Javier Milei sings as the Argentinian economy unravels

Argentina's “rock star president” Javier Milei has been struggling to get much satisfaction of late, as his pledge to lead the country into a new era of prosperity founders amid a wave of economic strife, scandal and public discontent.

- Facundo Iglesia Buenos Aires Tom Phillips

On Monday night the scruffy-haired South American populist - a former frontman in a Rolling Stones tribute band - took to the stage in Buenos Aires hoping to sing his way out of the funk. “Olé, olé, olé, olé! Milei! Milei!” die-hard supporters chanted as the 54-year-old libertarian kicked off a concert at the Movistar Arena, a 15,000-seat venue which has hosted rockers such as Liam Gallagher, Judas Priest and Megadeth.

Milei basked in the adulation, throwing his leather-clad arms into the air, and took a sip of water before proceeding with his nine-track set of mostly 1980s rock anthems. “I’m human,” he told the packed stadium. “It might not seem like it, but I am.”

Milei won power almost two years ago, vowing to save his country’s notoriously haywire economy by “exterminating” inflation and taking a metaphorical chainsaw to state spending. For a while his ferocious austerity campaign appeared to be working - for some - with his success in taming triple-digit inflation drawing international plaudits.