Milei’s Argentina: Transnational Corporations Gain Ground Amid Media Freedom Decline

Javier Milei’s timely rise to power in Argentina has bolstered the influence of transnational corporations (TNCs) while dismantling the country’s antitrust policies. A massive copper, gold, and silver deposit—the world’s largest—has been discovered in the Argentina-Chile border region, to be developed by Vicuña, a joint venture of Canadian Lundin Mining and Australian BHP.
The deposits, Filo del Sol and Josemaría, rank among the global top-10. Located in Argentina’s San Juan province, with Filo del Sol extending into Chile’s Atacama region, Filo del Sol is in the exploration phase, while Josemaría is nearing production. These deposits were known before Milei’s presidency, but had Kirchnerists won the election, they likely would have nationalized them, as they did with oil and gas. Instead, Milei has handed them to TNCs, securing rent for Argentina and reinforcing a commodity-based development model.
Collectively, the deposits hold 40 million tons of measured and inferred copper, 900 million ounces of gold, and 1.5 billion ounces of silver. Jack Lundin, President and CEO of Lundin Mining, called Filo del Sol the largest discovery in 30 years.
Meanwhile, Argentina’s press freedom ranking plummeted from 87th to 66th in 2024, a 21-position drop. Milei’s administration routinely insults, slanders, and threatens journalists and media critical of his regime. The press freedom report highlights:
“Insults, defamation, and threats from Javier Milei’s administration against journalists and media criticizing his regime have become commonplace since he took office. New policies exacerbate existing issues, such as high media ownership concentration, lack of transparency, and growing instability in journalism. Political confrontation, polarization, and hate-mongering—driven by political and business interests—have degraded media quality. Sensitive social, economic, and political issues are excluded from public debate, with media agendas centered on major cities, especially Buenos Aires.
Milei, a far-right president elected in 2023, fosters hostility toward journalists, launching attacks to discredit critical media, widely supported by his followers. Influential media are controlled by a few conglomerates tied to telecommunications, oil, and public works. The state’s role in advertising, tax breaks, and contracts lacks transparency. Regulatory bodies meant to ensure diversity and market oversight are heavily government-dependent, with many dissolved by Milei, alongside public programs for reliable information access.
Argentina’s stark contrasts—Buenos Aires’ megalopolis housing 30% of the population, mid-sized cities, and sparsely populated regions—amplify challenges. Political polarization and Milei’s ultraconservative movement have fueled intolerance, virtual and physical violence, often police-backed. Journalists face intimidation from criminal organizations (drugs, human trafficking, and security force corruption) and police violence during protests.”
Milei’s neoliberal libertarian approach dismisses press freedom as a value, with his supporters embracing confrontational tactics, including smearing opponents. This aligns with my own experiences debating neoliberal libertarians in Ukraine, where hostility and intolerance dominate discourse.