Headline Roundup • August 14th, 2023
‘Far-Right’ Libertarian Beats Primary Expectations in Inflation-Stricken Argentina
World,Inflation,Argentina,Politics,Elections,Libertarian,Banking And Finance,Economy And Jobs,Donald Trump
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Libertarian outsider Javier Milei received a surprise 30% of the vote on Sunday in Argentina’s multi-party primary election.
The Details: Milei took first place, outpacing established politicians but failing to hit the 45% threshold for an outright victory. Voting in Argentina is compulsory for ages 18 to 70 and optional for 16- and 17-year-olds.
“Far-Right” Candidate? Often described as an “admirer” of former U.S. President Donald Trump, Milei has reportedly backed expanded gun access, criticized sex education, questioned the severity of climate change, called for abolishing Argentina’s central bank, and called for replacing the Argentine peso with the U.S. dollar.
For Context: Argentina, South America’s second-largest economy, has recently seen inflation as high 8.4% per month — more than the U.S. saw in a year post-pandemic. Argentina’s annual inflation rate has exceeded 100% since February 2022, a fact many writers have tied to a rightward political shift, or at least to an impulse to punish the country’s current leadership.
How the Media Covered It: U.S. media varied slightly in its descriptions of Milei; while most coverage called him “libertarian,” several left and center-rated outlets referred to him as “far-right,” with AP (Lean Left bias) calling him a “shaggy-haired rightist.” Meanwhile, coverage from the right was more likely to highlight his admiration for former President Donald Trump, and The National Pulse (Right bias) called him a “populist.”
Featured Coverage of this Story
Alejandro Pagni | Afp | Getty Images
Argentina’s central bank devalued its currency, the peso, by close to 18% and hiked its benchmark interest rate by a whopping 21 percentage points to 118% on Monday following a shock primary election win by far-right libertarian Javier Milei.
The moves were a bid by the government to calm markets in the wake of the Argentinian congressman’s surprise victory, which gave him the largest share of votes in the country’s presidential primary election at roughly 30%, far exceeding forecasts.
Markets had been betting on favorable results for moderate candidates. Argentina’s...
Natacha Pisarenko/AP Photo
Argentina’s presidential election race has an unpredictable X factor: Javier Milei, a fiery far-right populist who has emerged as the biggest winner in Sunday’s primary election.
The 52-year-old politician has exploited people’s disenchantment with the traditional political establishment, which has failed to address the perennial economic crisis in the Latin American nation.
With tousled hair, often sporting leather jackets and singing rock songs at his boisterous political rallies, Milei – an admirer of former US President Donald Trump – wants to purge politics of what he calls “thieves”.
The libertarian economist and author has...
AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko
Argentina’s Javier Milei became the biggest vote-getter in his country’s presidential primary elections on Sunday after copying the political playbook of former President Trump.
Milei, an admirer of Trump, has says he wants to make it easier for Argentinians to own handguns, denies the severity of climate change, describes sex education as a ploy to destroy the nuclear family, and calls for Argentina’s Central Bank to be abolished.
The leader of the Liberty Advances party also criticized the "political caste" that rules the country and advocates for the "reconstruction of Argentina."
On Sunday,...
