Javier Milei, a maverick libertarian economist, has promised deep cuts in spending after being sworn in as president of Argentina, saying that only radical change can pull the South American nation out of its worst crisis in decades.
“Today we are ending a long and sad history of decadence and decline and we are beginning the journey to rebuilding our country,” Milei, 53, told cheering crowds outside congress after taking the presidential oath.
Watched by foreign dignitaries including Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy, King Felipe VI of Spain and politicians from the right such as Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro, Milei ended his 35-minute speech by repeating his trademark campaign slogan of “Long live freedom, dammit!” to cheers from the crowd.