His chainsaw-wielding, wild-haired appearance isn’t even the most unusual thing about Argentina’s next president, Javier Milei.
Having entered politics in just 2021 he won a landslide victory in that beleaguered country’s elections on Sunday. The South American country is in deep economic trouble with inflation running at 140 per cent and 40 per cent of the 45 million population living in poverty.
Yet the people have chosen as their leader a radical economist and showman who has little political experience - and who has claimed to be guided by the spirit of his dead dog - to guide them out of their economic mess.
Irish Times contributor Tom Hennigan explains the Javier Milei phenomenon and how his anti-establishment, anti-woke, libertarian views are set to shape Argentina once he takes office in December.
Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon.
