World must ‘wage war on woke’, Argentina’s President Milei says at Davos

Right-wing libertarian leader praises 'the amazing Elon Musk' and says 'mental virus of woke ideology' must be eradicated

Argentina's President Javier Milei speaks during a panel session at World Economic Forum in Davos. EPA

The world must defeat "the cancer of wokeism" in order for it to return to progress, Argentina's President Javier Milei told Davos on Thursday.

The right-wing libertarian president, who has turned his country’s dire financial outlook around since taking power, said he believes hope for the future is starting to emerge via an alliance of like-minded global leaders such as US President Donald Trump. The common denominator among “countries and institutions that are failing is the mental virus of woke ideology”, he told the World Economic Forum (WEF).

“This is the great epidemic of our time that must be cured. This is the cancer that must be removed,” he said. Wokeism has “colonised” the world’s most important institutions, he added. “From the political parties and governments of leading Western nations, to global governance organisations, even NGOs, universities and media outlets.”

Argentina’s President Javier Milei addresses media during the annual World Economic Forum meeting in Davos. AFP

“Until the world removes this abhorrent ideology from our culture, our institutions and our laws, Western civilisation and even the human species, will not be able to return to the path of progress demanded by our pioneering spirit. It is essential to break these ideological chains if we want to usher in a new golden age.”

Mr Milei said he had found “allies” in the fight in every corner of the world. “From the amazing Elon Musk, to that fierce Italian lady, my dear Giorgia Meloni,” he said. “From [Nayib] Bukele in El Salvador to Viktor Orban in Hungary. From Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel, to Donald Trump in the US. Slowly international alliances have been forming in all those nations, which like ours want to be free and believe in the ideas of liberty.

“And slowly, what once seemed like the absolute hegemony of the woke left in politics, educational institutions, in supernational organisations, or even in forums like Davos has begun to crumble.” But the battle is not yet won, he said. The “ideological edifice of sickly wokeism” must be dismantled.

And until the majority of Western countries once again embrace the ideas of liberty and those ideas become the common currency in events like Davos, “we can’t let our guard down,” he said. Mr Milei also defended the "innocent" hand salute made by US billionaire Mr Musk, after he caused a stir by making hand gestures at an inauguration event for Mr Trump that drew comparisons with the Nazi salute.

Mr Milei said his "dear friend" has been "unfairly vilified by wokeism in recent hours for an innocent gesture that only means ... his gratitude to the people".

Earlier this week, Mr Milei gave a speech at Davos in which he called for small government, the removal of bureaucratic elites, and the culling of gender equality policies, while also attacking collectivist economics and wealth redistribution, claiming socialism had “murdered 100 million people”. Mr Trump will address Davos later on Thursday via video link.