Javier Milei sensational wins the primaries in Argentina. “One in three voters who voted for him actually didn’t

Today in Argentina there is no more serious problem than high prices. To pay for shopping, you need to have a thicker wallet, because prices are literally rising day by day. Inflation in June was 115 percent. At the same time, the Argentine currency loses value. Five years ago, one dollar cost 19 pesos, now it’s 349. – Now there are practically no prices. It’s impossible to tell how much it costs. Suppliers bring us goods, but they can’t tell us how much we have to pay, says salesman Julio Gonzalez, owner of an electronics store. In this mood of discouragement and resignation, Argentines went to vote in the primaries. Participation in voting, even the preliminary one, is obligatory there, which is why queues formed in front of the polling stations.

The winner was the anti-establishment celebrity Javier Milei, who unexpectedly got 10 percentage points more than the polls predicted in the primaries. – We got the most votes, because we are the only real opposition. Only we can make a change. A different Argentina is not possible with people who have let us down and who have been deceiving us for a hundred years,” said Javier Milei.

Milei is critical of the current government. He wants the liquidation of, among others, the ministries of culture, environment and development, science and new technologies, labor and social security. He also wants the liquidation of the Central Bank, proposes giving up free, universal education, and even the educational obligation. He wants to replace the peso with the dollar, he is considering legalizing the trade in human organs, and as an opponent of abortion, he calls for tightening the law again. – In our opinion, the circumstances in which the liberalization of the abortion law took place are unclear. International forces were involved. Given the ethical predispositions of Argentine politicians, I would prefer that the issue of the right to life be resolved in a referendum, says Milei.

The politician in the primaries got 30 percent of the vote. The actual vote – not only for the president, but also for the parliament – will take place in October. His surprisingly good result is widely commented on as a red card for rulers and politicians of all options. The Argentines are so distraught with the current economic situation that they have voted for someone outside the political class they have known for years. – Every third voter who voted for him does not really support him at all and does not have a positive opinion about him. But people think even worse about the political establishment. So voting for Mileia is voting against others, explains political analyst Shila Vilker.

– I listened to him. Some of the proposals he shouts out in this mad anger are actually quite reasonable, says student Franco Fermepin.

Political scientists predict that in order to further expand the electorate and not to alienate moderate voters, Milei will now soften his statements. It won’t be as radical until after the election.