The Madman, The Wig and The Lion: Argentina’s new Trump-admiring, far-right president Javier Milei

Cordoba’s Plaza España was a chaotic symphony of car horns and confetti cannons firing out thousands of pieces of face of the incoming president, Javier Milei. By 9pm, thousands had gathered near Plaza Dr Dalmacio Velez Sarsfield armed with flags and air horns, chanting songs about liberty and the convicted vice-president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner facing jail.

The far-right libertarian candidate Milei, a 53-year-old chainsaw-wielding economist from the La Libertad Avanza party, had pulled ahead in the third and final round of polling. His legions of fans call him “El Loco” (The Madman) and “The Wig” due to his ferocity and unruly mop of (real) hair, while he refers to himself as “The Lion”. He thinks sex education is a Marxist plot to destroy the family, views his cloned mastiffs as his “children with four paws” and has raised the suggestion that people should be allowed to sell their own vital organs.

As the polls closed on Sunday, Milei had secured 55.69 per cent of the vote; his rival Sergio Massa, the centre-left finance minister, was left with 44.3 per cent. A final count and official announcement is expected to take place by Tuesday. The win was cheered by far-right party leaders in Europe. Santiago Abascal, the leader of Spain’s Vox party said: “Today a path of future and hope opens for Argentines and all of Latin America, which we celebrate in Spain with special joy.” Andre Ventura, the founder of Portugal’s far-right Chega party said: “The fight to defend society is taking place in several territories and in Argentina the first battle has been won!” Matteo Salvini, Italy’s deputy prime minister and leader of the hard-right League, also sent his congratulations.

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As a self-described “anarcho-capitalist”, Milei and his libertarianism was a novelty for Argentina. He has a vision of a starkly smaller government to boost economic growth. That entails eliminating half of the government ministries, including health and education.

Reducing the state’s size dovetails with his calls for the “political caste” to be purged from Argentina’s government, much as Donald Trump spoke of “draining the swamp” in reference to the entrenched establishment. Milei has often drawn comparisons to Trump, a leader he openly admires.

Former US president Trump also congratulated Milei on his victory, by the widest margin in an election since the country’s return to democracy in 1983. “Congratulations to Javier Milei on a great race for president of Argentina. The whole world was watching,” Trump said. “I am very proud of you. You will turn your country around and truly Make Argentina Great Again!”

Channelling the type of rhetoric Trump loves, Milei told jubilant supporters at his campaign headquarters in Buenos Aires: “Today the reconstruction of Argentina begins. Today is a historic night for Argentina.” He called his victory a “miracle”.

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On the streets of Cordoba, in central Argentina, Milei’s victory was cause for celebration for many citizens desperate for change in a rapidly sinking economy.

The Argentine peso has lost almost 100 per cent of its face value since the millennium, and in the week leading up to the vote, inflation hit a new high of 143 per cent. Queues for building societies, Western Union and currency exchange centres spun around entire streets as those with cash to spare rushed to secure it by buying up US dollars.

On Cordoba’s Boulevard San Juan, restaurant owners were quick to set up streetside barbecues, while entrepreneurial street vendors sold cans of beer and foam spray for those seeking to celebrate, while riot police looked on. One libertarian supporter circulated with a chainsaw – a homage to Milei, who took to carrying one around during his campaign as a metaphor for “cutting down the government” – to great applause.

Revellers continued into the early hours of Monday morning, buoyed by the lifting of a nationwide 24-hour alcohol ban put in place over election day. Among them was Nahuel, a hospital administrator, who had come down after work with a colleague to celebrate. “I can’t believe it,” he said, “it’s been a lot of years of fighting... this is a change. I believe Milei is a great man. It’s a goal for our country and for all the world.”

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Milei’s campaign has been a memorable one: the self-titled “king of the jungle” has become famous for his motto “I did not come to guide lambs, I came to awaken lions”. Milei gained rapid popularity with hardline promises, including a pledge to shut down Argentina’s central bank and eradicate the peso in favour of the US dollar. He is controversial, calling the Pope an “imbecile”, and his plans for social reform include a referendum on abortion law (currently legal up to 14 weeks) and loosening of laws to enable citizens to carry guns.

Milei talks little of his childhood, bar suggesting a tense relationship with his father. But in his younger years, he played in a Rolling Stones tribute band and served as a goalkeeper in the youth divisions of the Chacarita Juniors football club. But he decided to put aside soccer during the hyperinflation period of the late 1980s to study economics.

These days, the only family member with whom he has a close relationship is his sister, Karina Milei, who ran his campaign. He calls her “the boss”, and has repeatedly characterised her as the architect of his rise to power.

During his television appearances, Milei didn’t just talk about economics and politics. He also delved into his personal life and once presented himself as an expert in tantric sex. Milei had a deep connection with his late English mastiff, Conan. He now has at least four others, reportedly cloned using Conan’s DNA, all of them named after economists.

Milei’s victory has left the other 44 per cent of the electorate shaken, if unsurprised.

“I knew it was coming, but when I heard the news, I cried,” said Mariana Guagliano, a textiles artist who lives in Cordoba with her five-year-old daughter. “Yes, we are all worried about the economy, and Milei appears to have the solution to our crisis, but at what cost? He is against abortion, against homosexuality – he is against human rights that we had to fight hard to win not very long ago.”

She continued: “What is the meaning of living in a place where the economy works but human rights do not? If you have $1,000 in your pocket and you can buy whatever you want but you are not free? It’s not a nice life. Milei used social media to spread his ideology – he targeted teenagers. I worry about my daughter growing up in this kind of world and picking up some of these anti-equality ideas.”

Even with the popular vote, Milei will struggle to see his pledges through without support from Argentina’s national congress, and voters on both sides are doubtful he will receive it. “I don’t think he will be able to do everything he said he would, because simply he can’t,” said Sebastian, a computer programmer from Bahia Blanca who preferred not to share his last name. “Milei may not be able to govern, even though he won. And in my opinion that’s a problem with Argentina’s democracy.”

He described Milei’s win as “a weird feeling. We voted with the hope of things getting better as a whole for all Argentinians; the economy is at the root of most of this country’s problems.

“Milei is an economist. At least we will try something different this time. He is very disruptive with his proposals, but we had the opposite for so long. As we all say around here, ‘bread for today, hunger for tomorrow’,” (referring to outgoing president Fernandez’s liberal social support policies).

Like many Argentines, Sebastian voted for Milei not because he agrees with all of his policies, but because “We have lost so many years to a substandard government. Risking four more is worth it, in my opinion.”