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Tracing the evolution of Latin American fascism from the roots planted at the end of World War II (see FTR-130), this broadcast highlights a disturbing methodological similarity between the Argentine fascists of the 1970s and 80s and their Third Reich progenitors: the looting of the possessions of their victims and utilization of the proceeds to finance operations. Focusing on the activities of Argentine fascist and security operative Raul Gugliemenetti, the broadcast sets forth the appropriation of the property of victims of Argentina’s “Dirty War” in the 1970s and 80s and the secreting of the loot in the secret Swiss bank accounts held by officers who directed the war. These monies, as well as funds derived from the Bolivian cocaine trade, were used to fund Argentine-directed fascist terror activities throughout Latin America, including the overthrow of the democratically elected Bolivian government in the “Cocaine Coup” of 1980 and the CIA assisted Contra War as well. The Bolivian Coup involved the cooperation of former Gestapo and CIA operative Klaus Barbie and his squad of “Coca-Fascisti”. (Recorded in February of 1999.)
Sometimes the best thing you can do is burn it all down and start over. It’s not actually a great strategy for fixing society’s problems. But it’s an increasingly popular one. This time it’s Argentina’s turn to do the ‘let the far right nut job burn it all down’ schtick. They did. They actually elected the anarcho-capitalist Javier Melei to the presidency with 55.7% of the vote. The guy who supports the creation of an unregulated marketplace for human organs is now the president. “Don’t tread on me” Gadsden flags can be seen in the celebrating crowds of supporters.
It’s hard to know what exactly we should actually expect from this. But it’s obvious that tackling Argentina’s high inflation is going to be a primary challenge. Will Milei’s proposal to dollarize the economy and abolish the Central Bank be a success, at least in the short run? It’s a rather ironic move for a self-declared libertarian given that it would effective hand control of Argentina’s monetary policy to the US Federal Reserve. But that’s apparently the plan. Or at least that was the electoral sales pitch. We’ll see what he actually does.
But while it’s hard to imagine Milei actually successfully implementing some sort of far right policy prescription for Argentina’s woes, it’s not hard to imagine a cult of personality emerging from all this. And that brings us to another area of ‘reform’ we can expect from Milei’s administration: historical ‘reform’, at least in terms of how Argentina’s military dictatorship is viewed. Yes, it turns out his running mate, Victoria Villaruel, is a long-stand supporter of military dictatorship and someone who feels the military officers from those years have been unfairly persecuted. Villaruel even organized back in September a ‘tribute’ rally for the victims of 1970s left-wing groups, as part of a clear attempt to establish a ‘both sides’ narrative about that chapter in Argentina’s history. And now she’s the vice president.
So we’ll see what happens. But a majority of the voters in Argentina just voted to burn it all down. And that’s presumably what’s going to happen in one form or another:
“In the streets of Buenos Aires, drivers honked their horns and many took to the streets to celebrate in several neighborhoods. Outside Milei’s party headquarters, a hotel in downtown Buenos Aires, a full-on party kicked off with supporters singing, buying beers from vendors and setting off colored smoke bombs. They waved Argentine flags and the yellow Gadsden flag, emblazoned with the words “Don’t Tread On Me,” which Milei’s movement has adopted.”
Crowds waving the Gadsden flag alongside the Argentine flags. It doesn’t exactly bode well for Argentina. But a majority of the Argentine public appears to have decide that burning it all down is the preferable option for dealing with inflation. Will dollarizing the Argentine economy, eliminating the Central Bank, and gutting government spending somehow magically fix everything? That’s the bet Argentina just made. An anarcho-capitalist Hail Mary play. About the only silver lining here for Argentina is that Milei’s win means the country won’t have to through the experience of having a major candidate make incessant ‘stolen election’ claims after losing:
And in case it’s not entirely clear the new ‘populist’ president is a creature of the far right, he just happened to select Victoria Villaruel, a long-standing apologist for Argentina’s military dictatorship, to be his running mate:
And Villaruel hasn’t just made whitewashing claims about the number of victims of Argentina’s military dictatorship. She actually organized a rally back in September dedicated to the victims of left-wing terrorism, in what was clearly an attempt to foment a kind of ‘both sides did it’ narrative about this brutal period in Argentina’s history:
“Villaruel, a lawmaker, has long defended military officers convicted of crimes against humanity during the bloody 1976–1983 dictatorship.”
Yes, just two and a half months before the election, Milei’s running mate decided to organized tribute to the victims of the left. And despite the trollish claims that this event was not in any way intended to justify the dictatorship, it was obviously an attempt to do just that by making a kind of ‘both sides’ claim about this dark chapter in Argentina’s not-so-distant past:
“They’re looking for symmetry regarding crimes of state terrorism and that cannot be condoned.” Yep. A restrospective justification for state terror brought to you by the new ‘anarcho capitalist’ vice president. It’s ironic, on one level. And also exactly what we should expect, historically speaking. Which is a reminder that, for all the weirdness of this moment, it’s starting to feel alarmingly familiar in the worst way.