As a national deputy, he limited his legislative activities to voting, focusing instead on critiquing what he sees as Argentina's political elite and its propensity for high government spending.

He defeated the incumbent economy minister, Sergio Massa, in the second round of the 2023 general election, for the post of president, on a platform that held the ideological dominance of Peronism responsible for the ongoing Argentine monetary crisis.

[11] Through his Croatian maternal grandfather, Nicolás Mariano Lucich Bosikovic, he is related to Uruguayan television presenter Rodrigo Lussich [es], who stated their ancestors migrated from Croatia and settled throughout Argentina and Uruguay.

[26] Milei also hosted his own radio show, Demoliendo mitos (Demolishing Myths),[27] featuring regular appearances by Alberdian and right-wing libertarian personalities, including the economist and businessman Gustavo Lazzari, the lawyer Pablo Torres Barthe, and the political scientist María Zaldívar.

[39] Ted Cruz, a United States senator, shared an interview between Viviana Canosa and Milei on Twitter, jokingly proposing to invite him to the 2024 Republican Party presidential debates.

[41] In November 2017, he caused a stir by declaring that "the main producer of Argentina's economists is a Marxist indoctrination center", referring to the Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Buenos Aires, leading to what he called "the ubiquitous proliferation of Keynesian brutes".

[42] On 26 June 2018, Milei called journalist Teresita Frías a burro (literally "donkey", meaning "ignorant" or "uneducated" in Argentine slang) after she criticized his ideological views as totalitarian.

Family and Gender judge Carmelo Paz forbade him from participating in public gatherings as a panelist or lecturer within the boundaries of the city of Metán, under the threat of legal action.

They performed well in Peronist strongholds in North Tucumán, Salta, La Rioja, San Juan, and Santa Cruz in Patagonia, which is considered the cradle of Kirchnerism.

[4] Upon assuming office as a deputy, Milei fulfilled one of his campaign promises by raffling off his salary to a random person each month, aiming to "return money to the citizens".

He described this monthly raffle, which is open to anyone,[64][65] as a way to get rid of what he considered dirty money, saying: "The state is a criminal organization that finances itself through taxes levied on people by force.

[68][66] One of his absences was particularly criticized by the Juntos por el Cambio opposition because it allowed the national government to raise taxes on plane tickets by a single vote.

Journalist Juan Luis González said that Milei "allowed himself to be financed by provincial governments, received technical, logistical, and monetary aid from the Peronism that he claims to fight, threatened all those who wanted to open their mouths".

[83] In June 2023, the markets welcomed Sergio Massa's presidential candidacy, as it polarized the election between the ruling party and Juntos por el Cambio, reducing the "Milei factor".

[4] Milei's victory was celebrated by right-wing figures, including Jair Bolsonaro,[91] José Antonio Kast,[91] Ted Cruz,[40] and the Spanish conservative[92] political party Vox.

Observers generally saw Milei's win as a sign more of discontent with the status quo than support for his politics,[87] and his victory was likened to Donald Trump's in the United States and Jair Bolsonaro's in Brazil.

[132][132] These protests occurred in the context of broad, general approval according to a poll published by Clarín on 7 June 2024, where most Argentines had a positive image of their president and an optimistic view of future economic measures.

In contrast, the parallel exchange rate reflects market-driven values influenced by supply and demand and may differ due to factors like government controls or economic conditions.

Estimates suggest that Argentina's production in 2030 will scale to 1 million barrels per day as Milei's increases efforts in the extraction of oil and gas and reduces the existing capital controls, export taxes and regulations.

[163][164][165] In June, during a meeting in Berlin, Milei and German chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed support for a free trade agreement between the EU and Mercosur.

[183] Among his measures in support of Israel, Milei declared Hamas as a terrorist organization in July 2024,[184] and ordered the Argentine delegation at the UN to vote against the incoporation of the State of Palestine into the United Nations.

[188] Milei also met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio during the second inauguration of Donald Trump, and reaffirmed the intention to continue to pressure Maduro to exit power.

[191] In October 2024, Milei fired foreign minister Diana Mondino after she failed to vote for the US embargo on Cuba at the UN, later assuring that Argentina condemns the "Cuban dictatoship".

[1][228] In foreign policy, Milei criticizes the IMF,[229] opposes trade unions,[230] aligns with anti-socialist figures of the Americas like Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro,[231][232] and prioritizes alliances with the United States and Israel.

Though asserting that Argentine would not "relinquish our sovereignty" over the islands, Milei said he would not "seek conflict with the United Kingdom", preferring to resolve the dispute "within the framework of peace".

[243] He has also called the idea of climate change as an anthropogenic phenomenon "a socialist lie" and said that concerns about it are nothing more than "deceptions promoted by the neo-Marxists",[244][232] as are those related to the attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election.

[74] During his political career, Milei has also been involved in several investigations and has been accused of having a violent attitude toward journalists and critics, as well as of misogynistic behavior, including toward women in journalism.

[259] His admirers also call him "The Lion" because of the lyrics of the song "Panic Show" by rock band La Renga, which he sings in his public acts, coupled with his looks (in particular, his long hair).

[280] Milei and his government have defended him and said that he regularly promotes private Argentine ventures and projects online on his X account to attract investments and create jobs; and will continue to do so.

[307] In December 2024, while holding the office of Head of State, Milei applied for and was granted Italian citizenship via jus sanguinis under the government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.