Will Javier Milei save Argentina? | About That

>> Andrew: I’M GOING TO SHOW YOU SOME NUMBERS THAT WILL HAUNT YOUR DREAMS. LET’S SAY YOU WANT 1 USD. SIMPLE ENOUGH, RIGHT? YOU ARE WILLING TO PAY CANADIAN FOR IT. THAT WILL COST YOU ABOUT $1.37 CANADIAN. NOW, LET’S PRETEND YOU’RE IN

ARGENTINA AND YOU WANT U.S. DOLLARS. 20 YEARS AGO, YOU WOULD HAVE TO PAY $2.94, WHICH IS NOT GREAT, BUT WHATEVER. TODAY YOU HAVE TO PAY, CROSS THAT OUT, AROUND $353.82 FOR 1 USD. NOT ONLY ARE THEY DESPERATE TO

MAKE THIS TRADE, THIS AMOUNT OF MONEY FOR THAT AMOUNT OF MONEY, THEY ARE WILLING TO DO IT AT A HUGE LOSS, SOMETIMES PAYING THREE TIMES THAT AMOUNT ON THE BLACK MARKET FOR 1 USD. ANYTHING TO DITCH THEIR LOCAL CURRENCY AND PUT THEIR LIFE’S

SAVING INTO SOMETHING THAT WILL HOLD VALUE. >> ARGENTINA’S INFLATION RATE SHOT UP TO 124% IN AUGUST, A RECORD HIGH IN MORE THAN THREE DECADES. >> Andrew: THAT’S RIGHT, 124% IN AUGUST AND MORE RECENTLY, 143% IN OCTOBER. WE AS CANADIANS STRUGGLED IN THE

SINGLE DIGITS AND THEY’RE OVER THERE PAYING 2,000 PESOS FOR A BIG MAC. >> IT’S HARD, WHATEVER ONE THING COST TODAY, TOMORROW COSTS A LITTLE MORE. WE’RE ALWAYS RACING AGAINST THE CLOCK, SEARCHING AND SEARCHING. >> ARGENTINA IS CAUGHT IN AN ECONOMIC CRISIS.

THE CENTRAL BANK HAS NEGATIVE RESERVES AND THE ECONOMY IS SLAGGING. >> Andrew: CRY FOR ARGENTINA. JAVIER RUSHED HIS OPPONENT BY THE WIDEST MARGIN WE HAVE SEEN IN ARGENTINA IN DECADES, MORE THAN 10%. HE’S BRASH, AGGRESSIVE, AND LITERALLY KNOWN TO BRINGING A

CHAINSAW TO RALLIES AND HIS PLAN TO SAVE ARGENTINA’S ECONOMY INVOLVES BLOWING IT UP. >> Andrew: HE PUTS A LOT OF THE BLAME FOR ARGENTINA’S BROKEN ECONOMY AT THE FEET OF THE CENTRAL BANK, LIKE THE BANK OF CANADA OR THE FEDERAL RESERVE, THEY PULL THE LEVERS, RIGHT?

HIS PLAN IS TO GET RID OF IT. >> ARGENTINA HAS THIS ENDLESS CYCLE OF ECONOMIC CRISIS, AND THEY WILL SPEND MORE THAN THEY MAKE IN TAXES, SO THE ONLY WAY THEY CAN PAY THEIR BILLS IS PRINTING MONEY. AS WITH ANY COUNTRY THAT PRINTS

MONEY RECKLESSLY, THEY END UP WITH INFLATION. >> Andrew: IF YOU GET RID OF THE CENTRAL BANK, WHAT FILLS THAT VOID? WELL, THERE’S THE TRICK, YOU GET RID OF THAT TOO. YOU CUT THE BANK, YOU CUT THE PESO, AND YOU INSTAL THE U.S. DOLLAR AS KING.

>> THEY HAVE JUST GIVEN UP ON THEIR OWN CURRENCY. IT LOSES VALUE SO FAST THAT THEY HAVE AN EXPRESSION THAT IT BURNS UP IN YOUR POCKET. THEY SPENT ALL THEIR LIVES HUNTING FOR DOLLARS THEY CAN USE TO SAVE. >> Andrew: THIS IS A PLAN WITH

HUGE RISKS. IT MEANS HITCHING YOUR WAGON TO AMERICAN MONETARY POLICY. THE U.S. WILL MANAGE THINGS LIKE INTEREST RATES IN THE U.S. INTEREST, AND ARGENTINA WOULD JUST BE ALONG FOR THE RIDE. THEY COULDN’T DEVALUE THE CURRENCY, THEY COULDN’T PRINT MORE MONEY, THEY WOULD GET THE

STABILITY OF THE U.S. DOLLAR, BUT EVERYTHING IS OUT OF THEIR HANDS. ARGENTINA IS KIND OF BROKE TO BEGIN WITH, BUYING UP LARGE QUANTITIES OF U.S. DOLLARS AND TURNING THAT INTO THEIR COUNTRY’S ONLY CURRENCY MAY PROVE TO BE MORE THINGS ON THE

CHOPPING BLOCK TOO. >> 2019, YOU HAD A MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND DIVERSITY CREATE IN THIS COUNTRY. WHAT DOES THAT MINISTRY DO? [Speaking Spanish] . >> Andrew: CARLSON, THE FORMER HOST AT FOX NEWS TRAVELLED TO ARGENTINA FOR AN INTERVIEW WITH MILEI.

