Last night, November 19, 2023, Javier Milei was elected as the new president of Argentina. His electoral victory was followed with expectation by millions of people, especially in Brazil, due to the historical and social relations with our neighbors.

It was a victory celebrated by the extreme right, echoing around the world the rhetoric that feeds the most reactionary and scoundrel sectors we know. We Brazilians, who endured four years of misrule by the genocidal Bolsonaro, understand the anguish and apprehension about the results.

Milei is the Argentine expression of a global phenomenon articulated by the extreme right and neo-fascist sectors that compete electorally and culturally as a mass current; at the head of this process are Trump and Netanyahu, who is currently promoting ethnic cleansing in Gaza.

Milei and his vice-president, Victoria Villarruel (denier of the fallen during the military dictatorship) intend to impose an ultraliberal plan in Argentina, liquidating conquests, privatizing national assets, abrogating democratic freedoms and increasing the levels of labor exploitation. Their plan is none other than this, a line of anti-popular barbarism. A reactionary government.

However, the victory of this sinister character cannot be explained without understanding the failure of the Peronist governments. The adjustment and the explosion of poverty were the hallmarks of Alberto’s government, which had Massa as “super minister” of Economy. His submissiveness to IMF plans earned him the hatred of millions of people. Milei emerged from this experience and from the failure of the left to present itself as an alternative. Moreover, Milei’s victory was only possible through an alliance with Macri and Bulrich, the same caste he denounced a few months ago.

In the face of so many uncertainties, the only thing certain is that social conflict will increase due to Milei’s need to impose his reforms; a government which will probably be a minority in Parliament and which will take office in the face of a spiral of crisis: economic, monetary, inflationary and banking.

The history of struggle of the Argentine people will also be decisive. The defeat of the military dictatorship was a deep process, probably the deepest in Latin America, which put generals and torturers in the dock, which explains the lesser participation of the military in civilian life compared to Brazil, for example.

Our current has close links with the struggle of the Argentine people, acting in solidarity and bringing together the main processes, both recent and historical. We were with a delegation following Sunday’s electoral process; we pointed out a position in favor of the critical vote in Massa, after the result of the first round, and we will be attentive and in solidarity with the social and popular movements that will continue to struggle.

The Argentine left has weight and responsibility. It will have to get out of the sometimes sectarian and demarcatory line that has led even sectors of the FITU to a timid and abstentionist position in the face of the second round. On the other hand, it has a strong history of combativeness, being one of the fiercest in the continent.

This is not the time to get exasperated, but to follow the advice of the philosopher Spinoza: “Neither laugh nor cry: understand”. For this, we must learn the lessons of what happened, confront the ultra-right transversally, support the Argentine social movements and bet that the struggles we had against Bolsonaro in Brazil will be small compared to what awaits us in Argentina.

National Secretariat of MES/PSOL

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