Argentina’s new president Javier Milei drew wide praise from conservatives after calling out the global elite at this week’s World Economic Forum for abandoning capitalism to push a socialist agenda “that creates poverty.”
Milei — a self-described anarcho-capitalist elected in November after vowing to slash Argentina’s bloated government spending — chastised CEOs and world leaders who have “abandoned the model of freedom for different versions of what we call collectivism” during his speech at the annual gathering in Davos, Switzerland.
“🙈Today, I’m here to tell you tha💟t the Western world is in danger,” Milei said Wednesday in a in the Swiss resort town.
“And it is in danger because those who are supposed to have to defend the values of the West are co-opted by a v🌌ision of the world that inexorably leads to socialism, and thereby to poverty.”
Milei, whose outspoken nature has drawn comparisons to former President Donald Trump, tore into the dangers of “collectivist experiments, which he called the “root cause” of the problems afflicting much of the world.
“Socialism is a phenomenon that creates poverty,” he said, adding that “free enterprise capitalism is the only tool we have to end hunger and poverty.”
Milei’s socialism bashing was lauded on social media, where video of his speech has garnered nearly 7 million views in the 24 hours since it was posted on X.
Elon Musk, the owner of the site formerly known as Twitter, called it a “good explanation of what makes countries more or less prosperous.”
Frank Fleming, a conservative kids’ show writer, : “Why can’t we get a guy like this in America? This is supposed to be our thing.”
“Javier Milei drops truth bombs just like Trump,” Republican commentator Paul Szypula added. “Gotta love it and what it means at the very least for the people of Argentina.”
The forum marked Milei’s first trip overseas since he was elected following a campaign where the political outsider shared his plans to shutter Argentina’s central bank, ditch the peso and slash spending after the country’s economy was battered by triple-digit inflation.
Unlike many of the execs who flew into Davos, Milei reportedly took a commercial flight to Switzerland to save some $300,000, his sဣpokesman Manuel Adorni told .
Milei also criticized the summit’s “socialist agenda, which will only bring misery to the world.”
Argentina, Latin America’s third-largest country, has been plagued by an annual inflation rate of 211% — the highest level in more than three decades and a figure responsible for the grim reality that two in five Argentines now live in poverty.
When Milei was introduced to the stage by World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab, he was touted for his “more radical methods” that have “introduced a new spirit to Argentina,” according to CNBC.
Following his 𒆙speech, Milei met with International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva.
“Very good meeting with Argentina’s President Javier Milei,” Georgieva wrote on X following the sitdown, which reportedly focused on Argentina’s economic crisis and its $44 billion IMF program.
The to disburse the funds to Argentina between December 2023 and the first quarter of 2024, and will be used to pay off part of the country’s debt with the organization.
