Don’t cry for Argentina. A country that survives 140% inflation is capable of winning three World Cups and giving us Cortazar, Samanta Schweblin or the Alterio clan, It is a country with a future, even though its cultural, social, sporting or culinary wealth constantly balances on the knife’s edge depending on who occupies the Casa Rosada. To the right of that edge there is almost always an abyss, and to the left, the void; but they are still there, making tightrope walking an art.
Borges, Messi, the grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo… There is no Milei or Kirchner or Menem who can handle that nation, probably the only one in all of Latin America that can stand up after falling into free fall and shake off the dust as if nothing had happened. Argentina is us stumbling and looking from one side to the other in case someone has seen us stop the blow with our knees against the cement. The country has been living in Manzi’s tango for decades: «We were pushed by a desolate wind, shadows of a shadow that returned from the past. / We were the hope that does not arrive, that does not reach, that cannot glimpse the gentle afternoon.
Pope Francis, Quino, Mercedes Sosa… Imagine how far Argentina would go with a ‘normal’ president. The Argentines have just elected president a man who shouts, who wants to dollarize the economy and strip the public of the ownership and management of essential services, education, health, public television. Javier Fernando Milei (Buenos Aires, 53 years old) goes to the radio with a surplus of decibels and shits on someone’s mother’s pussy. She hears voices that no one else perceives and dedicates to her rivals adjectives that fascinate us here, such as ‘sorete’ (piece of shit, to understand us) o’cover’ (stupid, inept). The most I’ve ever heard him say around the house is calling another ‘son of a bitch’, as if to say…
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Estela de Carlotto, Darín, Cecilia Roth… If you listen to it without an image, Javier Milei is the Sergio Antín of ‘The Marginal‘; If you see it without sound it looks like a puppet screaming for a hairdresser. His impossible hairstyles and histrionics have not been an obstacle to surpassing his rival. The candidate of La Libertad Avanza, which is the name of his party, has obtained 56% of the votes compared to 44% for the Peronist. Sergio Massa. One of these days we Europeans will find out what Peronism consists of, which must be what Felipism is to the PSOE or Aznarism to the Popular Party. Six out of every ten Argentines living in Spain also voted for Milei, who will soon realize that it is the market that decides, which has not stopped speculating since his victory.
Spinetta, Charly García, Goyeneche… It’s not the Argentines’ fault. The fault is not even Milei himself, who successfully completes the aspiration of any candidate, that is, to win and govern, Feijóo knows this well. The fault never lies with the voter, but with those who are incapable of offering voters a coherent, exciting alternative. Here some still question how it is possible for someone like Isabel Díaz Ayuso or like himself to govern. Pedro Sanchez, depending on who you ask. Look in front of both of you and you will have the answer. The future will tell if there was a Milei era, but the Argentines have set the bar very high in terms of marking eras and enthroning idols. Gardel, Evita, Maradona… No people in the world have so much self-love. Argentina gives you and takes you away. Le Pera wrote it and Gardel set it to music: “His eyes closed and the world keeps moving.”