After the primary win of Javier Milei, Argentina's final presidential elections are coming into view � and the madcap libertarian economist is still the clear favorite. We look at what to expect from the vote over the border in Argentina.
Here on Explaining Brazil, we always look to break down the most important topics concerning the country, contextualizing them in a way that helps you understand what's going on, why it's happening, and what's bound to come next.
But sometimes, it's good to keep an eye on what your neighbors are up to. And that's why this week, with presidential elections coming into view, we're talking about Argentina, their controversial frontrunner Javier Milei, and how the vote across the border is set to affect things in Brazil.
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This episode used music from Uppbeat and Envato. License codes: Aspire by Pryces (B6TUQLVYOWVKY02S), Cinematic Tango in Wonderland by marcobellonimusic (VTB4K5WQF7), Minimalist Tango for 2 Cellos by Orchestralis (KF4NZE7HQM) and Tango of Intrigue by SCOREWIZARDS(CM4ND9J7GT).
In this episode:
Ignacio Portes is The Brazilian Report's Latin America editor. Based in Buenos Aires, Argentina, he oversees our Latin America Weekly newsletter and has covered politics, macro, markets and diplomacy for the Financial Times, Al Jazeera, and the Buenos Aires Herald.
Background reading:
In episode 178, we discussed the rise of Javier Milei: the vaccine skeptic, climate change denier, libertarian economist � and increasingly one of the biggest political stars in Argentina.
Mr. Milei won the presidential primaries in August, proving he is a much stronger political force than polls had identified. Just one day before the vote, we had warned that opinion polls in Argentina could not be trusted.
In the run-up to the primary, the Argentinian media seemed to embark on a concerted effort to tarnish Mr. Milei's image, with outlets printing stories about his unconventional private life which had previously been kept quiet.
In May, we explained how Mr. Milei shifted Argentina's Overton window to the right, and had brought his outlandish economic promises into the public discussion. Among those proposals, dollarizing the Argentinian economy is by far the most unorthodox.
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