Milei did not address New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani by name, but he lamented that the “Socialism of the 21st Century” that had so plagued much of South America during the 2000s had arrived in the American East Coast, potentially a reference to Mamdani avoiding condemnation of Cuba and Venezuela and meeting with former guerrilla member and pro-cocaine Colombian President Gustavo Petro. He noted that electoral defeats at the local level were inevitable sometimes, but that the values of capitalism and Judeo-Christianity were worth fighting for through the temporary losses.
“Kirchnerism is no more or less than one of the branches of ‘Socialism of the 21st Century,’ which has entered some of the East Coast,” Milei noted. “Don’t let yourselves be intimidated by some local results.”
“They disguise themselves as sheep and are worse than the ravenous wolves. If anything was clarified by this, it is the reality of what we we [fight against] — the Kuka risk, the Kichnerist risk, the risk of socialism.”
“Kirchnerism” is the latest iteration of “Peronism,” once the dominant political ideology in Argentina, named after former Presidents Néstor Kirchner and his wife, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. The Kirchners, especially Cristina, were close allies of the dictatorships in Cuba and Venezuela and cemented close ties to other socialists in the region, such as President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Brazil and former president and current criminal fugitive Rafael Correa of Ecuador. “Kuka” is an Argentine slur for Kirchnerists.
Mayor-elect Mamdani won a decisive victory in New York City on Tuesday, defeating Republican contender Curtis Sliwa — who received no support from national Republicans, including President Donald Trump. Also in the race after Mamdani defeated him in the primary was disgraced former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, whose legacy is facilitating according to some studies as many as 1,000 unnecessary deaths during the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic as well as facing multiple accusations of sexual misconduct. Trump endorsed Cuomo in the election.
Mamdani’s campaign focused heavily on affordability in New York City, proposing Venezuela-style government grocery stores and reducing the price of halal cart food. The mayor-elect also suggested dramatically reducing policing and offering free public transit services. It remains unclear at press time how Mamdani proposes to fund these initiatives outside of defunding police initiatives.
Milei focused much of his speech on Thursday on defending the concept of capitalism as morally just, rather than a “necessary evil.”
“For too long, we got used to hearing from politicians and intellectuals that capitalism was a form of necessary evil with which we have to coexist in our societies,” Milei stated. “Of course, there are also those who advocate openly for communism and planned economies, but they are a minority and are at the margins of our political systems. But the position I am referring to is far more present in the West.”
“I speak of the criticism of the free market to justify state intervention. This is more normal and popular. It has one hundreds of legitimate elections in the last century on the American and European continents,” he continued. “I think all of us here know where these ideas, extending themselves so much, lead. The state expands more and more and more each year, meddling not only in economic activities, but in the lives of individuals so that nothing can exist outside of it.”
“If we concede that capitalism is a necessary evil, we have already lost,” he emphasized. “Even if we may have momentary wins, sooner or later they will return, because they will remain the ones in possession of the [magic] wand that determines good and evil, they will say what is just and what is not. We cannot make that mistake again.”
“Capitalism is not an evil at all. It is the form that true justice takes in this world because it is the natural consequence of the dignity and freedom of man, to whom the belongs the fruit of their labor,” he declared.
Milei told the audience that the libertarian and conservative reforms that his party, Liberty Advances, has championed were achieved with support of the Argentine people, but “without political consensus,” as Kirchnerists in Congress endeavored to veto or otherwise obstruct any major reforms. Milei’s party won a decisive plurality in Congress in the midterm elections last month, resulting in what Milei called the “most pro-reform Congress in the country’s history.”
The America Business Forum is an annual event focusing on giving a platform to pro-business politicians, finance celebrities, and sports figures. Also in attendance this year was Argentine soccer legend Lionel Messi — “the only lefty I would ever congratulate,” Milei joked — President Donald Trump, JPMorgan Chase chief Jamie Dimon, and tennis stars Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal.
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