#453 – Javier Milei: President of Argentina – Freedom, Economics, and Corruption

**Lex Fridman** (0:00)
The following is a conversation with Javier Milei, the president of Argentina. He is a libertarian, a narco-capitalist and economist who campaigned with the chainsaw that symbolized his promise to slash the corrupt bureaucracy of the state. He stepped into the presidency one year ago, with the country on the brink of hyperinflation, deepened debt and suffering from mass unemployment and poverty. He took this crisis head on, transforming one of Latin America's largest economies through pure free market principles. In just a few months in office, he already achieved Argentina's first fiscal surplus in 16 years, and not just avoided hyperinflation, but brought inflation down to its lowest in three years. We discuss all of this in detail, both the successes and the challenges. His depth of knowledge of economic principles, metrics and data was truly impressive and refreshing to hear from a world leader. But even bigger than the economic transformation of Argentina, Javier represents the universal fight against government corruption and the fight for freedom. Economic freedom, political freedom, and freedom of speech. He has many critics, many of whom are part of the corrupt establishment he's seeking to dismantle. But many are simply Argentinian citizens, scared of the pain his radical policies may bring, at least in the short term. But whether one disagrees with his methods or not, no one can deny that his presidency marks one of the most ambitious attempts at economic transformation in modern history. And that Javier Milei is truly a force of nature, combining the rigor of an economist with the passion of a revolutionary, in the fight for freedom. Of a nation he loves. Argentina is one of my favorite countries, so I sincerely hope he succeeds. This interview was conducted with the president speaking Spanish and me speaking English, with an interpreter simultaneously translating. We make the episode available, overdubbed and subtitled in both English and Spanish, thanks to our great friends at 11 Labs. If you're watching on YouTube, you can switch between English and Spanish by clicking the gear icon, selecting audio track and then choosing the language. Same with the captions. If you're watching on X, I'll post both Spanish and English versions separately. If you're watching on Spotify or listening elsewhere, I'll probably only post the English version. This is a first time for me doing something like this, in a foreign language. It was challenging, but illuminating. I hope to continue talking to many world leaders for two to three hours in this way, including Vladimir Zelensky, Vladimir Putin, Narendra Modi, and Xi Jinping. I want to explore who they are, how they think, and how they hope to help their country and humanity flourish. And now a quick few second mention of each sponsor. Check them out in the description. It's the best way to support this podcast. We got Eight Sleep for naps, NetSuite for business, BetterHelp for your mind, AG1 for your health, and Element for electrolytes. Choose wisely, my friends. Also, if you want to get in touch with me for whatever reason, go to lexfridman.com/contact. And now on to the full ad reads. I try to make these interesting, but if you skip them, please still check out our sponsors. I enjoy their stuff. Maybe you will too. This episode is brought to you by Eight Sleep, and it's Pod for Ultra. The Pod part is the thing that measures all the data from your body and cools the bed on each side of the bed separately. And then there's the Ultra, which is the base that goes between the mattress and the bed frame. It can control the positioning of the bed. It's really incredible technology. They sent me some notes that are, in theory, supposed to be helpful. And it says, celebrities who use the Pod, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Lex Friedman. I'm a celebrity. Dr. Andrew Huberman, Dr. Peter Atiyah. I didn't get a doctor.
I do think doctor in front of the name is a useful thing for people that obviously got a PhD or medical doctors. I think it's a useful shorthand to sort of let people know that there's some kind of expertise here. But there was a funny moment where I got a chance to get dinner with Andrew, with Andrew Huberman and Peter Atiyah. And the person that sat us down for dinner said, Dr. Huberman, Dr. Atiyah, Mr. Friedman.
And I kind of teased them about it. But obviously I enjoy being called Mr. Huberman, please never call me Dr. And also just call me Lex. It really doesn't matter. And definitely I don't think of myself, nor do I think I am a celebrity. Anywho, they have a special Black Friday offer. If you go to eightsleep.com/lex and use code Lex, you'll get up to $600 off your Pod4Ultra purchase when bundled. That's eightsleep.com/lex.