Milei and Bullrich, 1st and 2nd in Argentina’s elections, declare themselves against the country’s entry into the BRICS

The two right-wing candidates, who led the vote in Argentina’s electoral primaries, Javier Milei (with 30.04% of the votes) and Patricia Bullrich (with 28.27%), declared themselves against the country’s entry into the BRICS, as announced by the group’s summit this Thursday (24).

Milei, a far-right candidate, made his statement during the Council of the Americas, in a plenary session on Argentina’s economic and political perspectives, this Thursday. “We are not going to align ourselves with communists,” he said.

Defender of private initiative and the free market, Milei also defended that Argentina’s alignment should be with the United States and Israel.

“This does not mean that the private sector cannot negotiate with whoever it wants. Trade should be free. And the private must trade with whoever it wants. I didn’t say that we should stop trading with Brazil and China. What I’m saying is that it’s a matter for the private sector in which I don’t have to get involved”, added the deputy and candidate for La Libertad Avanza.

Bullrich, from the Juntos por el Cambio party, used social media to criticize Argentina’s acceptance into the bloc.

“In no way are we going to endorse Argentina associating itself with populist authoritarianism: we are going to remove the country from this alliance with Iran, responsible for the 85 murders in the attack on Amia [Associação Mutual Israelita Argentina], and Russia, the invading Ukraine. In a government of ours, Argentina will not be part of the Brics, ”he said.

The candidate also positioned herself against the discourse that defends a multipolar geopolitics, considering and endorsing the power of China: “We believe in an international order based on clear rules to preserve peace and respect for international law”.

See also: Javier Milei’s plans for the Argentine economy (analysis)

Analysis: Javier Milei’s plans for the Argentine economy | WW

Left defends membership

The president of Argentina, Alberto Fernández, celebrated the country’s entry into the group and said that it comes at a time of “marked geopolitical tensions”.

“We joined the Brics alliance. It is a new step towards the consolidation of a fraternal country open to the world that we always dreamed of being. We are facing a great opportunity to strengthen Argentina, ”she wrote on social media.

Fernández classified the Brics countries as the most important emerging economies in the world. “We are going to be protagonists of a common destiny in a bloc that represents more than 40% of the world’s population and, at the same time, we continue to strengthen our fruitful, autonomous and diverse relations with other countries”.

He also said that the group boosts the agenda of countries in the so-called global south.

presidential election

Argentina’s presidential election will take place on October 22 and will have the country’s economic situation as a backdrop, which is experiencing triple-digit inflation.

The government-backed left-wing candidate, Sergio Massa, is the current economy minister and came third in the primaries with 27.27% of the vote.