Why Milei’s victory in Argentina is good news for Cubans

Milei’s victory in Argentina on Sunday has sent the Latin American left into a tailspin. Not only is it a sound rejection of socialism in that country, but of the region’s principal pusher of this deadly ideology, Cuba. The Cuban people now have an ally in Argentina, which considering their six decades of suffering while their neighbors looked the other way, is no small thing.

Moreover, what happened in Argentina will echo in Venezuela, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Brazil, and any other Latin American country that has allowed itself to be influenced by the communist Castro dictatorship. Diminishing the influence of the Cuban regime is not only good for Latin America, but for Cubans as well.

Cuban attorney and former political prisoner Rene Gomez Manzano explains in CubaNet:

Milei’s victory in Argentina: Good news for Cubans

This Sunday, as the closing time approached at the polling stations in the Argentine Republic, I turned on the television. I wanted to find out as soon as possible which of the two candidates competing in the runoff (Javier Milei or Sergio Massa) the citizens of the great country of Río de la Plata had chosen to govern their destinies for the next four years.

I tuned into the TeleSur channel, which serves as an index for determining the levels of inefficiency and lack of reliability of Cuban Television: To say that they are even worse than TeleSur is quite a statement! But such selections are the only open alternative for us, mortals who survive under the boot of one of the modalities of the disastrous “21st-century socialism.”

The Chavista broadcaster tormented its viewers with one of its boring propaganda programming. After the overwhelming triumph of María Corina Machado in the Venezuelan opposition’s primary elections, the Miraflores Palace in Caracas decided to resort to patriotism as a way to neutralize, at least in part, that result.

For that purpose, President Maduro and his lackeys have concocted a referendum to reclaim the rights of the Liberator’s Homeland over the so-called “Essequibo Guiana,” an area that constitutes approximately half of the territory currently under the control of the Georgetown government. This Sunday was just a trial run of the consultation, with the valid version set for December 3rd.

Despite this being a mere rehearsal, the Chavista squawkers provided full coverage of this fictional exercise. Fortunately, at a certain moment, they interrupted the broadcast to switch over to Buenos Aires to air. the words of Sergio Massa. For a minute or two, the suspense lingered regarding which of the two candidates had triumphed.

Finally, some subtitles confirmed Milei’s victory and Massa’s acknowledgment of his defeat. Ultimately, it was revealed that the libertarian candidate’s lead over the Kirchnerist Massa was almost twelve points! (55.95% to 44.04% – nearly three million votes difference!).

This, of course, indicates that the polls published before the runoff did not accurately reflect reality. Those surveys spoke of a “technical tie” between the two opponents, although always acknowledging a slight advantage to Javier Milei. But that superiority (and against the government-backed candidate, no less!) is anything but “slight.”

I believe this discrepancy between forecasts and reality reflects that, despite remaining essentially a democratic country, the intimidating manipulation exerted by the socialists in power in Argentina was already taking its pernicious effect. This manipulation served so that a considerable proportion of the surveyed citizens did not truthfully express how they intended to vote.

Of course, the news of Javier Milei’s resounding victory filled me with immense joy. In this, the libertarian economist’s clarity of concepts plays a fundamental role. He is perfectly aware of the unviable, unsustainable nature of the socialist system. Throughout the campaign, he made sure to illustrate this irrefutable reality to his fellow citizens.

Moreover, as a Cuban, I cannot help but feel identified and grateful to a politician from a sister country who, like him, has unequivocally expressed his full support for anti-Castro sentiments. Using a distinctly Argentine language, Milei congratulated “the Cubans who are rebelling against that regime born from the sons of bitches who are ruining their lives”; and he continued: “Don’t give up in the fight for freedom!” Although these are typically Argentine linguistic expressions, they are perfectly understood!

It is advisable to bear in mind a reality: it is not reasonable to expect that, starting from the upcoming December 10th (the date of the change in government), we will hear from the Buenos Aires Casa Rosada such unequivocal statements as those I have reproduced in the preceding paragraph. It is normal for the rules of diplomacy to prevail, and that explosive language may not be repeated.

However, Cubans with democratic ideas will know that in the presidential seat of the sister Republic of Argentina, there will be a man with ideas clearly contrary to socialist fantasies, and in his inner thoughts, he fully stands in solidarity with us. And I believe that is more than enough.

Meanwhile, leftists of different stripes express their anger. TeleSur, which, as I said before, broadcast excerpts of the defeated Massa’s words, did not do the same for the victorious Milei. In the Cuban National Television’s News, they briefly reported the news, which was bad for them. Even El País from Spain, with a more moderate and democratic stance, dared to headline: “Argentina takes a leap into the unknown.”

The leftist newspaper based in Madrid lies: those who usually leap into the unknown are the socialists when they try to apply the deceitful recipes extracted from the fevered brains of their outdated theorists. What Milei will try to do is lead his great country, which once had the highest standard of living in the world, back onto the path of prosperity and progress, which it abandoned upon listening to the sirens’ calls of Peronist populists. That path is well known.

Meanwhile, TeleSur returned to its coverage of the Venezuelan plebiscite farce; the Cuban Television News surrendered to a long report on the inconsequential “Nation and Emigration Dialogue.” But we all know that the big news of the day was Javier Milei’s overwhelming triumph in the Argentine Republic.

We already know that a few days ago, President Díaz-Canel warmly congratulated Spain’s Pedro Sánchez after his success in political maneuvers that allowed him to be reelected as prime minister despite having lost the elections. I wonder: Will he do the same with Javier Milei?