Right-wing populist Javier Milei said on November 19 that Argentina’s situation is “critical” and he promised to make “drastic” changes once he takes over the presidency of the third-largest economy in Latin America.
“Argentina’s situation is critical. The changes our country needs are drastic. There is no room for gradualism, no room for lukewarm measures,” Milei told supporters who chanted “president, president” and “liberty, liberty” when the right-wing populist took the stage.
He also said that the “reconstruction of Argentina begins today.”
With 97.6% of votes tallied in Sunday’s presidential runoff vote, Milei had 55.8% and Economy Minister Sergio Massa 44.2%, according to Argentina’s electoral authority. Presuming that margin holds, it would be wider than predicted by all polls and the widest since Argentina’s return of democracy in 1983.
In his first speech as president-elect, Milei also sent a message to the outgoing government, saying the country was their “responsibility until the end of the term” on Dec. 10.
Massa, of the ruling Peronist party, conceded and congratulated Milei, a self-described anarcho-capitalist who has drawn frequent comparisons to former U.S. President Donald Trump.
With a Milei victory, the country will swing to the right and empower a freshman lawmaker who got his start as a television talking head blasting what he called the “political caste.” For years, Milei criticized the Church’s social doctrine and insulted Pope Francis on several occasions due to his defense of concepts like social justice. He even called the pope an “imbecile” and defined him as “communist.”