Who is Javier Milei, the president of Argentina with a pro-market approach?

On December 10, Argentina inaugurated a new president who has pledged significant economic reforms, including the dissolution of the nation’s central bank, alongside various initiatives aimed at decreasing government size and expenditure.

His name is Javier Gerardo Milei, often referred to as “El Loco” (the crazy one), a moniker he acquired during his school years due to his vibrant personality. Throughout his campaign, he showcased this “crazy” image, advocating for radical measures to a populace grappling with an annual inflation rate of 161% as of November.

Milei’s economic strategies are grounded in years of experience as an economist, which includes advising Argentina’s dictatorship (1976-1983), working with private pension funds and banks, and serving as a professor of macroeconomics and microeconomics, during which he has authored several books and articles on economic growth.

At the age of 12, Milei chose to pursue a career in economics after witnessing the collapse of Argentina’s exchange rate, which led to the country’s first debt crisis in the 1980s. Local media reports indicate that he saw individuals struggling over food due to the crisis. This experience prompted him to explore the law of supply and demand, which states that demand for a product decreases as its price increases and vice versa, a fundamental concept for understanding inflation.

The new president identifies as a minarchist, a variant of libertarianism advocating for a minimal state and free markets. However, during the early stages of his career, Milei held views on the opposite end of the economic spectrum. In a recent interview with The Economist, he mentioned having been educated as a Keynesian in college, referencing John Maynard Keynes’ theories regarding the government’s role in job creation and economic development.

Years later, after earning two master’s degrees, Milei found himself more in tune with neoclassical principles and became an advocate of “real business cycle theory,” marking a significant departure from conventional Keynesian perspectives on the business cycle. Currently, he perceives the government as a “criminal organization” and attributes the devaluation of the peso in recent years to Argentina’s central bank.

“The state is a criminal organization that lives off a coercive source of income called taxes.”

What is Javier Milei’s real take on cryptocurrencies?

While Milei is not officially recognized as a pro-crypto supporter, his beliefs resonate with several fundamental crypto tenets. He reportedly asserts that “as time goes by, technology will allow us to move towards a free society,” where contracts between individuals would govern all interactions.

“Contracts between individuals are the basis of the market. The market is a process of social cooperation where individuals voluntarily exchange property rights,” he stated in an interview with The Economist.

His strategies for addressing Argentina’s ongoing economic crisis do not specifically mention the use of Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. Nevertheless, he has previously suggested Bitcoin as a potential alternative to traditional monetary authorities.

“We have to understand that the Central Bank is a scam. What Bitcoin represents is the return of money to its original creation, the private sector.”

Milei has committed to dollarizing Argentina’s economy, which would place the country’s monetary system under the oversight of a central bank, specifically that of the United States Federal Reserve.

“What I do see that has become popular is that Javier Milei is recognized as a bitcoiner candidate, when in fact he is not. In fact, he has mentioned on some occasions not being a specialist in cryptocurrencies and has stated that they will not be the focus of his government,” Hernán González, press officer of the NGO Bitcoin Argentina, informed Cointelegraph.

Fernando Nikolić, an Argentine Bitcoin supporter and founder of Bitcoin Perception, shares a similar perspective. According to Nikolić, while Milei has lauded Bitcoin in interviews, his official agenda does not contain any specific proposals that favor Bitcoin.

Magazine: How to protect your crypto in a volatile market — Bitcoin OGs and experts weigh in