Argentina’s Milei plays rock star to revive his sagging fortunes

Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - Argentina's President Javier Milei hoped to recapture the rock star vibe he projected as he stormed into the presidential campaign of 2023 as a maverick in a country sick of its politicians and seemingly endless economic crises. — AFP pic

BUENOS AIRES, Oct 7 — Argentine President Javier Milei donned black leather and belted out rock songs yesterday as he headlined a concert to mark the release of a book he hopes will revive his sagging fortunes.

“The Making of the Miracle: the Argentine case,” a 573-page tome composed mostly of Milei speeches from the past year, comes out as Milei endures the bumpiest stretch of his nearly two-year-old presidency.

The libertarian hopes the book will give him a boost ahead of October 26 national midterms, in which his minority party is hoping to boost its seat tally.

Last month he was forced to go cap in hand to Washington for financial assistance—Argentina is still waiting for a rescue—to end a run on the Argentine peso. It was sparked by concerns over his reform agenda following a major election defeat in Buenos Aires polls.

Last week, Congress overturned his vetoes of spending increases for public universities and emergency pediatric care, jeopardizing his sacrosanct zero-deficit goal.

Then on Sunday, one of his top candidates in the midterms bowed out of the race due to his links to suspected drug traffickers.

With yesterday’s concert, Milei hoped to recapture the rock star vibe he projected as he stormed into the presidential campaign of 2023 as a maverick in a country sick of its politicians and seemingly endless economic crises.

Wrapped in Argentina’s blue and white flag, Milei sang in a gravelly voice about a dozen rock songs by Argentine artists and introduced his own group, called “Banda Presidencial.”

He denounced a recent antisemitic attack on a woman and her son in Buenos Aires. “We are not going to allow this xenophobia that the left is trying to install,” said Milei.

He then started singing the Jewish folk song “Hava Nagila” and got a lukewarm response when he asked the crowd at the 15,000 seat arena to sing along.

Milei is not Jewish, but he has expressed affinity for Judaism.

The crowd did give a standing ovation when a large screen on the stage showed pictures of US President Trump and the slain young right wing influencer Charlie Kirk.

Milei’s upbeat mood contrasted with the mood of residents in the middle-class neighborhood of Villa Crespo, where the arena is situated.

Police erected a ring of steel around the concert hall to prevent clashes between anti- and pro-Milei demonstrators.

A banner erected on a nearby street slammed the sharp downturn in consumer spending since Milei took power in December 2023 and began slashing public spending.

“Milei, it’s a miracle anyone comes in to buy anything,” it read.

While campaigning last month in a low-income neighborhood of Buenos Aires, Milei was pelted with stones.

‘Individualism’ rocks 

“The Making of the Miracle” is the 14th book by Milei, an economist and former TV pundit, who won office as a political outsider on a mission to end corruption and revive Argentina’s economy.

He was the toast of the global right, hailed from lowering annual inflation from over 200 per cent at the end of 2023 to 33 per cent in August, and for balancing the budget for the first time in 14 years last year.

But his drastic austerity policies have left many of Argentina’s most vulnerable on the breadline.

In the prologue to Milei’s book, his drummer and fellow economist, Bertie Benegas Lynch, cheered the 54-year-old frontman.

Milei, he wrote, had shown “that only self-interest and individualism make peace and prosperity flourish.” — AFP