Milei's Argentina Can't Quit China Despite Trump Alignment — SkimNews
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- Javier Milei's government adopted automatic, uncritical alignment with Trump's administration and rejected BRICS membership just before scheduled accession in late 2023, citing ideological incompatibility with members like China and Brazil
- Argentina's currency swap line with China's central bank accounts for roughly 50% of the country's total reserves, anchoring its finances to Beijing despite the government's anti-communist posture
- Argentina voted against lifting the US embargo on Cuba at the United Nations for the first time in history, breaking decades of diplomatic tradition
- Milei openly campaigned against Brazilian President Lula da Silva on Brazilian soil, producing a historic weakening of bilateral relations with Brazil
- Despite these political ruptures, trade and economic ties with China and Brazil remain as close as in recent decades, exposing the gap between Milei's rhetoric and Argentina's commercial reality
- The article flags the US midterms and Lula's continuity as key variables that could force a recalibration of Milei's foreign policy ahead of his 2027 reelection bid
Why it matters: Argentina's ideological pivot to Washington clashes with a structural dependence on China and Brazil that the article says cannot be unwound: roughly 50% of central bank reserves sit in a Chinese swap line, and principal trading partners are Beijing and Brasilia. The contradiction is papered over only as long as Trump stays in office and Milei survives politically — a vulnerability exposed by the upcoming US midterms and Milei's 2027 reelection.
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