The new chainsaw wielding leader of Argentina

The location was the same – the circumstances starkly different. Almost 12 months ago, hundreds of thousands of people gathered on Buenos Aires’ immense central avenue to celebrate their team’s win in the World Cup. A year on, and hundreds – honking car horns and waving the blue-and-white Argentine flag – were there to celebrate the electoral victory of Javier Milei.

The far-right libertarian, who describes himself as an anarcho-capitalist, began the race as a rank outsider, having only entered politics in 2020 and making his name as a bombastic television economist. 

In his victory speech after beating rival Sergio Massa with 56 per cent of the vote, Milei told his jubilant supporters that the ‘reconstruction of Argentina’ could now begin.

He intends to do this by smashing up years of economic orthodoxy – dollarising the economy, which is currently based on the flailing peso, and shuttering the country’s central bank.