アルゼンチン大統領、ハードロック熱唱　新刊発売イベントで

【ブエノスアイレスＡＦＰ＝時事】アルゼンチンのハビエル・ミレイ大統領は２２日夜、新刊発売イベントで、ネクタイにレザージャケット姿でロックを熱唱した。（写真は、アルゼンチンの首都ブエノスアイレスのルナパーク・スタジアムで行われた新刊発売イベントで、歌うハビエル・ミレイ大統領）
　会場となった首都ブエノスアイレスのルナパーク スタジアムには、支持者ら１万人が詰めかけた。同スタジアムは、大規模なスポーツイベントや、世界的スターのコンサートなどでも使われている。
　同氏は観衆に向かって「歌いたかったからこれをやりたかった」と述べ、同国のロックソングに独自のアレンジを加えて歌った。
　その後、１３冊目となる新刊「Ｃａｐｉｔａｌｉｓｍ，Ｓｏｃｉａｌｉｓｍ　ａｎｄ　ｔｈｅ　Ｎｅｏｃｌａｓｓｉｃａｌ　Ｔｒａｐ（資本主義、社会主義、新古典派の罠）」について、長々とした講義を始め、国際フォーラムなどでも取り上げてきたお気に入りのテーマである社会主義と人工妊娠中絶への批判を展開した。
　ミレイ氏は若い頃、英ロックバンド「ザ・ローリング・ストーンズ」のカバーバンドをしており、選挙戦では、ロックスターのような言動で有権者の心をつかんだ。
　スーパーマーケット従業員のサンティアゴ・ロルダンさん（２０）はＡＦＰの取材に対し「ハビエルのやること全て応援しに来た。考えも行動も好きだ。彼は誠実で透明性があり、思ったことを口にする」と語った。
　ミレイ氏は経済学者で、テレビ番組の出演者として人気を獲得してから政治家に転身した。この日も古代エジプトからベルリンの壁崩壊まで、自由主義的経済理論について講義した。だが、夜が更けるにつれ、来場者の多くは去っていった。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2024/05/24-16:58）

In a tie and leather jacket, Argentina's President Javier Milei rocked out in front of thousands of fans during the launch of his latest economics book in Buenos Aires Wednesday night.
I wanted to do this because I wanted to sing, Milei told spectators, before performing his own version of a local rock song at the Luna Park stadium, which has hosted major sporting events and concerts by international stars.
Then, in another twist, he launched into a lengthy lecture from his 13th book Capitalism, Socialism and the Neoclassical Trap.
Milei returned to some of his favorite themes which he has brought up in international fora, such as slamming socialism and abortion, which he said was a mechanism to massacre populations.
The 53-year-old libertarian was a political outsider when he was elected last year on a wave of anti-government sentiment, vowing to halt Argentina's decades of economic decline.
The concert saw the return of his rock-star persona, a remnant of his youth playing in a Rolling Stones cover band, which won voters over during his election campaign.
I am here to support Javier in everything he does. I like his ideas, I like what he does, he is sincere, he is transparent, he says what he thinks, Santiago Roldan, a 20-year-old supermarket employee, told AFP.
Milei, an economist who became a popular television panelist before entering politics, gave a lesson in liberal economics stretching from ancient Egypt to the fall of the Berlin Wall.
As the evening dragged on, many of the around 10,000 supporters, left.
Milei remains a character who likes to put on a show, said political scientist Carlos Fara.
The firebrand president has been in the international spotlight in recent days after he called Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's wife corrupt, sparking a diplomatic spat.
The show came just hours after the release of the latest statistics showing economic activity had slowed 8.4 percent year-on-year in March, amid his government's austerity drive.
Milei has slashed public spending, cut the cabinet in half, did away with tens of thousands of government jobs, suspended new public works contracts and ripped away fuel and transport subsidies.
He also devalued the peso by 50 percent, and the measures have hit consumers hard. While inflation is slowing, prices are still up some 290 percent from the previous year.