“Hernán Stuchi, a 29-year-old food delivery driver in greater Buenos Aires, grew up as a left-wing activist. During this year’s presidential election in Argentina, he told Vox he would make a starkly different choice, and back Javier Milei, a far-right libertarian trumpeting socially conservative culture war issues and explosive proposals to reshape Argentine society.
“It was a kind of innocence,” he said in October, discussing his previous support for left-wing leaders. “It’s not like us poor people ever stopped being poor.”
At the polls this fall, Stuchi wasfar from alone.
Milei shocked the country when he topped Argentina’s two main political forces in primary elections in August. Now, he’s defeated Sergio Massa, a left-wing establishment candidate, in a runoff election. According to provisional results, he won about 55 percent of the vote. A main fount of that support is, surprisingly, young people — and young men in particular.
Ahead of a previous round of voting in October, polls indicatedalmost 50 percent of voters 29 and younger backed Milei, the wild-haired outsider and self-described “anarcho-capitalist” who inveighs against traditional politicians, branding them as members of a “caste” that must be done away with. (His campaign slogan, “que se vayan todos,” or “get rid of them all,” carries echoes of the Trumpian “drain the swamp.”) A win by Milei’s ascendant campaign in Argentina in some ways serves as yet another indicator of the far right’s rise across the Americas and around the world. But young voters’ support sets Milei apart from the far-right stars he is often compared with, including Trump and Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro, both of whom were shut out by young voters in their recent reelection bids.
With over 100 percent inflation crushing Argentine pocketbooks, Milei’s proposed solution is a radical plan to abolish the central bank and dollarize the economy by replacing the Argentine peso with the US dollar — a move untested by countries of Argentina’s scale. He has voiced support for other extreme positions, including liberalizing gun ownership and individuals’ freedom to sell their organs. He denies human-caused climate change and opposes abortion. At rallies, he can often be seen wielding a chainsaw, symbolizing his plan to slash public spending and unravel Argentina’s generous safety nets. In Milei’s view, the state should largely limit itself to homeland security: To that end, he has pledged to axe the ministries of education; environment; and women, gender, and diversity, among others.”
https://www.vox.com/world-politics/2023/10/21/23925549/argentina-election-javier-milei-right-youth