Javier Milei is making headlines in Brazilian newspapers, often portrayed as a threat to Argentine democracy, despite a scenario of uncontrolled inflation reaching 160% per year and rising poverty rates, with 40% in child poverty and 60% in overall poverty. Could the election of the libertarian candidate really be the worst-case scenario for our neighbor? With this question in mind, I decided to speak with someone who is experiencing the Argentine election firsthand: Valentina Zenocrati. She is Argentine, lives in the province of Mendoza, is a 22-year-old economics student, and is a colleague of mine in the LOLA (Ladies of Liberty Alliance) movement, a global network of liberal women. Valentina is the leader of the Mendoza core and, dissatisfied with the current political landscape, decided to volunteer in Javier Milei’s campaign even before the primaries. Let’s explore what motivates her and how she perceives the whole process.
The first step to understanding her decision is to analyze the current scenario: Alberto Fernández, the current president, represents the continuation of Kirchnerism and Peronism, which have long negatively impacted Argentina. In Valentina’s view, the president, in addition to perpetuating populist measures adopted by previous leftist governments, also harmed the country with decisions made during the pandemic. Fernández was seen as the main culprit for the economic problems, imposing a prolonged quarantine that closed many businesses and caused Argentinians to suffer the consequences of his choices even today…