Is Milei a populist? People and market in the new radical right in Argentina

Abstract

ABSTRACT The electoral rise of Milei, that brought him up to the presidency of Argentina in 2023, has run in parallel with discussions about his use of populist ideas. Overall, Milei is characterised by his emphasis on economic issues, with an extreme pro-market position based on the Austrian school, but he also stands out for a strong anti-establishment discourse. While observers may consider these appeals as populist, a categorisation based on just this feature could be premature given the multidimensional nature of populism. This article tests the importance of populism in the discourse of Milei displaying an empirical strategy based on the holistic grading of key political discourses. Main results indicate that Milei’s discourse is partially populist because it lacks a people-centred vision, even one anchored in market rationality. We expect these results will facilitate comparisons of the Argentinian case with other Latin-American cases in which populism and neoliberalism seem to be mutually reinforcing.