Threats to tit-for-tat liberalism
Javier Milei 's public narrative has taken a leap in its level of excess. He declares war on "enemies" who seek to kill him. He says that those who disagree with him are "infected with mental parasites." He boasts of being cruel . He distributes insults and derogatory neologisms. He applauds those who say that violence is good depending on who it is aimed at. He went from merely hating journalists to humorously wishing them the tenth plague of Egypt (the death of the firstborn) .
The significance of this escalation lies not so much in the content of the speech but in the political actions that follow from it. As often happens to rulers hovering at the top, Milei forgets the cynical lesson they teach beginners in the art of power: never buy the mailbox they're selling .
By tying himself to an exclusive fable , that of the avenging prophet in a country of good and evil, he sacrifices a dose of the pragmatism that has allowed him to govern with stability despite his small parliamentary minority.
A month ago, it would have seemed implausible that the 24 governors would agree to present two bills, as they did this week, to restore the provincial coffers. This self-defense alliance comprised of Kirchnerists, chameleon-like Peronists, Macri supporters, Radicals, and aspiring libertarians is a product of shortages and weariness. "They're making the adjustments with ours," complains one of the provincial leaders who yearned for a peaceful 2025.
The budget cuts were the final spark that ignited the anger of those who remained in the allies' camp out of necessity. The Menem cousins ' electoral strategy, validated by Karina Milei, is leaving wounds everywhere. La Libertad Avanza is stepping on the territory of the governors who had supported the ruling party until now. They are offering them unfair deals, under the threat of forming opposition lists and undermining local governance.
Between Javier's harangues and Karina's actions, the Mileis are calling for an even more emphatic condemnation of the political system than their rise to power. They display a leadership that demands loyalty, understood as obsequiousness . And they lash out at anyone who doesn't understand the difference.
This happened to representatives Martín Arjol in Misiones and Mariano Campero in Tucumán. They were pioneers of Mileiism within the UCR, but fell short in the electoral distribution. Now they resist the ruling party's directives in Congress. They are "temporarily radicals without a wig" ; ruling party supporters in waiting mode, who in the meantime constitute a latent danger to Milei's legislative plans.
Within the Pro party, confusion over the negotiation of an agreement in Buenos Aires is also growing. Milei is infuriating the discussion with offensive language directed at the "Macrista nerds" who question her harsh manner; her sister is demanding submission in the formation of the lists. Cristian Ritondo —an enthusiast for the pact—struggled the mayors on Friday, who perceive themselves as marching toward the dissolution of the party they have been active in for 20 years. Everything indicates that they will compete together against Kirchnerism under the name Frente La Libertad Avanza (Freedom Advances Front). "Be careful, we are the 'front' and they will put it forward," quips a mayor who is getting angry about the situation.
The combination of angry governors and disillusioned allies foreshadows a turbulent month in Congress. The Senate intends to pass the pension increase bill that has already passed the Chamber of Deputies. The votes are there. Pressure from the provinces suggests that, barring any action from the Casa Rosada, bills to regulate the distribution of National Treasury Advances (ATN) and to make the liquid fuel tax shareable will advance. Initiatives to strengthen the financing of the Garrahan (National Treasury of the Republic) and expand funding for universities are also gaining momentum in the heat of the election season. And nothing raises more alarm bells in the government than the opposition's intention to tighten the requirements for validating Decrees of Necessity and Urgency (DNU) .
Congress has spiraled out of control. This was evident on Wednesday in the session where Kirchnerist representative Paula Penacca and Libertarian Juliana Santillán almost came to blows. This was also evident in the absurd Senate committee meetings where retirement benefits and disability assistance funds were discussed. The Libertarian internal disputes are not helping to calm the waters.
Milei insists he will veto anything that affects the fiscal surplus and anticipates an avalanche of accusations against those who challenge him.
In his opinion, they are not political rivals. “I don't contemplate the possibility of constructive opposition. They are enemies trying to kill you,” he said. His favorite ideologue and head of the fundraising organization Fundación Faro, Agustín Laje , said this week that “ it's not wrong” to use “violent means against evil.” And what makes someone evil? “A corrupt person is an evil person; a person who votes for a corrupt person is an evil person ; a person who creates inflation is evil,” he opines.
Another libertarian writer, Chilean Axel Kaiser , wins Milei over with the theory of “mental parasites.” He explains it this way: “There are ideas that settle in your nervous system like parasites. They are called neuroparasites. You find many of these beliefs in political groups like Kirchnerism.” These neuroparasites “prevent them from thinking rationally and condition them to react violently.” Kirchnerists, in his opinion, “are human beings whose minds are infected by these parasites.” There is a positive side: they can be cured “if they embrace the ideas of freedom.”
Kaiser's parasites are seven, according to the book he wrote, including social justice, social rights, the welfare state, corporate social responsibility, and diversity. So much work ahead for the Forces of Heaven!
