The meteoric rise of Javier Mileiwhich took him from a guest on afternoon TV shows to President of the Nation in a short time, is evident in the survey of the 100 most influential that NOTICIAS has published since 1995, every end of the year. The economist burst onto TV channels in 2018: there he came in 48th place in this ranking. The following year he rose to 27th and the other to 14th. In 2021, when he was elected deputy, he entered the top five: he came fourth. Last year second and, This 2023, after reaching the Rivadavia chair, he leads it for the first time.
Behind him was the person who had led the survey for the last four years. For the first time since 2019, Cristina Kirchner is not first, but second. And whoever completes the podium, to the surprise of many, is not a politician: the third most influential person in the country is, according to those surveyed, Lionel Messi. One year after winning the World Cup, the footballer was among the most chosen at work the consulting firm Giacobbe & Asociados performed exclusively for NEWS.
Government.
The marked hyperpresidentialism that historically characterized Argentina is once again noticeable in this edition of the survey. The thing is Milei managed, in his first days as president, to return to a tradition that the outgoing Alberto Fernández had lost: The former president never managed to be the most influential, despite the position he held at the head of the Executive Branch. In this 2023, Shortly after leaving power, he is in 54th place in the ranking.
In the top 10, there are only three more politicians linked to Milei. In sixth place is Mauricio Macri, one of the protagonists of the Acassuso Pact that allowed the libertarian the victory in the runoff.. Macri, in addition, is one of the four personalities who have remained among the most influential since ’95, along with Diego Maradona, Jorge Lanata and Susana Giménez. In seventh place is the current Minister of Security, who was Milei’s opponent in the general elections, Patricia Bullrich. And in position 8, Vice President Victoria Villarruelwho last year had not entered the ranking.
“Two women with a tough profile and their own weight on the scene, curiously different: the minister is the only one, of all the losing candidates in these elections, who remains high in influence. The vice president is also a meteoric event, considering that last year she did not even appear among the top hundred,” analyzes the author of the survey, Jorge Giacobbe.
To find more about the libertarian’s Cabinet you have to get to position 27, where Foreign Minister Diana Mondino appears (her first time in the survey); then, in ’31, the presidential spokesperson Manuel Adorni; in ’58, Luis Caputo, Minister of Economy; and in ’70, the all-powerful Karina Milei, sister of the first president (who calls her “the Boss”) and general secretary of the Presidency. Luis Petri (75th place), Martín Menem (76) and Guillermo Francos (92) complete the Milei team among the most influential of the year. They are the faces of a power that has just debuted.
The economic crisis that dragged Unión por la Patria to defeat is reflected in the survey of the most influential. Sergio Massa, who competed hand in hand in the second round with Milei, only appears in 48th place, behind the journalist Jorge Lanata (47th place), but also of entertainment stars who shone this year, as is the case of the North American artist Taylor Swift (39), who filled three River stadiums.
From position 20, Axel Kicillof is the first opposition leader in charge of the ranking. Then, you have to go down to 93rd place to find the camper Eduardo “Wado” de Pedro, while the deputy Máximo Kirchner appears in 96th, on the other side of the table than his mother. This year there was not much room for retreating Kirchnerism. Nor for unionism: a historic figure fell from the survey after 23 years of permanence. The unionist Hugo Moyano is no longer part of the party.
History.
Curious fact about this 2023, The top five is completed by two historical personalities: José de San Martín is in fourth place and Juan Domingo Perón, fifth. It’s more, Among the first fifteen in the ranking, there are eight people who are no longer aliveIn addition to those named, Néstor Kirchner (10th place), René Favaloro (11th), Maradona (12th), Eva Duarte (13th), Manuel Belgrano (14th) and Raúl Alfonsín (15th) appear. For a decade Jesús has remained in the ranking of the most influential, but this is the first time that he has been among the top positions. This time, in the 17th.
International personalities also have their space. Pope Francis is in 9th place, then Donald Trump, the former US president, appears (16) and, for the first time, the Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele (19) joins.. Vladimir Putin came in 28th place and Barack Obama in 43rd. The first businessman to make the list is Elon Musk (21), who was talked about a lot due to his contacts with Milei and the possible emergence into the country. The spearhead is its Starlink satellite internet company.
The journalists closest to the ruling party were also considered by those surveyed. And a dispute this year over ratings moved to Giacobbe’s poll: Eduardo Feinmann (30th place) won this fight against Jonatan Viale (32nd). They started sharing passes in La Nación +. But the internal crack grew, they stopped talking and Mauro’s son ended up not renewing his contract: he just landed in TN. Alejandro Fantino, whom Milei thanks for having put him “to play first”, for being responsible for his television consecration, came in 66th place. Then, an upstart: Esteban Trebucq (79th place), who went from Crónica TV to editorialist for América 24. His spicy opinions go viral on social networks among libertarian militants. “El Pelado”, as his followers know him, was even in front of Clarín.
One year after winning the World Cup, Messi, coach Lionel Scaloni (19th place) and “el Dibu” Martínez (51st) remain from that team. Two fundamental actors of that title fell out of the survey: Rodrigo De Paul and Ángel di María.
A former player turned leader, who became Macri’s executioner in Boca, reappears in the ranking after three years of absence: Juan Román Riquelme, new president of Xeneize, came in 35th place.
Among the celebrities, the most valued by those surveyed was Mirtha Legrand (23). In October, the host returned to television after a year of absence. At her last dinner with Milei, her hostess, excited about her, made her a request: “I am a grown woman and I do not want to leave this world without seeing my country flourishing,” she told him, with tears. in your eyes. “He is going to see it, he is going to see it flourish. Stay calm,” the President promised.
Away from the media and installed in Uruguay, Susana Giménez’s fleeting appearances are enough for the public to remember her: she is still current in the ranking, this time in 53rd place. Even ahead of Marcelo Tinelli, who is leading a new season of “Bailando por un Sueño”, on América TV. Consolation for the host: although he loses by a landslide in ratings with the Telefe reality show, “Big Brother”, he can at least consider himself more influential than Santiago del Moro (85th place), his nightly competitor.
“This ranking is once again, as since 1995, an excellent x-ray of public opinion beliefs raspect of the symbolic configuration of power,” says Giacobbe. And he concludes: “People expect the new to bring good news, and that association, no matter how strong it is, is not always linear.”
As in every new management that emerges, La Libertad Avanza not only brings politicians, but journalists, businessmen and upstart celebrities appear. The question to be clarified will be who stays and who leaves in the next editions of the survey. After all, they say that the most difficult thing is not to get there, but to stay.
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