This weekend Viktor Orban has traveled to an uncustomary destination for Hungarian leaders: the prime minister is on an official visit to Argentina, where on Sunday he will be attending the inauguration of Javier Milei, the winner of the November national elections. "During his two-day program, the Hungarian premier will hold a number of bilateral talks in Argentina," Bertalan Havasi, the PM's Press Office chief, told MTI. Mr Orban has already had meetings with Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro and the head of the Spanish right-wing VOX party in the Argentine capital on Saturday.
The iconic figure of the international right
The former Brazilian president and the Hungarian PM discussed international cooperation between right-wing parties, while the latter also spoke about the political breakthroughs of the European right. In his meeting with Santiago Abascal, the premier discussed the common campaign tasks ahead in the run up to the upcoming European Parliament elections and the stakes of those elections, namely the defense of national sovereignty. The Hungarian and Spanish party leaders reaffirmed their commitment to deepening the ever-growing collaboration of European right-wing parties.
This pro-right-wing club is now to be joined by Javier Milei, who won an unexpected victory in the presidential elections on November 19.
Milei, the Argentine economist-turned-politician-turned-head-of-state could become the next iconic face of the international right. He has already earned the moniker the "Argentine Trump".
The president, who self-identifies as a libertarian-anarcho-capitalist, campaigned on a ticket of radical measures, including the abolition of the central bank, the dollarization of the economy, drastic cuts in government spending, the elimination of ministries and the privatization of state-owned enterprises. People loved his campaign events and clips went viral on the internet. He often appeared with a chainsaw running in his hands, symbolizing how he would cut triple-digit annual inflation, and his statements - often peppered with vulgarities - berated the leftists in no uncertain terms as the people responsible for plunging the country into crisis. President Milei, moreover, has taken a similar position to the Hungarian government on the war in Ukraine, recently offering Buenos Aires as a location for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and peace talks. As for what Milei can do about the Argentine economy in shambles remains to be seen in the coming months, but he could certainly be an important figure on the growing right worldwide.
Abounding opportunities for Hungary
"Javier Milei's victory reflects Hungary's awareness of global political changes, especially in Latin America. As Hungary and its European allies are increasingly focused on the region, Milei's victory offers an opportunity to build on common values and possible alliances," Jorge Gonzalez-Gallarza said earlier about the right-wing politician's victory. The visiting researcher at the Center for Fundamental Rights pointed out to Magyar Nemzet that in a world of political change, the Argentine election result and
Milei's victory is a sign of lessons and opportunities that Hungary should be alert to and strategically exploit in the pursuit of alliances and shared values.
In addition to the political significance of the current right-wing turn, Argentina is of course also important from a trade and - perhaps less well known - energy perspective. "Argentina is the largest hydrocarbon producer in Latin America after Venezuela and Mexico, with reserves that are just below those of Qatar and about twice that of Saudi Arabia's," says the Oeconomus Economic Research Foundation in its analysis. The South American state of about 44 million people is also a strong exporter of agricultural products, with the capacity to supply nearly ten times its population, and the potential for feeding up to 600 million.
As reported by Oeconomus, Hungary and Argentina signed a bilateral economic cooperation agreement in 2013, which entered into force on 13 September 13, 2015. In the autumn of 2022, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto visited Buenos Aires,
where he reported that in 2021, following an approximately 80 percent increase, bilateral trade turnover broke the record at more than two hundred million dollars.
"There is great untapped potential in Hungarian-Argentine trade relations, and the size of exports and trade balance is nearly identical, which indicates low volumes of Argentine imports," the analysis reads.
Cover photo: President-elect Javier Milei of the right-wing Freedom Advances party celebrates his victory with supporters after the second round of the Argentine presidential election, November 19, 2023 in Buenos Aires (Photo: MTI/AP/Natacha Pisarenko)
