‘SHOCK THERAPY’ — Argentina’s newly elected libertarian President Javier Milei, who has been compared to former President Donald Trump and ex-Brazilian leader Jair Bolsonaro, has few friends in Buenos Aires’ political establishment — outgoing Vice President, and former President, Christina Fernandez de Kirschner flashed a middle finger at Milei’s supporters as she entered the inauguration ceremony this weekend. His party holds just 39 seats in the country’s Chamber of Deputies and only seven seats in the country’s Senate. But as Milei takes office, amid brash populist promises to subject his country’s wayward economy to “shock therapy” and stem decades of runaway inflation and economic stagnation, he has gained a valuable friend in Washington — Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.), the House Foreign Affairs Western Hemisphere Subcommittee chair who has become a critical ally and cheerleader for Milei’s ambitious reform agenda. Speaking on the steps of the Capitol Thursday, Salazar praised Milei as America’s best hope for expanding its influence and economic ties with its hemispheric neighbors and promoting better visions of governance in the region. “We need to help Argentina because they are going to be the trailblazers. That country is going to set the course and point of reference for the rest of Latin America as to the way that a country should be governed,” Salazar said. “Free market economy, small government, individual liberties, freedom, private sector, no corruption, that's what we're trying to do.” She was the sole member of Congress at his inauguration, personally invited by the Argentinian government to attend the ceremony. During her time in Buenos Aires, she made the rounds on Argentinian television, praising Milei for “speaking honestly” during his inaugural address about the country’s grim economic outlook and crediting Argentinians for “not drinking what we call in America the ‘Kool-Aid,’ the medicine of lies” associated with Latin American socialism. Upon her return from the festivities in Buenos Aires, Salazar wrote to the Treasury Department and the International Monetary Fund, one of Argentina’s most important — and domestically vilified — foreign creditors, urging them to treat Milei fairly and offer him leniency as he seeks to stabilize the country’s long-struggling economy. Salazar is not a libertarian (though her stances on immigration have won her plaudits from libertarian-leaning commentators ). Nor does she represent a large Argentinian constituency in her Miami-area congressional district — Argentinians make up just a small percentage of the population of her district. But Milei is a forceful opponent of left-wing economic policy, which makes him a natural ally. During the campaign, he regularly denigrated supporters of Argentina’s Peronist parties as “shit leftists” and promised to upend Argentina’s decades-long status quo and economic malaise. He also promised to move Argentina closer to the U.S. and away from Russia and China. For Salazar, who is Cuban-American, and her Cuban, Nicaraguan and Venezuelan constituents, Milei is a bright spot in a region that has increasingly supported left-wing populists that are sympathetic to the regimes from which they fled. In recent years, voters in Colombia, Brazil, Mexico, Peru and Chile have elected left-wing populist presidents that have paid homage to Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and Cuba’s communist government. Many have also done little to stem Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega’s increasingly repressive approach to civil society groups. It’s the hope of some, including Salazar, that Milei will help change that. In a Spanish-language video posted to social media , Salazar said she hopes Milei will help “liberate” Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua from the “evil of Castrismo,” referring to the communist ideology of late Cuban leader Fidel Castro. He also represents an opportunity for the U.S. to regain its foothold in Latin America after neglecting its neighbors in the region for decades. Milei has pledged to dollarize, or adopt the U.S. dollar as currency, and has already made it clear his government will keep Russia and China more at bay than his predecessors. In his first international trip after winning the November electoral runoff, Milei came to Washington, meeting with National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. Salazar says she has had “extensive conversations” with Biden administration officials about Argentina and says they want to make the most of this moment in the region. She points to the White House’s efforts to help Argentina placate its creditors this week as a promising sign. “Our White House helped him find the $900 million, we sent letters to [Treasury Secretary Janet] Yellen and to the IMF, the National Security Council is talking to other partners to help them bridge,” she noted. “They’re going through a very bad moment, but they are supported, and they are helped by the big guys, meaning us.” Still, Salazar is cognizant of the history of U.S.-Latin America relations, which has often seen the U.S. miss windows of opportunity to expand trade and diplomatic ties. “Every administration since Ronald Reagan has not paid attention to Latin America the way it has had to, and now we’re all paying the price,” Salazar said. “Latin America does not want to deal with the Chinese or with the Russians, they would rather deal with the gringos because the Americans are a lot better partners.” “It's like someone wanting to marry us, and we ignore them for years, and once in a while ask them for a date,” she joked to Nightly as she walked down the Capitol stairs. Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas at nightly@politico.com . Or contact tonight’s author at ebazail@politico.com or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @ebazaileimil . PROGRAMMING NOTE: We’ll be off next week for the holidays but back to our normal schedule on Tuesday, Jan. 2.
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