Javier Milei facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Excelentísimo Señor Javier Milei
Milei in 2023
President of Argentina
Incumbent
Assumed office 10 December 2023
Vice President	Victoria Villarruel
Preceded by	Alberto Fernández
National Deputy
In office 10 December 2021 – 10 December 2023
Constituency	City of Buenos Aires
Personal details
Born	Javier Gerardo Milei (1970-10-22) 22 October 1970 (age 54) Palermo, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Political party	Libertarian (since 2019)
Other political affiliations	Avanza Libertad (2020–2021) La Libertad Avanza (since 2021)
Domestic partner	Fátima Flórez (since 2023)
Education	University of Belgrano Instituto de Desarrollo Económico y Social [es] Torcuato di Tella University
Occupation	Politician economist author
School or tradition	Austrian School
Signature

Javier Gerardo Milei (born 22 October 1970) is an Argentine politician, economist, and author who has served as President of Argentina since 2023. Milei has taught university courses in macroeconomics, economic growth, microeconomics, and mathematics for economists. He has written numerous books and hosted radio programs. Milei's views distinguish him in the Argentine political landscape and have garnered significant public attention and polarizing reactions.

In 2021, Milei was elected to the Argentine Chamber of Deputies, representing the City of Buenos Aires for La Libertad Avanza. As a national deputy, he limited his legislative activities to voting, focusing instead on critiquing what he sees as Argentina's political elite and its propensity for high government spending. Milei pledged not to raise taxes and donated his national deputy salary through a monthly raffle. He defeated economy minister Sergio Massa in the second round of the 2023 Argentine presidential election on a platform that held the ideological dominance of Peronism responsible for the still ongoing 2018 Argentine monetary crisis.

Milei is known for his flamboyant personality, distinctive personal style, and strong media presence. Politically, he has been variously described as a far-right populist, right-wing libertarian, and ultraconservative. On economic issues, he has been described as a ultra-liberal. He is a supporter of laissez-faire, aligning specifically with minarchist and anarcho-capitalist principles. He has proposed a comprehensive overhaul of the country's fiscal and structural policies. In foreign policy, he advocates for closer relations with the United States, supporting Ukraine in response to Russia's invasion, and distancing Argentina from geopolitical ties with China.

Early life and education

Javier Gerardo Milei was born on 22 October 1970 in Palermo, Buenos Aires. He grew up in the Villa Devoto neighborhood and later moved to Sáenz Peña, Buenos Aires. Milei's mother, Alicia, was a housewife, and his father, Norberto, was a bus driver. His father is of Italian descent, while his mother, whose maiden name is Lucich, is of Croatian descent. They are related to TV presenter Rodrigo Lussich, who said their grandparents migrated from Croatia to Argentina. He has a younger sister Karina, with whom he has a close bond.

Milei attended Catholic schools, including the secondary school Cardenal Copello. At school, he was nicknamed el Loco ("The Crazy One") for his outbursts and aggressive rhetoric. In his late teens and early adulthood, Milei sang in the cover band Everest, which mostly played Rolling Stones covers. He also played goalkeeper for the Chacarita Juniors association football team until 1989, when there was hyperinflation in Argentina and he committed to a career in economics.

The collapse of Argentina's exchange rate led to Milei becoming interested in economics during the early 1980s. Milei studied introductory economics and the law of supply and demand, which he thought seemed to be at odds with the ongoing hyperinflation; he said he saw people throwing "themselves on top of the merchandise" in a supermarket and began to study economics in more detail to understand it. Milei obtained an economics degree (licentiate) from the private University of Belgrano and two master's degrees from the Instituto de Desarrollo Económico y Social [es] and the private Torcuato di Tella University.

Economics career

For over 20 years, Milei has been a professor of macroeconomics, economics of growth, microeconomics, and mathematics for economists. He specializes in economic growth and has taught several economic subjects in Argentine universities and abroad. He has written more than 50 academic papers.

Milei became the chief economist at Máxima AFJP, a private pension company; a head economist at Estudio Broda, a financial advising company; and a government consultant at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes. He was also a senior economist at HSBC Argentina. He served as chief economist at several national and international government public bodies. Since 2012, Milei has led the division of Economic Studies at Fundación Acordar, a national think tank. He is also a member of the B20 and a member of the Economic Policy Group of International Chamber of Commerce, an advisor to the G20. For 15 years, he worked at the private company Corporación América as the chief economist and financial adviser to Eduardo Eurnekian.

Milei is the author of several books, including El camino del libertario. He has a notable presence on television, with a 2018 ranking by Ejes showing him as the most interviewed economist on television, at 235 interviews and 193,347 seconds. Milei also hosted his own radio show, Demoliendo mitos (Demolishing Myths), featuring regular appearances by Alberdian and right-wing libertarian personalities, including the economist and businessman Gustavo Lazzari, the lawyer Pablo Torres Barthe, and the political scientist María Zaldívar.

Early political career

Rise to prominence

Milei during an interview on Todo Noticias in 2019

During the 2010s, Milei achieved significant notoriety and public exposure in debates developed on Argentine television programs characterized by insults to his rivals, foul language, and aggressive rhetoric when expressing and debating his ideals and beliefs, such as with Buenos Aires chief of government Horacio Rodríguez Larreta. This led many commentators to label him antipolitical or disruptive. Ted Cruz, a United States senator, shared an interview between Viviana Canosa [es] and Milei on Twitter, jokingly proposing to invite him to the 2024 Republican Party presidential debates.

