Public image of Javier Milei

'' Milei's life attracted significant attention and at times controversy, and has been described as eccentric, and he garnered a significant following for his bombastic style, television appearances, and rock musician history; he appealed to the issues of corruption in Argentina, and railed against what he describes as Argentina's political caste. and also formed a cover band in his youth and has taught economics. wielding a chainsaw on stage, and smashing a piñata on air to symbolize his plans. Due to his eccentric hairstyle, Milei has been nicknamed '''' ("The Wig"). He has consistently said that he does not comb his hair, leading to significant press attention, as well as comparisons to fellow right-wing populists Boris Johnson, Donald Trump, and Geert Wilders. Only Lilia Lemoine, vice president of his party and a cosplayer, is able to style his hair. Milei is a cosplayer himself, and has a superhero persona called "General AnCap". He also champions free love. In a June 2020 interview, he disclosed his involvement in several threesomes and his role as a neotantra instructor, describing himself as a tantric sex instructor, claiming to be able to withhold ejaculation for three months. In May 2022, Milei said: "I will not be apologizing for having a penis. I don't have to feel ashamed of being a man, white, blond with light blue eyes." In addition to his '''' ("The Crazy One") nickname, news outlets called him a "rock singer and tantric sex instructor", a "former tantric sex coach", a "mixture of a messianic preacher and a rock star", Milei calls himself "The King of the Jungle". In July 2023, Juan Luis González released '''', an unauthorized biography of Milei, whom he interviewed several times. The book sought to define the New Right in Argentina, and González said he could not avoid discussing Milei, including his eccentric personal life, ranging from telepathy and esotericism to speaking with his dead dog to his "God-sent mission" to become Argentina's president. == Economics ==

Milei has authored several books on politics and economics, and hosted the radio programmes 'a and '. He achieved notoriety and public exposure through his debates and statements on the television programmes of various channels in Argentina, which led him to pursue a political career in 2021. This has led to criticisms from both Austrian School and Argentine mainstream economists. Milei has been described as a controversial and eccentric economist, and ultralibertarian economist. In 2021, he was accused of plagiarism in his ' and Infobae columns and works from ' to Pandenomics, in which he was accused of having plagiarized three Mexican scientists. For his columns, he was accused of having plagiarized the main authors of the Austrian School, such as Henry Hazlitt, Ludwig von Mises, Murray Rothbard, Friedrich Hayek, and Walter Block. He dismissed those allegations, saying: "It doesn't make sense." He argued that, as they were disclosure notes, there was no need to name the authors for a practical issue. For Pandenomics, he was accused of having plagiarized the works of other academics, such as a mathematical model to study different epidemic outbreaks throughout history, among others. == Political positions ==

Political commentators categorize Milei's ideological views as a blend of populist, right-wing libertarian, and conservative strands, along with ultraliberal economics, right-wing populist, ultraconservative, and far-right politics, and representing anti-politics. Milei's proposed abolition of the Central Bank of Argentina and dollarization have met criticism. Milei's foreign policy views have been described as radical as his social and economic views. Argentine mainstream economists also criticized his economic work and his presentation, describing his concepts as confusing and arguing that the formulas he uses are not correct; in particular, they criticized his Central Bank of Argentina abolition and dollarization proposals. Milei dismissed the critics of dollarization, saying that they do not understand "the condition of transversality". and argued that he remains a representative of Peronism, where Peronism is not only an ideology but is considered a way to govern, citing examples of left-leaning Peronism (Kirchnerism) and right-wing Peronism, such as that of Carlos Menem, who privatized and engaged in neoliberal reforms. Others agreed that Milei is a populist but argued that he is using populism for liberal ends. Milei also criticized individual politicians of the Juntos por el Cambio centre-right coalition, which he was able to push to the right since 2015. are the main reason why political commentators and other libertarians do not consider him truly a libertarian. and rejected comparisons to Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro, while others cited the issue of abortion as a reason not to call him a libertarian. Milei said: "I am against abortion because I believe in the life project of others. The woman can choose about her body, but what she has inside her womb is not her body, it is another individual." along with Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro. Milei has been referred to as the "Trump of the Pampas", although there is some disagreement about his comparisons with Trump. Federico Finchelstein, an Argentinian historian who studies the global far-right, said that Milei was even more dangerous than Trump. On the eve of Milei's election, Finchelstein stated: "He is way more excessive and unstable than [Jair] Bolsonaro and Trump. So it's highly unpredictable what this person could do [in power]." Benjamin Gedan, director of the Argentina Project at the Washington-based Wilson Center, said: "Far-right figures are giddy about Milei's victory and will attempt to recruit him to their global movement. He clearly sympathizes with many of these individuals and their political parties. That said, there are signs he will chart a more independent course." About Milei's appeal, Malamud said: "The political secret is to appeal to the basic instincts, under simple banners: liberty, life and property. That's why Milei loves television sets, where he yells, insults and crushes anyone who criticizes him. His curly black hair is the icon of his campaign. On stage, he wears black leather – fire is lit at the climax of his speeches." Malamud added that "Milei is a vitalist: he's not here 'to guide lambs but to wake up lions,' as he himself says. This is where he gets his conservative values, such as nationalism and anti-abortionism." Pablo Touzón, a political scientist and director of the consulting firm Escenarios, said that "Milei is a war machine against [the political class], a brick thrown against the window of a jewellery store." Touzón added: "He combines a kind of ultraliberal orthodoxy, from Milton Friedman|[Milton] Friedman and [Friedrich] von Hayek... he sees himself as a warrior against the state. But he combines that hyperliberal ideology and freedom with elements of the extreme-right." About his comparisons with Trump, Touzón stated that Milei represents a local version of Trumpism that does not defend protectionism. About his rise in the polls, Touzón said: "If he has so many voters, it's not because he's liberal – it's because he represents the anti-establishment, as Podemos did in Spain from the left. Here, [in Argentina], it's done from the right." == 2023 presidential election ==

