The recently-elected president of Argentina, Javier Milei, is turning to the values of America’s Founding Fathers to save his country, he tells Ben Shapiro.
“We have decided to embrace the values of the West,” Milei explains in a wide-ranging interview with Shapiro, Editor Emeritus of The Daily Wire. “And embracing the values of the West means embracing the Founding Fathers of the United States.”
Milei explains that the original Argentinian Constitution from the 1800s was fashioned after the U.S. Constitution, and the country.
“When that was implemented, Argentina ended up becoming a leading world power after having been a backwater,” the president said, explaining that the country began its decline only once Left-leaning and socialist ideologies took control. His triumph, Milei believes, is an opportunity for Argentina to return to its original values.
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“We need to embrace the values of freedom, which are ideas in the United States — even though in recent times they may have been degraded and some might have walked off the path,” he said.
Milei is a strong supporter of strengthening relations between Argentina and the United States, as well as other countries that embrace freedom such as Israel. (Milei told Shapiro that Moses is the “greatest freedom hero of all time,” and that Israel still embodies Moses’ spirit.)
An economist and politician, Milei assumed the presidency in December 2023 after running a media-savvy campaign focused on promoting capitalism, cutting government spending, and saving Argentina from decline. Milei emphasized that, despite the dire economic situation in Argentina, there is incredible optimism in Argentina that his policies will work.
“70% of Argentines are convinced that we are going to put an end to inflation,” Milei said. “When you use one of these word clouds and ask people about their spontaneous feelings in Argentina, now, the word that most often comes up is hope.”
To create support and excite young people, Milei said his political rallies were modeled after rock concerts.
“They were political rallies, but the format was more like a Rolling Stones concert, as I like the Rolling Stones,” he said. “One of the wonderful things is that at these rallies we had stands like a concert, with T-shirts, memorabilia, and different items. And there were stands with books.”
The former college lecturer says he realizes it’s not normal for a politician to captivate the attention of 20,000 to 30,000 people while speaking about economist Friedrich Hayek at a rally.
“Something was clearly on the way,” he told Shapiro, adding that he would tell himself he was just teaching a class about economics before rallies to gain confidence, because he was in such disbelief.
Milei said he began to believe during his campaign that Argentinian society was “maturing” and ready to discard socialism for capitalism.
“When you instead embrace the ideas of freedom, what happens is that you are elevated as a human being,” he says.
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When Shapiro asked Milei how he balances being an eloquent economist with the public image of someone with a chainsaw cutting away government bureaucracy, Milei compared himself to a soccer goalie, a “thankless” and “tough position” that requires a man with a “very bold personality.”
“Out of the 11 players on the team, the goalie is the only one that can use hands, and is the one who dresses differently. The goalkeeper also trains on their own,” he said. “Unlike the others, when they make mistakes, they are goals. It’s a very thankless position, because when a goalkeeper saves a goal, it’s tantamount to scoring a goal. When a forward scores a goal, it’s a goal. It’s a very tough position to be in and it requires a very bold personality.”
He cited how important that was when he was being “violently attacked” by the Argentinian media during his race, including smears on his personal life and even his pets.
“The gutter of the universe was in the media in Argentina, which was subservient to two huge party structures in order to destroy an individual,” he said. “But that strength that I had as a goalkeeper helped me stand, in addition to the spiritual support I got from my sister and my rabbi.”
Milei, claiming his popularity has grown, said if a run-off election were held today, he would win by an even larger margin.
“We were brave enough to tell the truth, and that’s why the political caste is at a loss,” Milei said. “They always deceived people, and they’ve always told them what they thought they wanted to hear.”
“We said to the people what we had to do in order to rise up from the bottom of the pit,” he said.
You can watch the full interview on DailyWire+.