“I have no idea what he proposes, that’s why I vote for him, that’s where we stick it”. Rubén Macagno resorted to that script every time his neighbors asked him why he was active in Javier Milei. The butcher was the main promoter of the libertarian candidate and even Attorney General of La Libertad Avanza in Los Chañaritosa small town in Cordoba where The far-right won with almost 100% of the votes in the 2023 elections. The consequences of the adjustment and the chainsaw and the request to the President so that “the private sector earns less.”
Córdoba is a strategic district for Milei. It is the province in which won with more than 75 percent of the votes in the runoff and the one he has visited on multiple occasions during the campaign. Also the one he chose as the setting for his failed May Pact— turned into a lackluster act — and where two of the only three towns with libertarian mayors in the entire country are located.
“I have no idea what he proposes, that’s why I vote for him, that’s why we stick to it,” Rubén Macagno, prosecutor of La Libertad Avanza in Los Chañaritos.
But there is also The Chañaritos, a town of just over 430 inhabitants located about 100 kilometers from Córdoba capital. There Milei garnered 90.1 percent of the votes. Of the 271 people who voted in the runoff, 238 chose Javier Milei’s ticket: only 26 inhabitants chose Sergio Massa, There were two blank votes and five annulled votes. Participation was very low: barely 58% of the register.
The milk drums, the feedlot —free-range fattening—and the harvest of soybeans, corn and wheat, among others, They are the main economic activities of a town that owes its name to the chañar trees that abound in the area. A small furniture factory and the plant of a giant food company located 30 kilometers away are other sources of employment in the commune.
Milei at the polls, the UCR to power
Although Milei won the presidential elections, Los Chañaritos is governed by a radical communal chief (mayor), Franco Mezzopeva. The UCR, against which Milei repeatedly rants, has been in charge of the district since 2011. Mezzopeva was the only candidate who ran in the last elections to succeed Elena Massimino. Owner of fields where he grows soybeans, corn and wheat and where he raises cattle, the communal leader describes the libertarian phenomenon that came to his town in a few words: “People got tired of the same old things and wanted a change”.
The commune is financed with a real estate tax and what is charged for water service. But, in the words of the mayor, They depend almost exclusively on provincial co-participation that Milei himself threatens to eliminate at the national level: “Without that we cannot”, summarizes Mezzopeva. The town has drinking water and electricity provided by a private cooperative: The inhabitants pay almost 5 times more per kW consumed compared to the users of EPEC, the provincial state company of Córdoba.
“We depend on provincial co-participation,” Franco Mezzopeva, communal chief of Los Chañaritos.
Public works are key in the development of the town that voted for Milei almost entirely. A few months ago the Province completed the works for the installation of natural gas and only the connection to the houses is missing. Its streets are almost completely paved: at the end of 2022, thanks to the investment of the national government, 400m2 of curbs were made – which allows defining sidewalks and roads -, 144m2 of speed bumps – to reduce the speed of vehicles – and 1,100 m2 of paving stones.
The most libertarian town in Argentina
The dense fog that covers the town dissipates and the sun rises. It is a warm autumn morning. There is no activity in the streets. You can only hear the dogs and a tractor heading towards the fields. Such is the peace and tranquility that a couple of strangers asking questions and taking photos in the streets are questioned by the police after several calls from neighbors, concerned about the presence of strangers.
Already from the PASO the results—Milei got 50%—surprised the town’s inhabitants themselves. Although they themselves admit that they had certain concerns regarding Milei. ““We were afraid of carrying weapons, organ donation and things like that.”says Lucila, owner of a warehouse. These two questions are heard in the mouths of almost all those consulted, although the libertarian butcher and prosecutor had his own version. “Rubén insisted that they were exaggerating to harm Milei and that he actually had good proposals. I voted for her the Bullrich and “In the runoff I had no choice but to vote for Milei.”adds the merchant while serving a customer.
However, he complains about the successive increases that punish the wallets of all Argentines again and again. Increases that the most libertarian people do not escape. “You can feel the increase in gasoline. The electricity went up 97%, that killed us merchants here.”, the Mint. In any case, he agrees with the reduction of subsidies and points against the government of Córdoba, which he blames for the increases. The truth is that in February, due to the removal of subsidies by the Nation, there were increases of up to 200% in electricity bills in Córdoba. In May, another 100% increase was added for industries, businesses and high-income residential areas.