Milei adds her own flavor to the divisive rhetoric she imported from the pioneering experiences of the international New Right. She articulates a kind of tit -for-an-tat liberalism when she points out that her logic of public interaction is to respond to anything she considers an aggression with greater violence.
It thus normalizes a degradation of debate and places punishment above justice. For example, his preferred candidate in the province of Buenos Aires, José Luis Espert , once expressed the following formula for ending insecurity in the suburbs: "Hang four or five of these criminals in the public square, fill them with bullets, and say, 'You'll be next, son of a bitch.'"
Espert himself suffered a reprehensible act of vandalism at his front door, when Kirchnerist militants threw manure, hung a banner, and threw offensive flyers. The unusual detention of Camporista leader Alesia Abaigar in a regular jail for this incident was applauded by the government under the bullrichista slogan: "Whoever does wrong pays."
Milei made the expression "they can't stand the change" commonplace. She used it to amplify a smear campaign against a journalist, Julia Mengolini , who two years ago said Milei was "in love with her sister." She celebrated her followers' false accusations of having an incestuous relationship with her brother and the dissemination of lurid videos made with artificial intelligence. "Action-reaction," the President explained.
Another journalist, Fabián Doman , was sued for libel because he offered an opinion on a streaming program that might be interesting to know about the sex lives of political leaders. The lawyer signing the lawsuit considered the doctrine of actual malice applicable in this case, which refers to someone who knowingly lies or makes statements with "total disregard for the truth." That is, what Milei explicitly does when she encourages the reprimand of her critics for spreading falsehoods.
He also denounced Jorge Rial because a journalist who reports to him said he had asked him to obtain "information about Milei's dogs." He took this as evidence of "an intelligence operation" against him. "This moral scourge is against the children," wrote official Santiago Oría , who is working to fuel the presidential crusade against dissent.
He also gets angry at those who called his speech in Davos homophobic, but he does not correct Fat Dan's propagandists when they call Representative Esteban Paulón , from the Socialist Party of Santa Fe, a pedophile and wish him AIDS.
In the tweets where he calls for "hating" journalists, Milei now adds an allusion to the tenth plague of Egypt . That is, the death of the firstborn , the final punishment with which the God of the Bible made the Pharaoh surrender and free the Hebrews. Does he desire the death of the children of those who dare to criticize him? We must assume he didn't mean to be literal. Undoubtedly, however, he made a reading or memory error. He mixed up the Book of Exodus with an old movie about the life of Moses. He then interpreted the tenth plague as divine revenge for a threat uttered by the Pharaoh to Moses. What Milei was trying to say is that whoever speaks against him should know that what they say will come back to haunt them.
He tends to slip up when he gets carried away with pointing out the reprobates. The same day he alluded to the plagues, he attacked the "formal idiots" who criticize him for his virulence, saying they reminded him of a line from the tango Cambalache : "A disguised man without a carnival." In fact, it's a line from Qué vachaché, a previous piece by Discépolo. He also welcomed the support he claimed was given to him by "the Spanish version of The Economist." because Argentina is reportedly experiencing an "expansionary adjustment." The article I was referring to appeared in El Economista , a Madrid-based outlet unrelated to the prestigious British magazine. It's an unsigned text that presents as its only source Juan Ramón Rallo , a libertarian who is part of the presidential circle of friends in Spain.
This Saturday, Milei tested her blend of religious spirituality and economic rationality in Chaco, where she attended the inauguration of the mega-temple of an evangelical pastor who boasts of performing miracles on stage for those fortunate enough to pay the entrance fee. She recited the evils of "the caste" to faithful who had just fallen into a trance and to apparently crippled people who were able to walk again.
The deterioration of public debate and the radicalization of those who think differently pose a delicate challenge for the future of the government. Milei's program managed to lower the inflation rate and regulate macroeconomic variables, giving her enough popularity to hope for victory in this year's elections. However, the task ahead is more than challenging. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan that allowed her to overcome a brewing crisis three months ago requires a series of structural reforms—pension, fiscal, and labor—that can only be achieved through broad political agreement.
By dehumanizing those who are different and comparing consensus to corruption, Milei offers her political rivals little incentive to collaborate in the transformation her program aims for.
The alternative to an agreement is a jungle where the temptation for those labeled as enemies is to sit back and wait for the government to fail . Faced with an adjustment program in which the burden is not shared equitably, where there will be winners and losers, at least in its initial stages, they are left with the narrative of defending the unprotected. Argentina is full of politicians trained in the gymnastics of promising quick and easy solutions to problems that can only be resolved in the long term.
Investors who must finance the change are wary of the well-known pendulum swing. What if it ends the same way again?
Milei had seemed to sense the trap when she presented the May Pact on March 1, 2024, but the adventure ended, a year later, at a table where only politicians handpicked by the President sit to endorse ideas written by the President.
His officials blend in with the current climate. Even technical ministers copy his quarrelsome tone in search of social media likes. Others are more literal, like representatives Lilia Lemoine and Juliana Santillán, who go through life in a YPF jumpsuit just like the one Milei wears with her dog Conan. State cosplay is here.
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