In 2018, he made his acting debut in his play El consultorio de Milei, with Claudio Rico and Diego Sucalesca. In 2019, Noticias named him one of the most influential people in Argentina. In 2020, he spoke in favor of protests against the government led by Alberto Fernández.

2021 legislative campaign

From 2020 to 2021, Milei was a member of Avanza Libertad (Freedom Advances), a political party founded by José Luis Espert. During his campaign for the Argentine Chamber of Deputies, Milei focused on Buenos Aires neighborhoods, where he took strolls and had talks with ordinary people. He pledged not to support any tax increases or new taxes. He ran under the slogan "I didn't come here to lead lambs but to awaken lions", denouncing what he saw as a political caste, which he said was composed of "useless, parasitic politicians who have never worked"; he called politicians rats and said they form "a parasitic caste" that only think about getting rich.

In July 2021, Milei established the coalition La Libertad Avanza (Freedom Moves Forward), which secured third place in primary elections with 13.66 percent of the vote and third in the 2021 Argentine legislative election with 17 percent, and the far-right coalition entered the Argentine Congress. They performed best in Cordoba and Santa Fe, the second- and third-most populous districts in the country, and performed well in Peronist strongholds in North Tucuman, Salta, La Rioja, and San Juan, and in Santa Cruz in Patagonia, which is considered the cradle of Kirchnerism.

National deputyship

Upon assuming office as deputy, Milei fulfilled one of his campaign promises by raffling his salary to a random person each month, aiming to "return money to the citizens". He described this monthly raffle, which is open to anyone, as a way to get rid of what he considered dirty money, saying: "The state is a criminal organization that finances itself through taxes levied on people by force. We are returning the money that the political caste stole." As a national deputy, Milei had been present in the chamber 52 percent of the time as of April 2023. As of August 2023, he had not proposed any laws or joined any parliamentary commissions. One of his absences was particularly criticized by the Juntos por el Cambio opposition because it allowed the national government to raise taxes on plane tickets by a single vote. His monthly raffle for his salary has given away more than seven million pesos since his parliamentary election.

Presidency (2023–present)

Milei posing with Villarruel in October 2022

Milei took office as president on 10 December 2023. In addition to a lack of support in Congress, observers pointed to triple-digit inflation at 200 percent, rising poverty, and a polarized population as challenges for his presidency. His prospective foreign minister Diana Mondino [es] announced that Argentina would not accept Argentina's accession to BRICS. Milei's nomination of Rodolfo Barra as the head of the Treasury's prosecution office caused outrage over Barra's neo-Nazi past.

Political positions

Milei's stances have been described in many different ways. He has been variously described as far right, far-right populist, right-wing libertarian, ultraconservative, and ultra-liberal. Milei advocates minimal government, focusing on justice and security, with a philosophy rooted in life, liberty, and property, and free-market principles. He criticizes socialism and communism, advocating economic liberalization and restructuring government ministries. He opposes Argentina's Central Bank and current taxation policies.

Economically, Milei is influenced by the Austrian School and admires former president Carlos Menem's policies. He supports capitalism, viewing socialism as embodying envy and coercion. Milei proposes reducing government ministries and addressing economic challenges through spending cuts and fiscal reforms, criticizing previous administrations for excessive spending. He has praised the economic policies of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher and called her "a great leader".

As a supporter of the right to keep and bear arms, Milei advocates deregulation of firearm ownership and proposes immigration restrictions for criminals. In foreign policy, Milei criticizes the IMF, opposes trade unions, aligns with anti-socialist figures like Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro, and prioritizes alliances with the United States and Israel. He is cautious about relations with China, supports Ukraine against Russia, and advocates dialogue about the Falklands War.

Personal life

Milei (center) praying in the grave of Menachem Mendel Schneerson on 27 November 2023

Milei is not married and said that, if elected president, he would have his sister take the role of First Lady of Argentina. In August 2023, Milei announced that he was dating actress Fátima Flórez. Previously, he dated the singer Daniela Mori.

While raised Catholic, Milei has been critical of the Catholic Church under Pope Francis, and his disparaging comments about Francis attracted criticism from Catholics. Milei also reads the Torah daily and has visited the grave of Orthodox rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson. Before November 2023, Milei said he had contemplated converting to Judaism but that observing the Jewish Sabbath could pose challenges if he became president. Upon being elected president, it was reported that Milei intended to convert to Judaism.

Milei owns five English Mastiffs, with the progenitor being Conan, who died in 2017 after suffering from spinal cancer. He considers Conan his son and has named four of Conan's six clones, including one named after the original and another named Angelito, Milton (in honor of Milton Friedman), Murray (in honor of Murray Rothbard), Robert, and Lucas (both named after Robert Lucas Jr.). Milei said that he cloned Conan because he understands cloning as "a way of approaching eternity". To do this, he went to a clinic in the United States; the process cost him about $50,000. He has called his dogs his four-legged children and thanked them after his electoral win.

Electoral history

Executive

Legislative

Radio

See also

In Spanish: Javier Milei para niños