By Lucy Adautin
Argentina’s libertarian President Javier Milei has accused western leaders of abandoning “the values of the west” in a high-profile address to the World Economic Forum, where his debut on the world stage met with warm applause.
“I am here to tell you that the western world is in danger . . . because those who are supposed to defend the values of the west have been co-opted by a vision of the world that inexorably leads to socialism, and therefore to poverty,” Milei told an audience in Davos on Wednesday.
He said “international organisations” had been influenced by ‘collectivism’, “radical feminism” and a “cruel . . . environmental agenda.”
Launching an extraordinary broadside against “socialism” and a strident defence of free-market economics, Argentina’s outspoken leader told the world’s political and business elite that they must realise the error of their ways.
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“It is in danger because those who are supposed to defend the values of the West have been co-opted by a vision of the world that inexorably leads to socialism and, consequently, to poverty.”
Accusing Western leaders of having “abandoned their model of freedom,” the president argued that governments had been taken over by “variants of collectivism,” linking these supposed beliefs to overreaching state intervention, feminism and the push for social justice.
“It should never be forgotten that socialism is, always and everywhere, an impoverishing phenomenon that has failed in all countries where it’s been tried out,” Milei claimed. “It’s been a failure economically, socially, culturally, and it also murdered over a hundred million human beings.”
The La Libertad Avanza leader concluded his speech by praising business leaders as “heroes” who should not be afraid of the “political caste” and “the parasites that live off the state” – some of his favoured talking points.
“Do not surrender to a political class that only wants to stay in power and will take its privileges. You are social benefactors, you are heroes,” said Milei. “Let no-one tell you that your ambition is immoral. If you make money, it is because you offer a better product at a better price… Do not surrender to the advance of the state.”
“You are the true protagonists in this story. You should know that from now on, you can count on Argentina as an unconditional ally,” Milei added.
“States don’t need to directly control the means of production and control every aspect of the lives of individuals,” he declared.
“With tools – such as money-printing money, debt, subsidies, controlling interest rates, price controls, and regulations to correct the so-called ‘market failures,’ they can control the lives and fates of millions of individuals,” the president argued, citing Argentina’s economic crisis as proof of his theory.
“Far from being the cause of our problems, free-trade capitalism, as an economic system, is the only instrument we have to end hunger, poverty, and extreme poverty across our planet,” declared the president.
Touting free-market capitalism as the only solution against poverty and destitution, Milei took aim at “radical feminism,” abortion and “social justice,” which he said had sparked social conflicts that open the door to socialism.
“Libertarianism already provides for equality of the sexes. The cornerstone of our creed says that all humans are created equal, that we all have the same unalienable rights granted by the creator, including life, freedom and ownership.
“All that this radical feminism agenda has led to is greater state intervention to hinder the economic process, giving a job to bureaucrats, who have not contributed anything to society,” said Milei.
“Unfortunately these harmful ideas have taken a strong hold in our society. Neo-Marxists have managed to co-opt the common sense of the Western world, and they have achieved this by appropriating the media, culture, universities, and also, international organisations.”
Milei, 53, was one of the keynote speakers at the high-profile Davos summit, which brings together more than 100 representatives of governments, international organisations, businesspeople and leaders from various fields.
When introducing the president, WEF founder Klaus Schwab said that while some describe the new president’s methods as “radical,” he has introduced “a new spirit to Argentina, making Argentina much more related to free enterprise, to entrepreneurial activities.”
Milei’s speech drew praise from right-wing figures on social media platform X, whose owner Elon Musk wrote “true” in response to a video of the speech, the trip to Switzerland is his first as head of state and his appearance at the event was awaited with curiosity and intrigue. His time was in high demand, the president said earlier this week that his office had received more than 60 requests for meetings.
