Javier Milei won Argentina’s presidential election Sunday on a ticket to overhaul South America’s No. 2 economy and ditch its peso currency in favor of the US dollar.
Will the Libertarian’s radical plans see the light of day?
Milei’s La Libertad Avanza coalition won the election with nearly 56% of the vote, defeating the incumbent center-left Peronist party and its candidate, economy minister Sergio Massa.
In his victory speech Sunday, Milei provided few details of the economic policies he plans to adopt when he takes office on December 10. But the self-declared “anarcho-capitalist”— who wielded a chainsaw on the campaign trail to symbolize his plans to cut state spending — promised “drastic” reforms.
“The model of decadence has come to an end, there’s no going back,” Milei declared.
“Today we end the destructive model of the ever-present state, it only benefits a few while the majority of Argentina suffers,” he added, while also acknowledging the challenges facing him.