According to a popular crypto magazine, the pro-crypto Argentine presidential candidate is gaining fame among voters. As the elections draw closer, Javier Milei, a libertarian economist and pro-Bitcoin presidential candidate is taking the lead in the latest polls.
Sources suggest that Argentina’s economic struggles will have a crucial role to play in the nation’s upcoming presidential elections which are scheduled for October 22. In such a scenario, Milei’s unconventional views make him stand out as the candidate capable of solving one of the country’s many problems at the moment.
Reportedly, Milei takes a laissez-faire approach to economics and politics. It means he believes in free markets with minimal intervention from the government. His manifesto also includes a plan to dollarize the Argentine economy which seems to have polarized the electorate.
In expert opinion, while this plan could stabilize and strengthen the peso, some suggest it might also trigger a run on the native currency. Additionally, the biggest question was where Milei would obtain the necessary Dollars to support the plan.
Recently, in a media interaction, Milei presented a model of a central bank like a pinata indicating his views on conventional economics. Earlier this year, he advocated for Bitcoin saying that it could eliminate the role of the central bank.
According to the polls, about 59.2% of Argentinians seek “total change” of government which resonates well with Milei’s campaign focusing on doing away with conventional politicians. Additionally, in the poll across hypothetical scenarios of the president and vice president combinations, Milei continued to emerge victorious in the results. The report stated:
In all three potential line-ups, Milei emerged with the highest voting intention, hovering between 23.7 and 24.3 percent.
However, as the critics suggest Milei’s unconventional economic approach and crypto advocacy is gaining attention among the voters. Notably, his crypto favoritism to an extent that has also landed troubles for him.
In August last year, Milei promoted CoinX, a cryptocurrency investment platform with enormous returns guaranteed to subscribers, in an Instagram post to his 1.3 million followers last year. He was later sued for allegedly endorsing a crypto Ponzi scheme. The platform, which shut down in June, boasted of using AI, bots, and expert traders to automate trades for investors and make them a tonne of money. It had a sizable social media following.
Nonetheless, before Milei can win the presidency, he is required to first face the primary elections, which are scheduled for August 13. Simultaneously, the demand for Bitcoin in Argentina has been continuously rising sending the price soaring to 63,65,706.90 pesos as of writing.
Argentines have been favorably looking up to cryptocurrencies amidst the rising concerns of inflation. Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation has grown month on month since April 2022 and currently stands at 104.3%.
Adding to the situation, the Peso continues sliding against the Dollar. Since the start of the year, the peso has lost 24% against the Dollar hitting a record low with each passing week. It takes about 250 Pesos to buy a dollar at the official rate.
In a bid to rein in inflation and reverse currency devaluation, the central bank raised interest rates by a staggering 10% to 91% last month. Simultaneously, Argentines started hedging with crypto as their economy weakened.
On top of it, Argentina has a $44 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Notably, the IMF’s opposition to Bitcoin has raised questions about its political influence over countries it lends money.
Nonetheless, it will be interesting to see how Milei‘s plans work out for the Argentine economy. Meanwhile, the regulators in the country are speedily working on establishing guidelines and regulatory frameworks for crypto companies as reported by Todayq News.