By Their Fruits: Javier Milei

Javier Milei presents himself as a libertarian, an enemy of the State, and entered the campaign with a chainsaw in hand. His defenders speak mostly of economics. But the fruits of a government go beyond inflation — and in October 2026 they reached Brazil.

The memory of the disappeared

In the presidential debate of 1 October 2023, Milei disputed the figure of 30,000 disappeared from Argentina's military dictatorship (1976–1983): «it was not 30,000, it was 8,753». He spoke of the 1970s as a war in which there were «excesses» on both sides. Estela de Carlotto, of the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo — the grandmothers who spent decades searching for the grandchildren stolen by the dictatorship — said the phrase offended the victims' families «in a brutal way».

The official figure from the CONADEP commission, compiled in 1984 from the cases reported at the time, is around nine thousand; human rights organisations estimate 30,000, and a document from the military intelligence itself, revealed in 2006, counted at least 22,000 dead and disappeared up to 1978 alone. Discussing numbers is legitimate. Using the discussion to diminish the crime of the State is another matter.

The street and rights

Early in the term, in December 2023, the Ministry of Security approved the so-called «anti-picketing protocol», which authorises the security forces to clear by force the streets blocked by demonstrations and to charge the costs to the organisations. The government also abolished the Ministry of Women, Genders and Diversity.

In 2024, Milei vetoed the law that raised pensions and the law financing public universities, after some of the largest student demonstrations in Argentina in recent decades.

Poverty

To be fair to the numbers: in the first half of 2024, after the adjustment, poverty rose to about 53% of Argentines, according to the official statistics institute (INDEC); in the following half-years it fell, as inflation came down, to about 38% and then to about 32%. Inflation fell, and that is a merit. But the cost of the adjustment fell first, and with more force, on the poorest and on pensioners.

On the web

Milei is a regular presence at CPAC conferences: he embraced Trump at the Washington one and, in March 2026, spoke at the Budapest one, alongside Viktor Orbán. The programme of that gathering also announced Eduardo Bolsonaro and André Ventura.

The open door

In October 2026, Argentina received Flávio Bolsonaro, who had been barred by the Brazilian Supreme Court from leaving the country. The government first denied entry; then the migration services confirmed that he entered at 10:50 p.m. and left forty minutes later, in a chartered jet, and said the documents were in order. A government director celebrated that the senator was «safe from the claws of communism». Clarín reported, with anonymous sources, that Milei's chief adviser, Santiago Caputo, accompanied the operation in Puerto Iguazú; the chief of staff defended the passage and did not explain his presence.

Flávio thanked Milei «for the courage, sense of justice and legality». The Brazilian government opened an inquiry into Argentina's role.

«Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.»

Matthew 25:40

«Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?»

Matthew 7:16

This article is part of the series accompanying the book O Altar e o Algoritmo — Como identificar os novos mercadores da fé. The rule is the same as in the book: separate the proven fact from the suspicion and from the defence's denial, and put the source beside each statement.

The series «By Their Fruits»

• The far right that calls itself Christian
• Donald Trump
• Jair Bolsonaro
• Eduardo and Flávio Bolsonaro
• Javier Milei
• André Ventura

Sources

• Río Negro — «It was not 30,000, it was 8,753»: Milei's phrases in the debate
• Minuto Uno — Estela de Carlotto: «offends in a brutal way»
• C5N — The military report that contradicts Milei on the disappeared
• Infobae — Milei arrives in Hungary to speak at CPAC (20/03/2026)
• Revista Fórum — The Milei government defends Flávio's passage
• Metrópoles — Milei's adviser accompanied the escape, says Clarín
• CNN Brasil — Brazil investigates the action of Argentina and the US in Flávio's escape (29/10/2026)