The general public and the media don’t understand Javier Milei. That’s reasonable – the President of Argentina is a difficult man to comprehend. He’s a self-proclaimed “anarcho-capitalist” libertarian with no friends. His sister Karina – who is also the presidential chief-of -staff and essentially the person in charge of politics in the country – is the only one he trusts in the world. As always, she takes care of him and is his only figure of emotional and psychological support. A motherly figure, in the absence of a loving relationship with his parents, as he’s noted on several occasions.
An ordinary man. A grey man, as his controversial political advisor Santiago Caputo thinks of him, referencing the prophecies of the ‘Argentine Nostradamus,’ Benjamin Solari Parravicini, that the spin-doctor has tattooed on his back. And it is probably one of the reasons why he became president, as the “ordinary” Milei initially rose through the ranks as late-night TV panellist, fuelled by rage and ratings, to become a famous economist and ultimately bury the two major political coalitions that had been governing the country for over a decade. Mauricio Macri and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner may have their quirks, but at the end of the day they are “normal politicians.” Unlike Milei, who spends most of his time on social media and uses foul language as he attempts to humiliate and dominate anyone who doesn’t coincide with him in his fringe views, particularly Austrian Economic Theory. Milei has no stable partner and outside of Sister Karina appears only truly attached to his dogs, a group of English Mastiffs named after famous economists and cloned from the original Conan, whose death deeply affected Milei severely.
Milei and his Cabinet Chief Manuel Adorni like to blame journalists for pestering them by investigating their personal lives. They believe these details have nothing to do with the state they run and wish they could destroy (at least theoretically). In reality, they are absolutely essential and one of the major focuses of journalism since La Libertad Avanaza’s inception. And given that these characters have the power to affect the lives of the entire population, it is a fundamental right of the citizenry to know who’s got his hands on the steering-wheel. Adorni, formerly a journalist – even though he was more of a social media influencer and panellist, like his boss – should know this, even if the President does not.
As pressure mounts on him to resign, Adorni has become an even more prominent pillar of Milei’s power structure. He’s a superhero in the libertarian worldview, one who is besieged by the forces of evil and socialism looking to overturn the social, economic, and political revolution that has been prophesied and handed down directly from “The One.” But also, the series of faults and crimes Adorni has been accused of fall under many categories of behaviour Argentina’s anarcho-libertarian president admires. The biggest question-mark looming over Adorni’s head is where he got the funds to dramatically improve his and his family’s economic position, a change that has notably occurred since taking office. For Milei, tax evasion is a hero’s act, as it is depriving the state of its violent violation of the most essential human right: liberty, through public property. Which leads us to a second point under the libertarian philosophical ontology: if Adorni is unable to demonstrate the origins of his monies insofar that they are the proceeds of corruption, then they are also to be elevated to acts of heroism as they are contributing to plunder and weaken the state, which must be destroyed. For Milei, governments are parasites and the La Libertad Avanza coalition has an ultimate utopian goal of destroying them, while the individuals forming part of the mission are allowed to take advantage of it, and their position, to personally enrich themselves because they have earned it. Every transaction imaginable with a few select exceptions is an act of freedom if it is agreed upon by two or more private parties.
This is not the same as Kirchnerite corruption, where expansive fiscal policy – such as public works projects – were the avenue to extract riches from the private sector and into the pockets of professional politicians who controlled the parasitic state. Here, and while we still don’t know the exact proceeds of Adorni’s supposedly ill-gotten funds, corruption is part of a virtuous cycle of merit. The perfect example is the ‘$LIBRA’ crypto-scandal, in which Milei and Karina (along with with several advisors like Manuel Terrones Godoy, Mauricio Novelli and Sergio Morales) orchestrated a scam in order to line their pockets. They hired a “rug pull” specialist named Hayden Mark Davis and essentially copied the strategy of previous successful memecoin schemes, like the ‘$MELANIA’ memecoin launched by US First Lady Melania Trump. Davis worked on that launch, and there’s speculation that he also participated in the ‘$TRUMP’ coin, launched by Donald Trump. As Milei explained in scripted interviews with friendly journalists, he did nothing wrong as he participated in a private-sector deal in a risky financial sector and those involved were responsible for measuring their risk. This kind of business dealings go in line with the Argentine president’s anarcho-capitalist libertarian views, which also theoretically approve of a market for human organs and children, as he admitted in an interview with Perfil prior to taking office.
If Adorni, and possibly other Cabinet members, are receiving a “salary booster” from other sources ( in Spanish “sobresueldos”), it would also be morally justified for the President if it came from a foundation or individuals interested in supporting the cause. There’s talk that the Fundación Faro, the libertarian think tank run by Agustín Laje that wants to be a lighthouse for libertarian, right-wing, anti-wokeism thought, could be behind these “salary boosters.” There’s also private individuals interested in supporting Milei’s ideals who helped finance his presidential campaign who could lend or have lent a hand. In the realm of Argentine politics, the possibilities are endless and black-market political financing is almost promoted by the current campaign financing rules.
When Milei claims that he speaks from a “moral” standpoint, it is important to define it narrowly as coming within his libertarian philosophy. The President understands morality as being associated with absolute freedom at the individual level. Therefore socialism and Communism – both catch-all phrases in his parlance to refer to anything that restricts that liberty by violating private property – is equated with evil. For the President, social justice, progressive values, minority causes such as feminism and LGBTQ+ rights, are all examples of evil and corrupt human practices that must be combatted through the economic revolution of unleashing individual freedom, and culture wars. This clashes with a more common-sense view of morality where “doing the right thing” is generally associated with not violating a series of universal rules, such as not killing or stealing. From a philosophical standpoint, these could be grouped into what Immanuel Kant called the categorical imperative, roughly defined as a universal rule that any individual would agree shouldn’t be violated against him, and therefore everyone else.
This is the theoretical framework under which Milei can defend Adorni, even in the face of a mounting body of evidence that points to corruption. It’s also why he is so sure he did nothing wrong in $LIBRA. And it points to a major weakness in Sister Karina’s association with the alleged corruption scheme at the ANDIS national disability agency, where a three-percent skim was allegedly paid to public servants in exchange for contracts to supply drugs and medications to the state. Karina has demonstrated a voracity for fundraising since Milei’s early years as an influencer. She was in charge of charging for his public appearances, private meetings and even offering candidacies within their libertarian space, as has been reported broadly. At the same time, Karina counts on a Lower House Speaker Martín Menem and his uncle, Eduardo ‘Lule’ Menem, act as her lead political arm. The investigation is looking for ties to them. But Karina is family, so she’s also untouchable for the President.
The Milei administration finds itself in a really tough spot with the Adorni scandal making daily headlines, coupled with an economy that isn’t really getting going for a majority of the population. The President is set on resisting the onslaught by diving deeper into what he believes, claiming the economic path is the right one and that his officials are clean. Journalists, the opposition, anyone who can be blamed for the difficult situation will be on the receiving- end, and those close and loyal will receive unlimited support.
It’s Adorni who will have to push through. Still, at least now he has a nice weekend getaway to blow off steam.
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