from Argentina's far-right electoral alliance "Liberty Advances" and a congressman, was elected president. His extreme views include blowing up the Argentine central bank and full dollarization. He is also a supporter of Bitcoin, emphasizing that Bitcoin returns funds to their original creators. This article introduces his past experiences and main viewpoints.

Image source: aljazeera

Major Experiences

Javier Milei was born in 1972 in Palermo, Buenos Aires. His mother was a housewife, and his father was a bus driver who later became a businessman in the public transport industry. He had a poor relationship with his parents, stating that they abused him and verbally humiliated him, so for at least ten years, he had no contact with them, effectively severing ties and believing they were dead. During his campaign for congress in 2021, he chose to reconcile with his parents.

Before 1989, Milei was a goalkeeper for the youth team of the Little Farmers Sports Club, but due to hyperinflation during José Oslé's tenure as Argentina's Minister of Economy, he decided at 18 not to pursue a career in football and began studying economics to make a living. He later obtained a bachelor's degree in economics from Belgrano Private University and two master's degrees from the Institute for Economic and Social Development and Tocuato Di Tella Private University.

He served as the chief economist for Máxima AFJP (a private pension company), chief economist at Estudio Broda (a financial consulting firm), and as a government advisor at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes. He was also a senior economist at HSBC Argentina. He has been the chief economist for several national and international public institutions. Since 2012, Milei has led the economic research department of the national think tank Fundación Acordar. He is also a member of B20, the International Chamber of Commerce Economic Policy Group (G20 advisor), and the World Economic Forum. Additionally, he has been a university professor for over twenty years, teaching courses including macroeconomics, economic growth, microeconomics, and the mathematics of economists.

In 2020, Milei joined the Avanza Libertad party and ran for the Argentine Chamber of Deputies in 2021, promising not to support any tax increases or new taxes, and established the Liberty Advances party. He frequently promoted himself on television, radio, and YouTube, gaining support from many young people. While serving as a congressman, Milei held monthly lottery events where winners received his entire monthly salary from the congress, and anyone could participate in the lottery.

Image source: ilpost

In 2023, Milei participated in the presidential election, proposing to allow people to freely purchase firearms and human organs, promising to abolish the voluntary termination of pregnancy bill, and expressing support for punishing abortionists under criminal law. In the August 2023 presidential primaries, Milei received 30% of the votes, becoming the leading presidential candidate, marking the first time since the 1916 Argentine elections that a far-right candidate won the primaries. In the runoff held on November 19, Milei defeated his opponent and was successfully elected as the new president of Argentina.

Main Viewpoints

On economic issues, Milei is a staunch supporter of the Austrian School, stating that "the beasts supporting Keynesian economics are everywhere." He believes Argentina is a tax hell and advocates for rapid cuts in government spending to achieve a balanced budget. He frequently appears on television criticizing the government of Mauricio Macri (former president of Argentina) for excessive spending and fiscal mismanagement. He advocates for the abolition of the Argentine central bank, supports currency substitution (allowing the use of dollars within Argentina), and endorses a return to the gold standard and metalism.

However, due to his frequent use of mathematical formulas and charts in his writings to explain his views, he has also faced criticism from Austrian School economists (who view economics as a social science), who argue that his concepts are confused and that the formulas he uses are incorrect. In April 2023, economist Constantino Hevia from Tocuato Di Tella University stated, "If you analyze it a bit, you'll realize that the public vastly overestimates Milei's understanding of economics… Milei always shouts concepts he doesn't even understand, and the public is misled by him and follows his lead. In reality, there are many concepts Milei doesn't understand at all; you just need to look at his notes to see that." He concluded, "Milei's mathematical skills are insufficient, coupled with a huge ego, leading to frequent inaccuracies in what he says."

Politically, Milei is viewed by outsiders as far-right, right-wing populist, extreme conservative, and right-wing libertarian, though he considers himself a minarchist or classical liberal, advocating for anarcho-capitalism. In foreign policy, he is close to the United States and Israel, advocating for a fight against socialists and centralists, refusing to do business with socialists, and thus proposing to freeze Argentina's relations with China, although he would respect agreements already signed between Argentina and Chinese companies.

Views on Cryptocurrency

Milei is a supporter of Bitcoin, stating that Bitcoin returns funds to their original creators and serves as a tool against government control and central bank policies. He has also publicly supported cryptocurrency as a means for ordinary Argentinians to escape peso inflation. He touts Bitcoin's limited supply as a safer alternative than gold or silver. (Note: Argentina's cumulative inflation rate from January to September 2023 was 103.2%, with a cumulative inflation rate of 138.3% over the past 12 months, and a cumulative inflation rate of 94.8% for the entire year of 2022.)

Additionally, in December 2021, he promoted a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme called Coinx through his Instagram account, stating, "They are completely changing the way of investing to help Argentinians cope with inflation." Later, the country's regulatory body, the National Securities Commission (CNV), ordered the cessation of Coinx's operations, and some investors sought compensation from Milei and sued him.

Image source: instagram

Despite this, his policy focus is not heavily related to cryptocurrency, but rather on comprehensive liberalization in areas such as central banking, finance, and foreign affairs. Given Milei's views on economic liberalism, it is unlikely that he will use state power to intervene in or promote the adoption of cryptocurrency after being elected president, but he is also not expected to impose strict regulatory policies on Bitcoin or cryptocurrencies.

References:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Javier_Milei

https://decrypt.co/152388/argentina-president-candidate-javier-milei-pro-bitcoin

https://www.ccn.com/news/is-javier-milei-nxt-bitcoin-leader/

https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/102h5fc/javiermileiargentinianpoliticianwhohasan/?rdt=46638\&onetap_auto=true

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yByWq8lhDCs

https://protos.com/argentinas-leading-presidential-candidate-sued-for-alleged-crypto-scam/

https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/argentina-set-primary-vote-with-ruling-peronists-fighting-survival-2023-08-13/

https://www.instagram.com/p/CXoGvseA1OG/?hl=en\&img_index=1

https://twitter.com/JMilei