Argentina elects Javier Milei for President

[RZehr]

Milei, a self-described “anarcho-capitalist”, has promised a series of radical reforms, including slashing public spending by 15 percent, abolishing the central bank and switching the Argentinian peso to the United States dollar.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/ ... cal-reform

I hope he does improve the economy. That place is a disaster.

[Ken]

Milei, a self-described “anarcho-capitalist”, has promised a series of radical reforms, including slashing public spending by 15 percent, abolishing the central bank and switching the Argentinian peso to the United States dollar.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/ ... cal-reform

I hope he does improve the economy. That place is a disaster.

I've been to Argentina several times. That place *should* be as wealthy as Switzerland. And at one time it was. But Argentines keep getting in the way. My wife is Chilean and they have a generally low opinion of Argentinians. Wealthy Argentines have always driven across the Andes to vacation on Chilean beaches which are nicer than those on the Atlantic on the Argentinian side. So you see hordes of Argentine license plates all summer long at all the beach towns in Chile. They are thought to be loud and obnoxious (just like American tourists in Europe) and so tolerated but not well liked.

In more recent years you are seeing lots of young Argentines coming over to work in Chile, often under the table (illegally) so it is super common to find Argentine waiters in Chilean restaurants. The really grunt work is done by illegal immigrants from Bolivia, Venezuela, and Haiti. Argentines think they are too good to work as maids and landscapers.

A few decades ago, Argentina was much wealthier than Chile. Now those roles have reversed. Both because Chile is doing well but also because Argentina has been going backwards.

We will see how much this actually changes things in Argentina. Argentina is a presidential system like the US so big changes in policy are going to have to come through the National Congress. I'm not sure how much Milei's party controls Congress. He might be very loud, but he is going to need a working majority in Congress to actually get anything done.

[RZehr]

I’m interested, because I work with an Argentine who we helped get a green card, and move to Oregon. And we do a lot of business there. I was there last week.

[cooper]

Seems like a perfectly normal guy. I can't imagine this ends well.

[Ken]

Seems like a perfectly normal guy. I can't imagine this ends well.

How much is is actually going to be able to accomplish depends on how much he can get the Argentine Congress to go along with. I don't think he can really make all those huge changes like going onto the dollar standard and eliminating government agencies without going through Congress. We shall see if he is all bark and no bite or if he actually changes things.

[Franklin]

Seems like a perfectly normal guy. I can't imagine this ends well.

Thanks for this video, this sounds promising. There is nothing worse than normal modern people.

[cooper]

I am sympathetic to his policy ideas, however, I do not think he has the personality or temperament that inspires trust. Economic development requires stability so capital can feel safe investing. Perhaps it's just cultural differences, but looks narcissistic and potentially unhinged.

[Josh]

I am sympathetic to his policy ideas, however, I do not think he has the personality or temperament that inspires trust. Economic development requires stability so capital can feel safe investing. Perhaps it's just cultural differences, but looks narcissistic and potentially unhinged.

Do you really think Argentina's existing environment is one where capital feels safe investing?

[Pelerin]

Seems like a perfectly normal guy. I can't imagine this ends well.

#5 just seems like straight up drive-by slander. Which makes me feel a bit skeptical the rest of the video is actually a good representation of him.

[Josh]

#6 is a puzzler too. Stating support for Israel is controversial now? (I can understand being critical of Israel's current actions, but what's wrong with him declaring they won't be an enemy and waving an Israeli flag, perhaps in support of the victims of October 7?)