OPINION:
Fans of limited government cheered last week as Javier Milei was sworn in as Argentina’s president. Citizens of the once-prosperous nation have been desperate for change as decades of socialism created an economy in which annual inflation tops 160%.
“We are going to start the reconstruction of Argentina, after more than 100 years of decline, and again embrace the ideas of freedom,” Mr. Milei said, speaking from the balcony of Casa Rosada, the Argentine equivalent of the White House, “though we are going to have to endure a period of austerity, we will move forward.”
Mr. Milei, an economist and pundit by trade, cited his guiding principles as “unrestricted respect for the pursuit of life of others, based on the principle of nonaggression, in defense of the right to life, freedom and property.” He wants to restore a society “where you can only succeed by serving your neighbor, with better quality goods, at a better price.”
It remains to be seen whether the political novice can deliver on the lofty promise to “make Argentina great again,” but voters seem to have made a sensible gamble. Voting for yet another big-government presidential candidate would have only guaranteed more of the same. Underneath his boisterous style, Mr. Milei is offering a legitimate alternative.
His first moves in office include a plan to fire newly hired public employees, eliminate government spending on publicity, wipe out a third of patronage positions and nix local government subsidies. Far from being treated as the fringe schemes of a “far-right” madman, the money-tightening proposals received a seal of approval from the International Monetary Fund.
“Their decisive implementation will help stabilize the economy and set the basis for more sustainable and private-sector led growth,” IMF spokesman Julie Kozack said last week.
The first presidential decree has been issued, and Argentina no longer has a Ministry of Culture. The Ministry of Women, Gender and Diversity is no more. Several other bloated ministries are being consolidated and downsized to provide a slimmed-down, more efficient government.
Markets responded positively, reflecting optimism in the nation’s new direction. Naturally, leftists aren’t eager to see any further success. They plan to march through the streets of Buenos Aires on Wednesday to demand a return to the massive government spending — as if trimming the budget by 2.9% of gross domestic product were the end of the world.
Authorities are ready to crack down should antifa-style antics threaten to disrupt commerce, something socialist leaders like Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador are promoting with open calls for “resistance” to Mr. Milei’s policies.
Nothing upsets the global elite so much as the success of upstarts like Mr. Milei who have an opportunity to demonstrate that, not only are there alternatives to the status quo, sometimes those alternatives might actually work.
Perhaps by November the early results from Mr. Milei’s economic experiment will be known, in which case even the United States may also be inspired to once again embrace the ideas of freedom.
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