The chainsaw of liberty awaits you.
Argentinian President Javier Milei said he will “warmly” welcome New Yorkers fleeing the “communist” regime of Big Apple Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani.
The libertarian prez — who famously wielded a chainsaw to illustrate how he would slash government control and spending — warned that the Big Apple could suffer under the far-left philosophy that plunged his country into decades of economic ruin.
“I dedicate these words to New Yorkers, who have taken the opposite path that of Argentina, and will now be living under a communist party,” Milei declared at a Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) circle retreat and gala at Mar-a-Lago late last week, per a translation.
“They should know that if the going gets tough, they will always be warmly welcome in our land if they seek to prosper.”
Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani has fashioned himself as a Democratic Socialist, rather than a hammer-and-sickle-waving communist. But a resurfaced clip from him at a 2021 Young Democratic Socialists of America conference showed him touting “the end goal of seizing the means of production.”
In that 2021 speech, he acknowledged that the goal was unpopular at that moment, but contended that it should be pursued anyway, calling upon leaders to be “unapologetic about our socialism.”
Mamdani, who won the Big Apple’s mayoral race last Tuesday, has vowed to freeze rent costs, massively raise taxes on the wealthy and businesses, make citywide busing free, set up government-run grocery stores, provide free child-care services and more.
Technically, he would need the approval from the state legislature and Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) to raise taxes and fund most of those initiatives.
Milei, who did the “YMCA” dance during his address at the CPAC gala, is fresh off the heels of his La Libertad Avanza (Freedom Advances) party, massively overperforming expectations in the midterm elections last month.
Markets had been rattled by polling showing his party down in the polls amid a series of scandals that plagued the bombastic libertarian, leading to a selloff of Argentinian assets, including the Peso.
President Trump’s team then threw him a lifeline, offering a $20 billion currency swap earlier this month — with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent indicating the amount could expand to $40 billion by leaning on private sector assistance.
Ultimately, the peso began to rebound after La Libertad Avanza’s stunning suite of victories, which will give Milei more breathing room at his works to implement the next phase of his agenda.
Milie had taken office in December 2023 in the midst of an economic crisis, with triple-digit inflation, rising poverty and massive government debt.
The chainsaw-weilding libertarian then pursued painful “shock therapy” austerity measures, in which he substantially reduced government spending, enacted politically unpopular pension reforms, and even eliminated entire ministries.
Since then, inflation has cooled dramatically, poverty dipped below the high levels he inherited, Argentina achieved a budget surplus and the economy has grown after weathering a recession due to the initial shock therapy that helped tame inflation.
Milie is still grappling with a considerable government debt and a very fragile currency situation. He is hoping to begin implementing structural reforms, such as regulatory cuts, now that his party has secured significant wins in the midterms.
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