His critics say he looks like a cross between Elvis Presley and Wolverine, but his politics recall Donald Trump and Jair BolsonaroThe right wing Brazilian president from 2019 to 2022. . He claims that his deceased dog urged him to run for president.¹ He was nicknamed "El Loco" (the madman), called Pope Francis a "filthy leftist" and carried a chainsaw around with him on the campaign trail.

Javier Milei has been elected the president of ArgentinaThe second-largest country in South America. It has a population of nearly 46 million. . His extreme plans include holding a referendumA direct vote by the population of a country on a particular law or issue. on abortion rights and closing government departments dealing with environmental issues and women's rights. He wants to abolish Argentina's central bank, legalise the sale of human organs and dramatically cut social spending.

And his victory was not won by a narrow margin. Milei drew a startling 56% of the vote, beating out his competitor Sergio Massa by 12 percentage points.

What could drive so many in Argentina to take to such an unprecedentedNever been seen before. manifestoBefore carrying out the shooting Gendron posted an online manifesto explaining his motives and ideology.? Many think that economic insecurity has caused extreme views. Annual inflationAn increase in the price of goods in an economy.  has gone past 140%² whilst more than two in five Argentines live below the poverty line.

Latin America has recorded the biggest democratic recession anywhere in the world over the past two decades.³ This has coincided with increasing political divisions in the region.

Amid news that half of the world's democratic governments are in decline,⁴ this may spark fear. Even more so if we believe polls which indicate that a third of 18-35 year olds favour a military regime or authoritarianEnforcing strict obedience to authority. leader.

Others urge us not to get carried away. Democracy is still popular throughout the world, with 86% of respondents in a recent global poll saying they would prefer to live in a democratic state.⁵

Yes: The rise of these far-right populist leaders shows that our faith in democracy is declining. They exhibit anti-democratic ideals and we laud them for it.

No: Countries often move towards becoming democracies, whilst established democracies remain committed towards staying democratic. This means that the movement is still broadly towards democracy worldwide.

Or... Latin America is still predominantly ruled by left-wing or centrist governments. Argentina is an outlier and cannot be used to make such sweeping hypotheses.