Javier Milei, the President of Argentina, delivered a special address at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos on January 21, 2026:
President Milei began by proclaiming that “Machiavelli is dead,” and in general championed free-enterprise capitalism as not only the most productive economic system but also the only morally just one. He structured his speech around themes of justice, efficiency, and ethics, arguing that capitalism aligns with natural law, Judeo-Christian values, Greek philosophy, and Roman law. Milei drew on economists like Adam Smith, Murray Rothbard, Thomas Sowell, Israel Kirzner, Hans-Herman Hoppe and Jesús Huerta de Soto to support his points, emphasizing that free markets foster entrepreneurial creativity, dynamic efficiency through innovation and coordination, and increasing returns without government intervention. He rejected the idea of market failures justifying regulation, claiming interventions violate property rights and the non-aggression principle, leading to lower growth and injustice.
He also referenced the Bible, according to The Jerusalem Post, in an article titled “Milei says Bible shows ‘where woke-ism leads’ in Davos, urges return to Judeo-Christian roots”:
In the closing section of his speech, Milei referenced Moses’s confrontation with Pharaoh and the final three plagues described in Parshat Bo: locusts, darkness, and the death of the firstborn.
The Argentinian President cast Pharaoh as “the symbol of the oppressive power of the state,” and argued that the sequence of plagues illustrated how societies slide from economic ruin to moral confusion and, ultimately, collapse when they deny freedom.
In comparison, U.S. President Donald Trump boasted about America’s “fastest and most dramatic economic turnaround in history” under his second term, citing 5.4% Q4 growth, core inflation at 1.6%, 52 stock market highs adding $9 trillion in value, over $18 trillion in secured investments, and lifting 1.2 million off food stamps. He attributed this to policies like massive tax cuts (no taxes on tips, overtime, or Social Security for seniors; 100% expensing), slashing regulations at a 129:1 ratio, firing 270,000 federal bureaucrats, cutting the deficit by 27%, and imposing tariffs that reduced the trade deficit by 77% without inflation. Trump criticized Biden-era “stagflation” and Europe’s “Green New Scam” as a hoax, praising U.S. record energy production (oil, gas, nuclear) that dropped gasoline below $2.50 per gallon and positioned America to lead in AI.
Both leaders’ appearances underscored pro-capitalist stances, with Milei hailing Trump’s U.S. as a “beacon of light,” echoing Trump’s MAGA with “Make Argentina Great Again” rhetoric, aligning on deregulation, free markets, and socialism critiques. But Milei’s speech was, on the whole, an example of politic ideological libertarianism, while Trump’s was far more about deal-making and nationalism.