Javier Milei, who won election to the Argentina presidency on Sunday, is not waiting until he becomes president to move forward enthusiastically in his support of the United States government and the wars of Ukraine and Israel that the US has been supporting with a massive flow of money, intelligence, and weapons.
Before taking office, Milei is set to travel to the United States and Israel. Israel is a nation upon which he has heaped praise and whose new war he supports steadfastly, just as do top US political leaders. The US and Israel are central among nations with which Milei wants Argentina to increase ties while limiting relations with a list of nations that corresponds with those the US has declared as adversaries and sanctioned.
Milei, an ardent supporter of Ukraine in its war against Russia, also proposed in a post-election phone call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky that Milei would host a summit between the Ukraine government and Latin American governments. While some people have claimed that Milei’s foreign policy positions matter little because of the relatively small military and financial position of Argentina, this summit proposal suggests that Milei intends to amplify his impact by seeking to bring new nations into, and enhance the contribution of other nations to, supporting the war effort. At the least, Milei is setting himself up as a new highly visible government leader advocating for the Ukraine government and its war effort.
All of this indicates that Milei, as some observers predicted, is planning to pursue big changes from previous foreign policy positions of the Argentina government that had steered clear of automatically and enthusiastically supporting US-favored war efforts of the day. Score a win for US hegemony.
