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In his speech at Davos 2024, far-right and pro-Bitcoin Argentine President Javier Milei delivered a fervent critique of collectivism and a staunch defense of capitalism and libertarian principles. Milei asserted that the Western world is at risk due to a shift towards socialist ideologies, which he argues lead to poverty and economic decline.
Milei, who has slashed government spending and flew to the Swiss mountain resort on a commercial Lufthansa flight, called for a return to economic freedom, limited government, and respect for private property as keys to prosperity, urging entrepreneurs to resist state control and asserting Argentina's commitment to these principles.
While not mentioning crypto in his Davos speech, Bitcoin, as a decentralized currency, aligns with his advocacy for minimal state intervention and a free market. It represents a financial system outside of state control, aligning with his criticisms of government interference in the economy and his promotion of individual economic freedom.
"Today's states don't need to directly control the means of production to control every aspect of the life of individuals. With tools like printing money, debt, subsidies, control of the interest rate, price controls, and regulations to correct the so called market failures, they can control the lives and fates of millions of individuals," Milei said in a special address at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting.
Milei, who assumed the presidency of Argentina on December 10, aims to pull his country out of a long-running economic crisis and runaway inflation.
Economic freedom
Milei's libertarian economic views champion the "freedom to transact," supporting individual rights to choose their medium of exchange, from fiat currencies to cryptocurrencies.
From a crypto point of view, Milei is the ultimate presidential candidate for the industry. Describing the central bank as a "scam" and a “mechanism by which politicians cheat the good people with inflationary tax," Milei has served as the anti-financial anarchist that degens aspired to become.
Milei has been equally vocal about his support for Bitcoin, hailing it as “the return of money to its original creator, the private sector.”