The Chainsaw Effect: Javier Milei and the Disruption of Argentina’s Politics

The surprising election of Argentina’s controversial new president, Javier Milei, captivated international media attention. Milei just passed his first major legislative package, and promises to further slash state spending and promote policies to privatize much of the Argentine economy. What drives his support beyond voters’ weariness of the country’s economic woes and political stagnation?

This episode of None Of The Above features interviews from IGA’s trip to Buenos Aires after the election. Host Mark Hannah delves into Javier Milei’s extraordinary rise with insights from Jorge Liotti, the chief editor of the political section at La Nación newspaper, and Augusto Reina, director of PULSAR at the University of Buenos Aires. They explore Milei’s blend of libertarianism, populism, and ultra-capitalist economic philosophy.

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Jorge Liotti is a columnist and editor of the Politics section at La Nación. Previously, he worked for the newspaper Perfil and the DyN news agency, as well as writing for the newspapers La Repubblica (Italy) and El País (Colombia) and reporting for SBS radio (Australia).

Augusto Reina is a director at Pulsar, a center at the University of Buenos Aires dedicated to the study of public opinion. He is a professor at the Catholic University of Argentina, FLACSO, University of Buenos Aires and IDE, the Business School of the University of Los Hemisferios (Ecuador).