The time of the outsider

MARY REICHARD, HOST: It’s Thursday the 23rd day of November, 2023.

Glad to have you along for today’s edition of The World and Everything in It. Good morning, I’m Mary Reichard.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown. Before we get to the rest of our program for today. I’d like a personal word with you about support for The World and Everything in It.

Let me begin by stating the obvious: it takes significant resources to produce and deliver this program each day—because as our friend David Bahnsen reminds us frequently… there is no free lunch.

To an extent, it may seem like a free lunch although I guess that depends on when you’re listening. We kind of assume this is your free breakfast. But the point is, somebody’s picking up the tab!

REICHARD: Which brings us to the message we’ll be emphasizing the next few days. Namely, that somebody has already picked up half of the tab. Generous, long-time donors have agreed to match every new gift, dollar for dollar. It’s a tangible demonstration that NO ONE GIVES ALONE. We’re in this together.

BROWN: That's the way it is here at WORLD. We are in this together. We have writers, editors, reporters, on-air staff. Producers, technicians—all with different gifts.

We need technology: mics, mixers, recorders, computers, and software. We need to travel to go get the stories. We have to pay for studio space and reliable internet to connect those who are far off. Pay vendors to deliver it all to you.

REICHARD: No free lunch. So, if you have been listening, but haven't supported us yet—could this be the year? Between today—Thanksgiving Day—and next Tuesday—Giving Tuesday—our donors are offering to double your first-time gift. Every single new donor dollar that comes in is matched. So there's no better time to go to WNG.org/donate and make your first-ever gift to support our mission here at WORLD.

BROWN: That’s WNG.org/donate, and we’re thankful.

First up, a political groundswell in Argentina.

On Sunday, the people of Argentina elected a political outsider to be the country’s new president.

REICHARD: Javier Milei is a liberal economist who campaigned on a platform to reduce public spending, cut taxes, and renegotiate foreign debt.

Here now with more detail on Milei’s victory is Latin America correspondent, Javier Bolaños.

JAVIER MILEI: [Speaking Spanish]

JAVIER BOLANOS, REPORTER: That’s Argentina's new president-elect, Javier Milei, on Sunday night after a landslide win in the country’s run-off election.

SOUND: [Street celebrations]

Milei, a 53 year-old economist, surprised the establishment candidate, Sergio Massa, by winning with 57 percent of the vote. Milei calls himself an "anarcho-capitalist" and says he is a defender of individual freedom. He is also critical of some tenets of progressive ideology. He rejects abortion and gender ideology, and supports the right to bear arms.

Massa, the candidate who ran against Milei, was called a "Peronist" because he is a member of the political party founded by former president Juan Domingo Perón. The Peronist governments have been characterized for having a strong state presence in the economy, nationalization of industries, and expansion of social welfare programs. However, the Peronist governments economic policies have led to extreme inflation, currency devaluation, and debt crises during the 28 years they have been in power.

MARCELO DÍAZ: In the case of Argentina, this current government clearly has a tendency towards the populist left.

Marcelo Díaz is an Argentine political analyst and political scientist. He holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Florida.

DÍAZ: It has strengthened its relationship with countries like Nicaragua, Bolivia, Brazil, Iran. It has a very concrete populist socialist perspective, which of course is at risk with the victory of Milei, who clearly represents a right-wing stance.

The most pressing question now is whether Milei can curb the country’s hyperinflation: Argentina’s 20-23 inflation rate stands at 140 percent, and the country’s poverty rate is at 40 percent. Here’s Milei.

MILEI: Quiero decirle a todos los argentinos, que hoy comienza el fin de la decadencia argentina… (Cheers) Hoy empezamos a dar vuelta a la página de nuestra historia, y volvemos a retomar el camino que nunca deberíamos haber perdido. Hoy se termina el modelo empobrecedor del Estado omnipresente, que sólo beneficia a algunos, mientras la mayoría de los argentinos sufren.

[TRANSLATION: I want to tell all Argentines that today begins the end of Argentina's decadence. Today we begin to turn the page of our history and we return to the path we should never have lost. Today the impoverishing model of the omnipresent State, which only benefits a few while the majority of Argentines suffer, is coming to an end.]

Argentina is the world’s eighth largest country in terms of landmass, and the second largest in South America. With almost 46 million inhabitants, it is the fourth most populated in the Americas. And its economy is the second largest in South America, behind Brazil.

The United States is Argentina’s main strategic partner in the Western Hemisphere and there’s a long history of political, commercial, and cultural relations between the two. All the more reason for Argentina to get its inflation in check.

Agustín Laje, a political scientist, and well-known Latin American author, founder of the conservative think tank Fundación Libre, explains:

AGUSTÍN LAJE: We will have a reduction of government to the bare minimum, where the government's focus would be on security, defense, justice, and education, with another form [restructuring?] of financing. This type of political philosophy trusts more in the freedom of the citizens than in the actions of the politicians.

Before politics, Javier Milei was an anti-establishment television personality. He won a seat in the Argentinian Congress only two years ago. That same year he founded his political party – La Libertad Avanza or The Freedom Advances.

Laje says it’s incredible that Milei, with so little political experience, could defeat the well-established ruling party.

LAJE: What it shows is that this is the time of the outsiders.

Milei’s bombastic style and wild hairstyle earns him comparisons with both Donald Trump and Brazil’s former president, Jair Bolsanaro, two conservative leaders he is said to admire.

But while Trump congratulated Milei on the victory, other leaders were less supportive. The leftist presidents of Mexico and Colombia called Milei’s win “a sad moment for Latin America.” Milei’s opponents in Argentina expressed their concern for the future of democracy, human rights, and social justice. But enough Argentines were fed up with the status quo and ready for a change.

DÍAZ: I believe that this is the era of the new generations and the search for new alternatives, new models, new leaderships that bring fresh air to politics with new ideas and that all of this can encourage citizens to participate much more actively in the political life of their country.

Whether or not the Milei’s leadership encourages citizens to be more engaged with him or against him remains to be seen. What is for certain is that Milei will have plenty of work cut out for him.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Javier Bolaños.

WORLD Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of WORLD Radio programming is the audio record.