Considered a kind of “Argentine Bolsonaro”, the ultraliberal economist Javier Milei, elected deputy in the last legislative elections with an anti-political and anti-State speech, drew his first salary as a parliamentarian last Wednesday (12).
As usual, he put on a show with the right to a stage in front of the beach in the resort of Mar del Plata (400 kilometers from Buenos Aires) and he made a great speech. “This money is mine, I can spend it like any other deputy, or burn it in a square, or I can manage this money, which was stolen from the people, back to the city,” he said.
More than a million people signed up online to receive the prize, the salary of 200 thousand pesos (just under R$ 11 thousand), salary proportional to 20 days worked last month, since Milei took office on the 10th of December. The ceremony was broadcast live on news channels.
What the ultra-liberal deputy did not expect, however, was that the money would go to a voter who does not share his political positions and, on the contrary, identifies with Kirchnerism, the political current of the Argentine left to which Milei usually directs his criticisms.
“I don’t share most [das opiniões de Milei]. I believe that the State has to be present and not let companies do what they want,” Federico Nacarado, 40, said in an interview after winning the award. He said he will use the money to pay off debts he has. to compete in the contest, said: “Each one will have their reasons. My wife signed me up, because yes. If it’s a contest, why not apply?”
Asked live about what he thought of the deputy, who participated in the same TV show, the winner preferred not to comment. “No, then you kill me, I don’t have an opinion. But, well, he promised something and fulfilled it, that’s already something important”, he said.
Known for the histrionic and radical profile he exhibits on TV shows, Javier Milei, 51, who was a rock singer and goalkeeper for the Buenos Aires team Chacarita, usually goes unkempt and wears a leather jacket.
The libertarian leader left the classrooms of the universities where he taught economics for more than two decades and created the party La Libertad Avanza, in 2020, which denounces what he calls a “political caste” and considers the State as “the enemy, an entity oppressive, violent, which robs us of the fruit of our work”, in his words.
The comparison with President Jair Bolsonaro gains support even from the family of the Brazilian president. Federal deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro shared on his social networks a video of the launch of Milei’s candidacy for deputy, in which the Argentine says he did not enter politics “to guide lambs, I got into it to awaken lions”, a motto he adopted for his campaign. .
In the November 14 elections, Milei’s party became the third political force in the city of Buenos Aires, with 17.3% of the vote, and won two seats in the Chamber of Deputies, although it has no representation from other provinces. from the country.
The initiative to draw one’s own salary was criticized by many deputies and even people ideologically in tune with the parliamentarian.
“What does Milei live on, how does he pay his bills?” questioned Congresswoman Sabrina Ajmechet, of the center-right coalition Juntos por el Cambio, Argentina’s main opposition force, warning that if lawmakers do not collect salaries, “only the rich could do politics”.
“I charge for my work, as guaranteed by the Constitution”, said the also ultra-liberal economist José Luis Espert, distancing himself from Milei.
Milei says that he gave up his income in private activity before taking office as a deputy, on December 10, and that he will live from lectures as an economics professor.
The Agency for Access to Public Information, an autonomous official entity, has launched an investigation to verify compliance with the law on the protection of personal data, under the suspicion that the real purpose of the lottery is to build a database of potential voters.
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