Argentinian President Javier Milei has emerged as a powerful ally of the Venezuelan anti-government protests as international pressure mounts to award the recent presidential election to the opposition.
Leaders from around the world, including the U.S., have cast doubt on Nicolas Maduro's claim that he won the election, and protesters have clashed with police in the streets of the embattled South American nation.
"He's been very, very helpful, and he has been kind of like a rallying voice in South America to allow him, along with the left, the opposition of healing work and kind of pushing other democracies to recognize Edmundo as president," Daniel Acosta Rivas, an OSINT Analyst, told Fox News Digital.
Rivas said that Milei’s vocal support has "been coming into Venezuela and especially in the diaspora."
Milei was among the first world leaders to speak out after the Maduro-controlled National Electoral Council handed victory to the incumbent with an alleged margin of 51%, compared to 44% support for the opposition. Pre-election polling (which is illegal in the country) indicated that opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez received double the votes of Maduro.
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The U.S. eventually recognized Gonzalez as the winner after claiming to have reviewed tally sheets, but Milei had immediately blasted the election result as a "fraud carried out and perpetrated by the dictator Nicolás Maduro."
"He may believe he has won a battle," Milei said. "However, the most important thing is that the Venezuelan lions have awakened, and sooner or later socialism will come to an end."
Argentina's President Javier Milei addresses the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) annual meeting in National Harbor, Maryland, on Feb. 24, 2024. (REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz)
Milei stressed that Argentina "will not acknowledge a new fraud" and urged Venezuela’s armed forces to "defend democracy and popular will this time around." He pointed to "data" that showed a "crushing victory for the opposition."
Protesters took to the streets and met a violent crackdown from police as Maduro attempted to press his victory claim, drawing international condemnation. Milei continued to urge the protesters and support their fight against Maduro.
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Maduro lashed out at Milei earlier this week, taking several shots at the Argentinian. He referenced Milei’s "monster face" and called him "an ugly guy, too, and stupid."
He also labeled Milei a "Nazi, fascist guy" who demanded to know how anyone could take a "guy like that seriously," according to the Buenos Aires Herald. He also called Milei a "cowardly bug" and a "traitor to the homeland."
Demonstrators clash with police close to an armored police car during a protest against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas on July 29, 2024, a day after the Venezuelan presidential election. Protests erupted in parts of Caracas Monday against the re-election victory claimed by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro but disputed by the opposition and questioned internationally, AFP journalists observed. (Federico Parra/AFP via Getty Images)
"These people have said no to wild capitalism and fascism," Maduro insisted during a rally outside his party headquarters. "From Caracas, Venezuela has said no to the Nazi fascist Milei. We are a country of warriors."
But Maduro’s response only seemed to have galvanized the protesters and strengthened Milei’s popularity among the opposition. Rivas noted that Maduro keeps commenting on the likes of Milei and Elon Musk - both prominent critics following the election result - in an effort to shift the focus away from the election, but the efforts have only highlighted him and his politics in a region that is increasingly unhappy with politics as normal in the region.
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"He has pushed a right-wing movement or classical liberal movement throughout Latin America," Rivas said. "You see people being inspired by his message and his rise to the leadership … he was virtually unknown outside of libertarian circles before he ran for office, and he was dismissed by the other members of the opposition in Argentina during the Fernandez-Kirchner government. And look at him now."
Venezuelan activists living in exile spoke glowingly of Milei and his potential impact on the country as protesters continue seeking an end to the Maduro-Chavez system and a new way of life, possibly one that aligns more with the politics of Milei. Since taking office earlier this year, Milei, an economist, has tamed Argentina's runaway inflation, balanced the budget and pared the size of government.
Opponents of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government protest in Caracas on July 29, 2024, a day after the Venezuelan presidential election. Protests erupted in parts of Caracas Monday against the re-election victory claimed by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro but disputed by the opposition and questioned internationally, AFP journalists observed. (Raul Arboleda/AFP via Getty Images)
"Young people tend to embrace socialist ideas; however, those who have lived under these political systems become their biggest adversaries," Esteban Hernández, a Venezuelan journalist in exile in Miami, told Fox News Digital.
"The Venezuelan youth, unlike in other countries, doesn't support these ideas," he said. "As a matter of fact, we have seen that in nations like the U.S. or even Argentina, they make efforts to get elected those who oppose socialism."
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"During the last election cycle in Argentina, for example, we saw many Venezuelans warning locals about voting for Sergio Massa, and many even volunteered to get Javier Milei elected," Hernández added.
Franklin Camargo, a Venezuelan activist in exile, told Fox News Digital that "Javier Milei is the best right-wing leader of our generation, since he refutes the socialists and the left with philosophical and moral arguments while continually offering the best defense of Individualism, Capitalism and Freedom."
Peter Aitken is a Fox News Digital reporter with a focus on national and global news.