Argentina Takes Leap Into Unknown With Javier Milei as President
- Libertarian promises to dollarize economy, shut central bank
- Milei to take office Dec. 10 after beating Peronist candidate
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Libertarian outsider Javier Milei won Argentina’s presidency promising a radical shakeup to fix decades of policy mismanagement, a strategy that resonated with a populace suffering under a nosediving economy and one of the world’s fastest inflation rates.
With 99% of ballots counted after Sunday’s runoff election, Milei took 56% of the votes to 44% for Economy Minister Sergio Massa of the incumbent left-wing Peronist coalition, according to the official electoral authority. The scale of his victory was unexpected, and Massa conceded before the results were released.