Firebrand part of a swing to the Right in South America
23 October 2023 - 17:45
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Argentina's presidential candidate Javier Milei addresses supporters in Buenos Aires, Argentina, October 22 2023. Picture: MATIAS BAGLIETTO/REUTERS
Javier Milei’s meteoric rise in Argentina testifies starkly to Latin America’s political reconfiguration. There is rising support for right-wing politics in a region once dominated by leftist, progressive movements. Argentina
Fiscal conservatism and traditionalism are evidently not the guiding values of Latin America’s new right-wing movements. Demagogic populism is their guiding light. One need only look at Milei to see what I am referring to.
He is a climate-change denialist and propagator of the infamous far-right cultural Marxist conspiracy theory. He modelled his style of politics on the likes of Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro and Donald Trump of the US.
His anti-Chinese stance is similar to that of Bolsonaro, proved by his insistence that Argentina needs to dollarise to counter so-called Chinese infiltration of Argentina’s economy. This is concerning, given that a Milei presidency might see one of the newest additions to the Brics bloc pulling out before its membership even materialises.
Argentinian voters need to question whether Milei is just anti-Chinese or another Western puppet in a region littered with them.
On the campaign trail, he questioned the victimhood of those who suffered in the Dirty War, the Operation Condor state terror perpetrated by the former Argentinian military junta against leftist activists. Such historical revisionism is indicative of a movement that idolises the most brutal regimes in the region’s history.
Movements similar to Milei’s are growing fast in Latin America and the Caribbean. Colombia’s Conservative Party, Guatemala’s Unionist Party, Jamaica’s Labour Party, Paraguay’s Partido Colorado and the People's Action Movement in Saint Kitts and Nevis have significant numbers in their legislatures, and are set to grow.
Latin Americans would be wise to keep to the centre. Far-right politics is as unhealthy as far-left politics.
A political movement founded on polarisation instead of unity, and hatred instead of equal representation, is bound to smear the national image. A multitude of such movements is bound to erase it altogether.
Neo Ndlalane Via email
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Send us an email with your comments to letters@businesslive.co.za. Letters of more than 300 words will be edited for length. Anonymous correspondence will not be published. Writers should include a daytime telephone number.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
LETTER: Argentina under Milei might exit Brics
Firebrand part of a swing to the Right in South America
Javier Milei’s meteoric rise in Argentina testifies starkly to Latin America’s political reconfiguration. There is rising support for right-wing politics in a region once dominated by leftist, progressive movements. Argentina
Fiscal conservatism and traditionalism are evidently not the guiding values of Latin America’s new right-wing movements. Demagogic populism is their guiding light. One need only look at Milei to see what I am referring to.
He is a climate-change denialist and propagator of the infamous far-right cultural Marxist conspiracy theory. He modelled his style of politics on the likes of Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro and Donald Trump of the US.
His anti-Chinese stance is similar to that of Bolsonaro, proved by his insistence that Argentina needs to dollarise to counter so-called Chinese infiltration of Argentina’s economy. This is concerning, given that a Milei presidency might see one of the newest additions to the Brics bloc pulling out before its membership even materialises.
Argentinian voters need to question whether Milei is just anti-Chinese or another Western puppet in a region littered with them.
On the campaign trail, he questioned the victimhood of those who suffered in the Dirty War, the Operation Condor state terror perpetrated by the former Argentinian military junta against leftist activists. Such historical revisionism is indicative of a movement that idolises the most brutal regimes in the region’s history.
Movements similar to Milei’s are growing fast in Latin America and the Caribbean. Colombia’s Conservative Party, Guatemala’s Unionist Party, Jamaica’s Labour Party, Paraguay’s Partido Colorado and the People's Action Movement in Saint Kitts and Nevis have significant numbers in their legislatures, and are set to grow.
Latin Americans would be wise to keep to the centre. Far-right politics is as unhealthy as far-left politics.
A political movement founded on polarisation instead of unity, and hatred instead of equal representation, is bound to smear the national image. A multitude of such movements is bound to erase it altogether.
Neo Ndlalane
Via email
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Send us an email with your comments to letters@businesslive.co.za. Letters of more than 300 words will be edited for length. Anonymous correspondence will not be published. Writers should include a daytime telephone number.
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