Javier Milei, the hard rocker in Argentina’s highest office, turns his book talk into wild show

BUENOS AIRES – A book presentation about neoclassical financial concept would possibly not sound like a crowd-pleaser.

But on Wednesday in Buenos Aires mobs of star-struck enthusiasts packed an enormous auditorium to listen to Argentina’s president, the libertarian economist Javier Milei, lecture on the significance of liberating capital from the keep an eye on of the state.

As he strode thru a sea of enthusiasts jostling for selfies and climbed onstage, the shouting crowd leapt to its ft. Whistles, stomps and chants of his political slogan “Long live liberty, dammit!” filled the theater.

They were greeting Milei like a stadium rocker. And within moments, he became one.

Grabbing the mic and swinging into a cover of “Panic Show” by Argentine hard rock band La Renga, Milei jumped frenetically around the stage, whipping 10,000 fans into a frenzy.

“I am the lion,” he hollered, shaking his unruly hair to the beat. “I am the king of a lost world.”

When the track got here to a prevent, he tossed off his black leather-based jacket to expose a trade swimsuit beneath and stepped as much as the podium, returning to his standard personality as a matted educational. “I wanted to do this because I really wanted to sing,” he said.

Then Milei launched into the presentation of his new book, “Capitalism, Socialism and the Neoclassical Trap,” published May 1, a contribution to the so-called Austrian School of economics that calls for governments to step out and let the market decide.

“Market failures do not exist,” he mentioned. “First, check there is no state intervention.”

Milei had initially planned to promote his book at the Buenos Aires International Book Fair, the country’s largest literary event that kicked off earlier this month. But when the left-leaning organizers gave speeches calling out Milei for defunding cultural institutions, the president canceled the event and promoted a new one at the city’s Luna Park arena downtown instead.

He gave ironic because of the book truthful organizers on Wednesday evening. “With an attempted boycott, you gave us this party,” he said, as pulsating lights and clouds of artificial smoke enveloped the stage.

It wasn’t Milei’s first time jamming out in public. “Panic Show” performances with transformed lyrics had been an occasional characteristic of campaign events. His love for rock track dates again to highschool, the place he began a Rolling Stones tribute band and danced like Mick Jagger all through recess, consistent with journalist Juan Luis González’s biography of Milei, “El Loco.”

He stored his style for theatrics as a libertarian pundit invited onto TV and radio stations to rail towards Argentina’s financial malaise — drawing consideration as a lot for his entertaining antics as his “anarcho-capitalist” theories.

His newest flamboyant episode Wednesday comes at a delicate time for Argentina, in the midst of its worst financial disaster in twenty years with greater than part of the population living in poverty and annual inflation surging towards 300%.

Milei’s critical austerity measures have thus far compounded the struggles of Argentina’s poor and middle classes. An unprecedented diplomatic crisis is underway with Spain, Argentina’s historical best friend and main buying and selling spouse, over Milei’s grievance of socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and his spouse.

“Milei doesn’t have to answer to Sanchez,” mentioned 62-year-old Hernan Sanchez queuing out of doors the venue. “He is defending his beliefs.”

When the crowd screamed vulgar insults about Sánchez, Milei responded with a smirk. “Stop that or Mondino is going to ask me for overtime,” he quipped, regarding the international minister.

Despite the turmoil Milei’s ratings have stayed strong. His die-hard fans were out in force on Wednesday, lining up for hours in frigid weather and dancing to keep the energy up when Milei ran over an hour late.

“He’s the best president in the world,” gushed 20-year-old Matías Muzica, dodging questions on his insurance policies however praising him as Argentina’s solution to Donald Trump. “He can make Argentina great again.”