The rhetoric or tone of Javier Milei, the right-wing populist or libertarian or “anarcho-capitalist” (as he has called himself), is said to have softened appreciably following his recent surprise victory in Argentina’s presidential race.
The softening seems to include Milei’s anti-China stance toward China. For example, China’s evil dictator, Xi Jinping, sent Milei his congratulations after the election, and Milei answered on Twitter. “I thank President Xi Jinping for the congratulations and good wishes. I send him my most sincere wishes for the Chinese people’s well-being.”
These remarks do seem soft, even gooey. Xi’s crimes include genocide and mass murder, and we don’t need to thank mass murderers for anything, including for faux congratulations. Relatively non-awful presidents or presidents-elect often try to be polite toward even the most awful other heads of state. So we mustn’t read too much into Milei’s reply. But it doesn’t exactly bolster confidence in his professed determination to sever Argentina’s relations with a state whose policies, ideology, and influence he with good reason regards as odious.
Meanwhile, pouring on the charm, the odious Chinese Communist Party rag People’s Daily has announced, citing its always available “experts,” that “Decoupling with China impossible amid Argentina’s economic woes, but ties likely to enter trial period with far-right Milei’s election win: experts” (November 21, 2023).
According to these experts, it is unlikely that Argentina “will decouple from China given that the president-elect aims to fix an economy battered by triple-digit inflation, a looming recession and rising poverty, despite the fact he had made some harsh remarks related to China during the election race.” As any expert knows, any country with a very damaged economy needs to continue being coupled with China and its government.
China’s government is being nice and mean at the same time. Let us help you save your battered economy, Argentina. It is impossible not to let us. It’s cute that you’re now right-wing and everything, and that’s fine with us, “a new round of left-right duels have begun” in the region. But we can get along…see you in BRICS.
The CCP amanuensis pretends that the ups and downs of ideological conflicts are of only marginal journalistic interest to the Chinese leadership, interesting to be sure but not really germane to what countries should do on the world stage. Right, left, middle…all can serve China.
Indeed, China “stands ready to work with Argentina to continue friendship,” according to Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning.
Reuters says that the BRICS bloc “was founded as an informal club in 2009 to provide a platform for its members to challenge a world order dominated by the United States and its Western allies”; it’s not “a formal multilateral organisation like the United Nations,” etc.
If the point of BRICS, as it joins in fellowship some of the worst governments of the world, is to serve as an alternative to “the United States and its Western allies,” this is a purpose that the newly elected president of Argentina cannot be comfortable with and should not cooperate with.
The acronym BRICS stands for Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. Joining thus means being part of a club that includes Russia and China—and that will soon include Iran, one of the several other countries recently invited to join. These are countries that should not be encouraged.
If Diana Mondino, whom Milei has chosen as his foreign minister, is to be credited, Argentina will not in fact join BRICS. “We will not join the BRICS,” she said on Twitter. Good. Don’t.
Milei will be inaugurated as Argentina’s new president on December 10.
