Making no-freebies popular in Argentina

Javier Milei. Who’s he? He’s the self-described ‘anarcho-capitalist‘ president of Argentina. Milei won the Argentine presidential election by 56% of the vote in November last year. While one would think that after such a sweeping majority, the president – lovingly called ‘Crazy’ by supporters, and less lovingly so by opponents – would go all-out populist, doing the sort of mai-baap things that mai-baap sarkars with a big majority do, Milei has gone the other way: he’s making the state ‘size zero‘ by banning ‘freebies’ and sacking government employees right, right and centre.

What makes rightwing libertarian economist prez super brave is that he has unleashed all kinds of ‘reforms‘ that would be considered ‘unpopular’ to get Argentina out of economic mess. The inflation rate is sky-high, and Milei has slashed the currency’s value, public spending and subsidies for transport, fuel and energy. These measures have, in turn, driven up prices. Reports suggest inflation is 250%, making it the highest rate in the world. And yet, here’s the kicker: Argentines are cheering him on like he’s the Messi of political economy. They are ready to wait as long as required to reach Argentina’s version of Amrit kaal. Are we surprised by this level of support and patience? Not really, from a country that waited 36 years to win the football World Cup again.