Javier Milei: Why did the president of Argentina cancel his presentation at the Buenos Aires Book Fair and now he will do it at Luna Park? | What does Milei’s book say? | Alejandro Vaccaro | WORLD

A day after having canceled his presence at the Buenos Aires International Book Fair due to an alleged plan to sabotage it, this Thursday it was confirmed that the president of Argentina, Javier Milei, will finally present his latest publication, “Capitalism, socialism and the neoclassical trap. From theory to political action”, on May 22 at the Luna Park stadium. In this note we explain how this outcome was reached.

Milei He planned to present his book, which is a compilation of the articles he would have written during his tours as head of state, the May 12 in the Buenos Aires International Book Fair, that takes place on the grounds of the Rural Societybut on Wednesday the president surprisingly announced that he was canceling his participation.

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“My sister (Karina MileiSecretary General of the Presidency) is carrying out this negotiation and there is a level of hostility towards me and our people. It makes us suspect that There is an intention to sabotage the presentation, Kirchnerist style“, said Milei to El Observador radio.

“We are not going to present it at the Book Fair,” advertisement.

“We have to take certain precautions, we cannot expose ourselves to being blocked. They are all taking actions typical of when someone wants sabotage an activity”, he continued Milei.

“There’s no money”

Since before the opening of the book fair, on April 23, There was already friction between the Government and the organizers.

Milei I didn’t want to use one of the usual halls at the fair but the outdoor exhibition court of the Rural Societysomething that has not been done before and that was considered a disgrace to the organizers.

On the opening day of the fair, the president of the The Book Foundation -in charge of the event- Alejandro Vaccaroironically commented on the president’s participation to criticize the lack of resources that the State allocates to culture.

”Your participation implies a series of expenses that the Foundation cannot afford. Mr. President, I say it with my hand on my heart: there is no money“, said Vaccarowearing the phrase most mentioned by Milei to justify his economic adjustment policies and the laws he promotes in his country’s Congress to shore up spending cuts.

Vaccaro He added that “everything related to your safety will be at your sole expense or, what will be worse, “It will be an extra expense for the National Treasury”.

He also warned that The survival of the fair is at risk “due to economic measures that drag (the book sector) to a world very far from the paradise that (Jorge Luis) Borges imagined.”

On Wednesday, in the interview with El Observador radio, Milei described the speech as “violent” Vaccarowhom he pointed out to be from “Kirchnerist” and accused him of “encouraging behavior inappropriate to culture.”

What is behind this question? Local analysts consider that broad sectors of culture are up in arms against Milei over austerity policies which was implemented with the objective of reducing the fiscal deficit.

Among other adjustment measures in the cultural sector, the Government announced the closure of the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Theater Institutereduced items destined for the National Institute of Cinema and Audiovisual Arts (INCAA) and the National Institute of Music.

“They wanted 5,000 free tickets”

The Argentine newspaper La Nación reported this Thursday that Alejandro Vaccaro assured that the main problem with the Casa Rosada was that they demanded 5,000 free tickets from the El Libro Foundation if Milei headed their event. According to Vaccaro’s calculation, this represents 25 million pesos (about $28,000).

Vaccaro also said that on Tuesday between 20 and 25 people from the General Secretariat of the Presidency and the Military House arrived at the fairgrounds, and that there they agreed on the details and security for the presentation of Milei. He even said that the Government’s idea was that it be done in the central area, that the organization was not contracted, but that La Rural “gave it without problems” to Milei.

“The only thing I see, that appears there spinning around, is that They asked us for 5,000 free tickets for the event. In principle, as president of the Foundation, I do not have the power to give 5,000 tickets. Those 5,000 tickets on a Sunday are $25,000,000. We said we couldn’t, the only thing we said no to was that, we couldn’t give 5,000 tickets, there was no reason to give them.”, Vaccaro stated in statements to Radio Urbana Play.

He assured that the established protocol is that they can grant a maximum of 200 passes free of charge. “There is no reason for us to give away 5,000 tickets for free in a complex socioeconomic context, where the equation of our organization is at its limit,” he insisted.

“I did not participate in the last two meetings, but the officials told me that they were pleasant and kind,” Vaccaro added regarding the meetings that the president’s sister had coordinated, Karina Milei.

Finally, this Thursday the presidential spokesperson, Manuel Adornireported on his WhatsApp channel that the presentation of the book Milei It will be on May 22 in the Luna Park from Buenos Aires.

This legendary venue, inaugurated in 1932, has been the scene of the greatest boxing evenings and has become a classic venue for musical shows and political events. It has a maximum capacity for 8,400 people.

What does Milei’s book say?

“Capitalism, socialism and the neoclassical trap. “From theory to political action”, Milei’s new book revolves around a central idea: The supposed “market failures” are nothing more than the resistance of some economists, the neoclassicals., to abandon analysis schemes that fail to account for reality. That is, a purely academic approach typical of the president’s public discourse, according to an analysis published by La Nación.

In his text, Milei affirms that these “flaws” do not existand that any attempt to amend them and rectify the course of the economy ends up harming the system as a whole and leads to socialism, notes La Nación.

Throughout the 300 pages of her book, Milei makes a strong defense of the market and even monopolies, and rejects all state intervention in the economy.

“Suppose I have 10 companies that sell cell phones and one of them produces a better cell phone, of better quality, at a better price. What will happen to the remaining nine? They are going to go bankrupt. “Am I going to get angry at the one who took over the entire market or am I going to be grateful for having a better quality product at a better price,” she says. “That monopolist is a social benefactor because he generates a better quality product, at a better price,” he adds.

Milei He also harshly criticizes the management of Let’s change, his current political ally. “They believed that because they were supposedly more intelligent, more educated, spoke better English and wore better suits, all of this implied that the same interventionist policies would work for them. However, the Macrista government (in reference to Mauricio Macri) failed miserably. for the same reason that all interventionist governments fail, which is not taking into account that the problem with interventionist policies is not the people but the interventionist ideas.”