Election news coverage In 2021, Milei rejected the use of the far-right label to describe his views and said: "I'm a liberal and libertarian, these positions are things of the left, because for the left, everything that is not on their side is on the right." Shortly before the 2022 French presidential election, Milei was compared to candidate Marine Le Pen. Milei's surprise victory in the August 2023 Argentine primary elections achieved international recognition and headlines, which reported on this and the uncertain Argentine electoral scenario for the October 2023 Argentine general election. Analysts saw his win a result of voters being frustrated by both Peronist and non-Peronist governments. Much of the international press mentioned dollarization and highlighted his controversies, such as the sale of organs and the free bearing of arms. They also cited the escalation of the dollar and the rise in interest rates of Argentina's central bank and placed it within the context of a scenario of extreme volatility and uncertainty. far-right libertarian, libertarian populist, ultraright, and ultraliberal, and labelled far-right or radical right by international news agencies like Al Jazeera English, and Reuters; The Daily Telegraph, Le Monde, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal; and several Argentine and Spanish-language publications including among the others El Diario, elDiario.es, El Mundo, El País, Perfil, and ''. Reuters reported that he was a "radical right-wing candidate" and far-right outsider, Time saw him as a far-right populist, El País'' described him as an "ultra-right libertarian and 'anarcho-capitalist' who represents angry Argentina", CNN saw him as a far-right outsider, The Economist headlined that "Argentina could get its first libertarian president", CBC News described him as a "libertarian firebrand", and the BBC described him as a "Trump admirer". Americas In the United States, the Associated Press emphasized Milei's controversial statements and said he could be Argentina's next president, saying: "He believes selling human organs should be legal, climate change is a 'socialist lie,' sex education is a ploy to destroy the family and that the Central Bank should be abolished." These polls underscored a politically divided landscape in Argentina, reflecting the complexity of predicting electoral results in the country. Following the inauguration of Milei, his popularity increased in public opinion. After the first governmental and economic reforms taken by the president and his ministers, 53% of the Argentine people had a very good and good image of the new head of state according to a popularity poll made by Aresco on 15 December. In January 2024 According to data collected by Morning Consult Milei had a 64% approval rating, with a 30% disapproval rating and 6% being unsure or expressing no opinion. This made him the third most approved world leader listed behind only Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as well as only 1 of 3 world leaders listed who had an approval rating over 50% == Religious views ==

in the Old City of Jerusalem, February 2024 While raised Catholic, Milei has been critical of the Catholic Church under Pope Francis, whom on different occasions he called a "Jesuit who promotes communism", "an unpresentable and disastrous character", "a fucking communist", "communist turd", "a piece of shit", and "a filthy leftist". He also accused him of "preaching communism to the world" and being "the representative of the evil one on Earth" for promoting the option for the poor, a Catholic social justice doctrine of aid to the underprivileged. As a result, the highest authorities of the Argentine Episcopal Conference and other Catholics criticized him. Before November 2023, Milei said he had contemplated converting to Judaism but that observing the Jewish Sabbath could pose challenges if he became president. Milei also reads the Torah daily and has visited the grave of Orthodox rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson. In November 2023, it was reported that Milei intended to convert to Judaism. Milei's coalition La Libertad Avanza considers social justice theft because it relies on tax revenues, and Milei has said that Jesus did not pay taxes. In response, about the then upcoming 2023 elections, Francis said: "The extreme right always reconstructs itself, it is the triumph of selfishness over communitarianism. ... I am terrified of saviors of the nation without a political party history." Milei also cited Biblical passages to criticize the state, which he describes as "an invention of the evil one". == Controversies ==

Milei is well known for his flamboyant personality, distinctive personal style, and strong media presence, which at times caused controversies. Like other right-wing populists, his rhetoric focuses on oppositing what he describes as the political caste. In May 2022, Milei was accused of having plagiarized scientists like Salvador Galindo Uribarri, Mario Rodríguez Mesa, Jorge Luis Cervantes Cota, and Antonio Guirao Piñera for his Pandenomics (2020) book. Galindo Uribarri was not made aware of this until an interview with Noticias. In August 2022, Ramiro Vasena, a candidate for a small liberal party in Argentina, filed a complaint in a Buenos Aires court against Milei for plagiarism in Pandenomics, describing him as "a compulsive plagiarist". Susana Bianconi, Galindo Uribarri's wife, was not made aware of the case, and Galindo Uribarri, who was said by his wife to have been "offended to the core" for the plagiarism, died of cancer in September 2022. Milei's political positions have sparked controversy and confusion. Some of his proposals, such as his indifference for same-sex marriage in Argentina and his support for drug legalization, were contrasted to his more conservative policies. his view of comprehensive sex education in schools as a form of brainwashing, skepticism towards COVID-19 vaccines, civilian firearm ownership support, promotion of the far-right Cultural Marxism conspiracy theory, and climate change denial. == Notes ==