The Beginning of a Turbulent Period for Argentina

Argentina elected an ultra-libertarian, far-right charlatan who presents himself as a libertarian as president. Javier Milei won a clear victory over his opponent Sergio Massa, with a 55.7% to 44.3% advantage. We may think, 'Anyone could have defeated the economy minister (Massa) of a country whose official inflation rose to 144%.' But it must be said that this TV showman, who has remarkable strange outbursts, has succeeded in presenting himself as a critic of the system. But the most important thing is that the right-wing/far-right reaction, which has been gathered under the umbrella of the center-right for many years against the working class and the left in Argentina, has seized power. On the other hand, it is obvious that Milei, who does not have a majority in the parliament, will have a lot of difficulty in governing the country. In conditions of resistance of the working class and economic crisis, Milei may quickly lose the support that which he has gained rapidly.

It was expected that Milei would stand out against the Peronist center left, which dragged Argentina into an economic swamp, and anti-Peronist center right; but Milei's election victory was realized with a score above expectations. The 12-point difference he achieved in the election will give him additional power in Milei's anti-labor attacks. Mauricio Macri, the leader of the centre-right, who was president between 2015 and 2019 and suffered great pain in the process as he lost to the labor street movement, emphasized the vote rate and young support Milei achieved and said, "Argentina will be governed by the young people who will not stay at home if the Peronists start throwing tons of stones." This statement is significant in this sense. Milei's vice president, Victoria Villarruel, is known for defending the military junta leaders who murdered 30 thousand leftists between 1976 and 1983. However, the intention of those who presented these last elections as a choice between fascism and democracy was to gather support for Massa. As a matter of fact, fascism has not come to Argentina today, or the vast majority of the workers and young people who voted for Milei do not support fascism; but it is clear that the far-right energy of the impoverished petty bourgeoisie poses a serious fascist danger.

The Rulers Are Not Satisfied with the Result

The Argentinian ruling class and the United States are not very happy with this result. Because Massa was an IMF program manager who had very good relations with the USA. The class struggle has so far been controllable in the hands of the Peronist government. On the other hand, although Milei is a pure capitalist and pro-imperialist politician, the possibility that the Milei administration will sharpen the class conflict at the highest level is unsettling for the rulers. They are right to be worried. Argentina has entered a period of great uncertainty. Revolutionaries must prepare for the conditions of a major social explosion with all their might.

The rate of people living below the poverty line in Argentina has exceeded 40%. This rate is 58% for children. Argentina, whose poverty and hunger rates are increasing step by step and struggling with inflation exceeding 100% for years, will now try the far-right alternative that markets itself as anti-establishment, after exhausting the center-right and center-left alternatives. At this point, two very realistic possibilities await us. The first is that the class conflict may take on very sharp forms, and the second is that the economic crisis, which has been at a sustainable level until now, may go off the rails and turn into an economic disaster. For imperialist capitalist circles, it would be a nightmare for these two possibilities to happen at the same time. Besides, there are mass and publicly known revolutionary Marxist alternatives in Argentina, led by FIT-U. And what’s more, the left populist-reformist circles, which are not very energetic as long as the center-left is in power because they are in the orbit of Peronism, will also be waiting for an opportunity to square accounts with Milei.

Young Support for Milei

This trend, which we also see in Turkey, is seen in Argentina: Apolitical and unorganized young "voters" can easily adopt the simple and deceptive oppositions offered by right-wing populism. But it is also easy for their supports to fade quickly. It all depends on the reversal of the winds. In short, Milei could quickly lose this young support base. Apart from this, this base, starting with young women, might start actions against Milei. Argentina has one of the world's strongest women's movements. Peronist women's organizations suppressed the women's movement in order to support the old government, but things would work differently during the misogynist Milei period. All these possibilities and balances of power make capitalists nervous. In real life, nothing progresses mechanically; the real dynamics of the struggle will determine the outcome.

While Milei was celebrating his victory, he was shouting "freedom, freedom" and dancing in a ridiculous and cheesy way. For Milei, freedom means absolute freedom to the free market. Milei, who describes himself as a libertarian, was talking about closing down the ministries of education and health. In his opinion, the state should not interfere in these matters; the market will take care of everything anyway! It is obvious that the privatization attack will be one of the most important issues of the class struggle. Workers who do not want to lose their jobs will put up a sharp struggle.

Closing the central bank, abolishing the peso and making the US dollar the official currency were among Milei's promises. On the other hand, there are no dollars in hand. He wants to ban abortion, but the women who have fought for this for years are ready for the fight. He wants to completely cut the state's social expenditures, but how will he control the millions who will face hunger? He says that it is theft for the state to collect taxes to please the petty bourgeoisie, but the state's coffers are already empty. He declares war on the left, accuses the poorest segments of society as "parasites", vows to eradicate the social state, but invites street initiatives by revolutionary and reformist organizations. A perfect storm is on the horizon…