“We voted for Milei because we wanted a change. More to get rid of the previous ones than anything else,” acknowledges a young woman, who asks not to be named, while she works. “Ruben (Macagno) knows us all and has a lot of knowledge, “He convinced us to vote for Milei”, he says between laughs. Anyway, she gets serious when lamenting the increases in public services and food, although, almost whispering, she assures that “it was necessary.”
“Maybe it takes a crazy person to get ahead”
Ruben Macagno He is 50 years old. He owns The Family, the only butcher shop in town. He divides his time between working at the store and a soccer school for boys where he is a coach. He was the attorney general of La Libertad Avanza in Los Chañaritos for the last elections and the main promoter—with great success—of the presidential candidacy of Javier Milei in the town.
“A year ago I started listening to this crazy guy who was talking on the TV. I liked watching the shows he went to, where they made fun of him. I saw on Facebook that they needed prosecutors for the Department, I signed up and they called me. They asked me ‘what do you know about politics’, and I told them ‘nothing, I am anti-political parties,’” he says. Macagno feeling disappointed with all the governments he saw. “Since ’83, always the same, let’s vote for something new”he asked his neighbors in view of the 2023 presidential elections.
Ruben He attends to the provincial and national press that calls him and visits him to inquire about the Los Chañaritos phenomenon, but also to journalists from abroad who attend, somewhat astonished, the boom libertarian in the town. He enjoys it: “They are calling me from everywhere,” she says, smiling.
“The people here were afraid, they said that Milei was crazy, that he was going to go out and kill people. And I told them that maybe it takes a crazy person to get ahead.”, he maintains. In his words, the proposals with which Milei campaigned in the town were those linked to security, although he recognizes that no criminal acts occur in the town. “What blew everything up was the girl who was killed on a motorcycle (in reference to the case of Morena, the girl murdered in Lanús, Province of Buenos Aires). My family in Córdoba (capital) lives in a cage and it is not fair. We didn’t know what Milei was going to do with the economy, he is a new guy, who is not a politician. I had faith in insecurity,” she explains.
“People here were afraid, they said that Milei was crazy, that he was going to go out and kill people. And I told them that maybe it takes a crazy person to get ahead,” Rubén Macagno, prosecutor of La Libertad Avanza in Los Chañaritos.
Despite his admiration for Milei, he issues a warning on behalf of the people: “Here we are patient with you until the end of the year. They have to stop increasing services, that’s it”. But Rubén also points to the Governor for the increases in electricity: “she is Llaryora, but she blames Milei.”
-The increase in services is due to the removal of subsidies from the Nation.
-I don’t know if Llaryora is right, but he doesn’t convince anyone.
He cut energy subsidies He wasn’t the only one. The national government stopped paying the National Teacher Incentive Fund (FONID), an economic contribution that the National Executive gave to the provinces to improve teacher salaries—of which the Province took charge. He too Public Transport Compensation Fundwhich resulted in strong increases in buses and trains. In addition, there was a large cut in the co-participation. Between January and April there was a drop of 19.2% in real terms of Nation transfers, according to data from the provincial government.
“We are patient with Milei until the end of the year. They have to stop increasing services, that’s it,” Rubén Macagno, prosecutor of La Libertad Avanza in Los Chañaritos.
May was the first month with an increase in transfers from the Nation to Córdoba: 23% year-on-year in real terms. According to the Argentine Institute of Fiscal Analysis (IARAF), this is explained only by the increase in Income Tax collection (80.4% year-on-year). In the same period, VAT collection fell 19.3%, which demonstrates the brutal drop in economic activity.
Rubén assures that ““There is a lack of generosity on the part of the private sector.” and they have to win “A little less”. He affirms that the President should talk to large companies to see their costs and ensure that they do not make so much profit. “You don’t always have to win 100%”, he maintains. He also acknowledges that sales plummeted more than 30% compared to December: “It decreased very much “meat consumption.”
-What measures that the Government took do you think improve the lives of the people of Los Chañaritos?
-The security issue.
-If you had the President in front of you, what would you say to him?
-I give him a hug.