HAVE A LISTEN TO HOW HE ANSWERED A QUESTION ON HOW ARGENTINA GOT INTO THEIR CURRENT MESS. >> Andrew: ACCORDINGLY, HE WANTS TO SLASH BUREAUCRACY BY CLOSING SEVERAL MINISTRIES, WOMEN IN DIE VERSETY, CULTURE, HEALTH, EDUCATION, AMONG OTHERS, WELFARE PAYMENTS, GOVERNMENT SUBSIDIES, SPENDING, TAXES, THEY WOULD ALL

BE SLASHED, ELIMINATING THE SOCIALIST AGENDA GOES FURTHER THAN FISCAL POLICY. MILEI IS A CAPITALIST, A LIBERTARIAN, WHOSE CORE BELIEF IS THAT FREEDOM TRUMPS ALL. THAT GUIDES MUCH OF WHAT HE PROMISED TO DO AS PRESIDENT. MILEI IS A MAN UNAFRAID OF BEING OFFENSIVE.

AS A TELEVISION PUNDIT, HE CALLED THE POPE A FILTHY LEFTIST AND IMBECILE, A POPE WHO IS ARGENTINIAN. HE TALKS ABOUT HOW OFTEN HE EJACULATES. >> HE IS AN ECCENTRIC FIGURE. HE IS THE PRO TIP CAL OUTSIDER, HE WAS A ROCK STAR, A HOCKEY

PLAYER, HE CLONES HIS PET DOGS HIS SENIOR ADVISORS. >> Andrew: HE SAID THE STATE IS A KINDERGARTEN WITH THE CHILDREN BATHED IN VASELINE. THAT’S A DISDISTURBING IMAGE. HERE’S THE CLIP. >> Andrew: HIS SOCIAL POLICIES HAVE DIVIDED ARGENTINIANS AS WELL.

HE WANTS TO REOPEN THE ABORTION DEBATE, SOMETHING THAT THE COUNTRY ONLY LEGALIZED THREE YEARS AGO. HE HAS CALLED SEX EDUCATION A FORM OF BRAINWASHING. HE IS IN FAVOUR OF ALLOWING THE SALE OF HUMAN ORGANS AND CLIMATE CHANGE? >> DO YOU SEE THE CLIMATE CHANGE

MOVEMENT AS PART OF THE SAME SOCIALIST AGENDA? >> Andrew: MILEI HAS EMBRACED CONSPIRACY THEORIES. BEFORE ELECTION NIGHT, HE CLAIMED THE ELECTORAL PROCESS WAS RIGGED AGAINST HIM. ACCORDING TO “THE NEW YORK TIMES,” HE WARNED THAT IF HE LOST ON SUNDAY, IT WAS BECAUSE

THE VOTE WAS STOLEN. WHEN IT LOOKED LIKE HE WAS GOING TO WIN, HE SAID THE ELECTION WAS CLEAN. >> IT WAS A BIT CONCERNING BECAUSE IT DOES SUGGESTS THAT IF HE HAD NOT WON OR IF HE HAD COME CLOSE TO WINNING, HE WOULD HAVE PROBABLY PLAYED THAT CARD.

>> Andrew: AN UNOFFICIAL SLOGAN OF THE JAVIER MILEI CAMPAIGN, MAKE ARGENTINA GREAT AGAIN. >> NOW YOU HAVE SOMEONE THAT BRING AS CHAINSAW TO HIS RALLIES AND WHAT IT MEANS TO HIM IS A METAPHOR TO CUTTING DOWN TO SIZE ARGENTINA’S WELFARE STATE.

>> Andrew: THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT ARGENTINA IS A COUNTRY THAT HAS FALLEN FROM GRACE, AT ONE TIME, AMONG THE WEALTHIEST COUNTRIES, NOW 40% OF THE POPULATION LIVE IN POVERTY. THEIR CHILDREN’S HAVE BEEN HUNGRY FOR CHANGE. >> Andrew: WHAT MILEI DOES WITH

THIS OPPORTUNITY IS THE NEXT BIG QUESTION. HE MAY STRUGGLE, DESPITE WINNING THE PRESIDENCY, HIS PARTY CONTROLS JUST A SMALL PART OF ARGENTINA’S LOWER HOUSE AND SENATE. FOR A MAN DUBBED EL LOCO, THE MADMAN, THE TV STAR THAT SMASHED A CENTRAL BANK PINATA ON LIVE TV.

HE PUT HIS OWN FACE ON BANKNOTES AND PROMISED TO UP END A BROKEN GOVERNMENT THAT MISMANAGED A BROKEN ECONOMY, WHATEVER HAPPENS MAY BE WORTH WATCHING.

Meet the man who wants to “make Argentina great again”. Javier Milei is a TV star, former tantric sex coach and self-described anarcho-capitalist. He’s also now the president of Argentina. Andrew Chang takes a closer look at the new leader and his plans to fix Argentina’s crippling inflation.

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