The ultra-right candidate favored to win the first round of Argentina’s presidential elections next Sunday (22), Javier Milei, from the Freedom Advances party, ended his campaign in Buenos Aires promising to transform his country into a “world power”.
Speaking on Wednesday night (18), Milei also stated that if more Argentines go to the polls, “it is likely” that he will win the election in the first round.
“Let us not resign ourselves to nothing changing, to becoming poorer every day,” said the candidate at a concert hall in the Argentine capital, in front of a mostly young audience.
Milei, who defines himself as an anarcho-capitalist, in addition to proposing to dollarize the economy and abolish the Central Bank, criticized his opponents’ statements about voting for him being a leap in the dark: “What leap in the dark are you talking about?”
“From the leap in the dark of you, impoverishing thieves”, he accused, qualifying himself as an “outsider” who had to enter politics so that politicians would not continue “shitting” on the population.
See also: Milei promises European standards in 15 years in Argentina’s first presidential debate
The night was filled with songs such as “let everyone leave, let none remain”, widely used in the 2001 crisis against politicians and “the caste is afraid”.
There were also, at various times, shouts from the public calling for Milei to win in the first round, as well as boos and insults at Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and journalists, as Milei accuses part of the local press of receiving money from politicians.
Even a jingle in Brazilian Portuguese took over the atmosphere: “He’s going upwards, he’s going to put an end to inflation, he’s going to privatize, dollarize the nation (…) it’s Milei, it’s Milei, president of Argentina, everyone knows it’s Milei ”, said the song, played at the event while the public waited for Milei.
“When it was time to vote, Javier Milei, ‘la casta tiene miedo, arriba!’” (“the casta is afraid, up!”, in Portuguese), called for the song, which also mentioned mismanagement and corruption in Argentina .
The ultra-rightist only entered the scene after a video was shown with images of bombs, explosions, implosions and collapsing buildings.
To get to the stage, the candidate passed through the audience, surrounded by security guards, to the sound of a local rock parody that mentions the panic generated by a “lion”, one of the nicknames by which Milei is known: “Hello everyone , I am the lion, roared the beast in the middle of the avenue. Everyone ran without understanding, ‘panic show’ in broad daylight (…) I am the king and I will destroy you; the whole caste is my appetite.”
As the sound played, a fiery lion was projected on the screen. Those present, who filled but did not fill the place, cheered like a concert. Some of them dressed as lions. Case of electrician Alejandro Llanes, 32 years old, who came from the province of Santa Fé for Milei’s act and was very sweaty from the heat of the costume.
When asked about the heat caused by the disguise, he stated: “We have been suffering for twenty years. This is just a little heat,” he said, who began to admire Milei for the candidate’s opposition to the legalization of abortion.
Llanes went to the event accompanied by activists who filled four buses, taking hundreds of fake $100 bills with the candidate’s face in the center to Buenos Aires. From time to time, the group threw stacks of bills in the air.
“I think we printed almost the same amount as the [Sergio] Mass”, joked LLanes, in reference to the candidate and Minister of Economy of the current government and the monetary issue in the country, which is immersed in annual inflation of almost 140%.
Another attraction in the crowd was a man with a wig similar to Milei’s always disheveled hair, blue eyes and a face shape similar to that of the candidate, who posed for photos reproducing exactly the right-winger’s gestures, with his head down and thumbs up. up.
The lookalike was Ariel Winner, a bus driver for 14 years, who received photo requests throughout the night. He says that, during the work day, he talks to his passengers about politics.
“We always talk about the situation in the country, and I say that I’m not going to tell them who they have to vote for, but that I’ll give them a tip, and I put my hand in my hair”, he jokes.
“Wig” is another nickname for the “libertarian” candidate.
Currently earning around R$2,000, an amount that can increase or decrease depending on the hours worked, Winner says he has to cut a lot of expenses to reach the end of the month.
“I asked for a loan from the bank to pay the bills and I’m going to start getting up early to sell coffee and sweets at the bus terminal door to make some extra income,” he says, saying he believes in Milei’s proposals to improve his situation.
The phrases “make America great again” and the local version “hagamos Argentina grande otra vez” (“let us make Argentina great again”, in Portuguese) could also be read by the environment.
Like the hat of Eduardo Dimarco, an Argentine businessman who defines himself as a “fanatic” for Donald Trump and has even attended a rally for the former North American president.
“I think that [Jair] Bolsonaro is also heading in a good direction”, said Dimarco, mentioning the video that the former Brazilian ruler made in support of Milei in the final stretch of the campaign, where he states that he will be inaugurated if the Argentine candidate is elected.
“I loved the video and I like Bolsonaro’s ideas, who defends freedom, like us”, concluded the businessman.
Source: CNN Brasil
Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.
