BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentina’s lower house on Friday approved President Javier Milei’s sweeping economic overhaul bills, sealing a much-needed legislative victory for the libertarian leader after six months of bruising battles and raucous protests that had raised questions about his ability to govern.
Milei’s landmark legislation, which seeks to support his “zero fiscal deficit” plan and attract foreign investment, passed a final vote in the lower house to become law on Friday.
The approval — widely expected after the bills squeaked through the Senate earlier this month despite fierce political opposition — strengthens the president’s hand at home and abroad as economic pressures mount. Milei rode to power on a promise to pull Argentina out of a dire economic crisis that has deepened poverty and driven annual inflation near 300%.
Milei’s administration hailed the law’s passing as setting Argentina “on the path toward the free and prosperous country that Argentines chose” in last November’s election. The government blamed the turbulent process on “obstructionism” by Milei’s hard-line opponents.
Milei’s party controls less than 15% of congressional seats and has so far relied on executive powers to slash public spending and impose the president’s radical small-state vision. Analysts have said that only congressional approval could offer Milei the support he needs to boost investor confidence in Argentina, a country with a long history of defaulting on payments and breaching contracts.
I feel like if you call yourself a libertarian and you become president of a country, you’re really not a libertarian.
Absolutely. Though to be fair most people who call themselves Libertarians aren’t regardless.
Being libertarian doesn’t need mean one’s an anarchist (or even a minarchist!).
And he’s also libertarian in the sense that the unadorned word has been used in the US, a right-libertarian, rather than how it was historically used in Europe in an unadorned sense, left-libertarian, where I’d say that it was somewhat-closer to anarchism than the more small- or minimal-government right-libertarianism.
I know what kind of libertarian he is.
If you want minimal government, why would you want to run that government?
Setting Milei aside for a minute, should you wish to revise government you nigh always need to do so from a position of power. This also applies if you actually wish to reduce the power government has.
Technically giving yourself absolute power makes sense even for someone acting in good faith wanting to reduce or improve government. Wouldn’t be the first time someone fucked up the succession though.
From the founding of the ideology through at least the first 100 years it kind of did. I think the basic fact that the man who coined the phrase and founded the ideology. Fought against the kind of people who pretend to be libertarian today. He literally participated in the French revolution. And we have economic liberals today making up thought terminating cliches and tripe like the non-aggression principle to protect wealthy thieves. Calling themselves right wing Libertarians it’s a joke.
