Argentina's Milei Faces Backlash Over Supreme Court Pick

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Facts

• Javier Milei, Argentina's libertarian outsider president who railed against the political elite during his campaign last year, has been accused of hypocrisy after nominating Ariel Lijo to the Argentine Supreme Court last month.¹
• This comes as the Buenos Aires federal judge has overseen several high-profile cases against leading politicians that were either tabled or ended in controversial sentences.²
• Additionally, Lijo has reportedly been the subject of impeachment requests and 32 formal misconduct complaints during his two-decade career as a federal judge, on top of claims of conspiracy, money laundering, and illicit enrichment.³
• Though he is said to have no appellate experience and few scholarly publications, Lijo is expected to be confirmed by the Senate in the coming weeks. Milei, however, claims that Lijo's experience dealing with accusations against top officials demonstrates his 'anti-corruption credentials,' adding that he 'knows how the justice system works.'⁴
• He would fill the seat of former Justice Elena Highton de Nolasco. Since her resignation in October 2021, the five-justice court has had only four members as former Pres. Alberto Fernández failed to secure political support for a nomination.⁵
• Milei has also appointed lawyer and university professor José García Mansilla to replace current Supreme Court Justice Juan Carlos Maqueda, who is due to step down on his 75th birthday in December.⁶

Sources: ¹Associated Press, ²MercoPress, ³NBC, ⁴ABC News, ⁵Buenos Aires Herald and ⁶Buenos Aires Times.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by Wall Street Journal. Milei has pledged to fight the corrupt elite that has long ruled Argentina and clean house, so his odd decision to pick establishment-linked Ariel Lijo is both disappointing and concerning — to the extent that even his vice president, Victoria Villarruel, has questioned his suitability for the high court — because it goes in the opposite direction. While there is still time, the Argentine president must withdraw this nomination.
• Narrative B, as provided by Reason.com. Despite being popular with libertarians abroad, Milei has already shown troublesome tendencies to populism and nepotism. Therefore, his decision to nominate a judge to the Supreme Court who has thrown out cases against politicians comes as no surprise to those closely following his presidency. After all, he is not even the first 'caste' member that Milei has appointed during his time in office.

Predictions