“Javier Milei, economist.” That’s how the president of Argentina describes himself in his X (formally Twitter) profile. To Milei, his greatest pride is the profession he has earned a living from, and aspires to continue when he leaves his role as head of state.

A lover of economics, he used to devour all the books and papers he could get his hands on, although nowadays, his functions running the country prevent him from spending as much time reading as he’d like.

He states that his goal is to achieve the “best government in Argentine history” by applying his liberal ideas (which aren’t shared by the majority of Argentine economists).

Although the dismal science is his great passion, he lets his economy minister, Luis Caputo, and his team get on with their jobs. He exchanges opinions, analyzes strategies, and shares perspectives, but when it comes to the execution, Caputo is captain of the ship.

Despite his constant warnings that he wants to close the Central Bank, he greatly values the work done by that institution’s head, Santiago Bausili.

Dollarization and closing the central bank were his major political campaign slogans, and several specialists venture to suggest that to a great extent, they contributed to bringing him to the Casa Rosada.

However, one characteristic that has surprised many is that Milei is not dogmatic. 

The head of government believes the state is a machine for making life difficult, for subjugating the majority to the whims of bureaucrats, for corruption — in other words, for everything that’s bad.

If he had it his way, “the state wouldn’t exist,” hence his presentation as an “anarcho-capitalist.” Arguably, he envisions a country where the only engines are private. But ultimately, as a rational man, he knows this isn’t possible. So, together with Deregulation Minister Federico Sturzenegger, he focuses his efforts on liberating the private sector from all the ties imposed upon them by the various levels of government.

Temperamental, loyal, shy

He’s a president who, as a manager, analyzes, listens, and gives the responsibility to his collaborators. “It’s almost as if he ignores things,” say those close to him.

He backs his team “to the hilt” and “trusts them completely,” but if he discovers that they have lied to him, there’s no coming back from his rejection. Nobody knows that better than Nicolas Posse, his first chief of staff, fired by Milei for hiding information from him and getting in the way of his governance, among other criticisms, according to those in the Casa Rosada.

He won’t negotiate on the two mandates he has promised the Argentine people: reducing inflation and solving security problems. He has confessed to those close to him that he feels he’s close to delivering on both.

Becoming a great country, the way Ireland did, is an aspiration the president sees as taking several decades. But the speed of his economic achievements is leading him to imagine that it could, in fact, be achieved sooner.

Temperamental, loyal to those who have helped him, despite his pride and self-praise in public, in private he is shy, and tends to thank and even become emotional over gestures of recognition.

He doesn’t like massive meetings, or being the center of attention — at least, not for long. He doesn’t like formal meals or protocol. He prefers the solitude of his office, one-on-one conversation, and listening to opera at the Quinta de Olivos presidential residence. He’s austere in his spending, in his way of life.

Lying angers him to breaking point, and he has been known to use unkind words against those he considers hypocrites. He has little tolerance for criticism.

He never fails to be amazed by the interest he has sparked in global figures. This, he attributes to the libertarian preaching he has taken it upon himself to spread around the world.

He tends to repeat that “when [he] leaves the presidency,” he will keep earning a living giving economics conferences, giving the impression that politics, in his life, was an accident.