Towards a Brown International

Yorgos MItralias

“It is our moral duty to defend the legacy of our western civilisation. The West is in danger... We must stand together, establishing channels of cooperation throughout the world. We could call ourselves a right-wing international, a network of mutual assistance made up of all those interested in spreading the ideas of freedom around the world” —Javier Milei

This call for the founding of a far-right International must be taken very seriously. Firstly, the man who uttered these words is not just anyone: he is the President of Argentina and the darling of fascists and other right-wing extremists the world over, Javier Milei. Then, because among those who applauded them were former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, the leader of Vox and the Spanish Franquists Santiago Abascal, the strategist of international neo-fascism Steve Bannon, and above all the co-chair of the Republican National Committee and Donald Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump. Also, this appeal was launched during the recent meeting in Buenos Aires of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), the very powerful and inescapable organization of American reactionaries, which is becoming increasingly international and far-right radical. And finally, eminent figures from the global far right, such as Italy’s meta-fascist Prime Minister Giorgia Meloniand Hungary’s Prime Minister Victor Orban, have already spoken out in favour of the creation of such an International.

But that’s not all. What makes this appeal even more credible, and therefore even more alarming, is that international big business is now showing increasing interest in, if not support for, Milei and his ideas, which until recently were considered far-fetched and extremist. Take, for example, Britain’s The Economist, the flagship of the international financial press, which a few days ago had no hesitation in praising Milei and his economic “exploits”. So much so, in fact, that the same Economist went so far as to advise Trump to forget his protectionism, follow Milei’s example and apply during his new presidency the... shock therapies of Argentina’s very libertarian president. And to be honest, Economist’s praise seems to find a following, as Trump’s victory means that Milei, until recently a pest, is now gaining favour in the right-wing press of European countries...

However, it’s safe to assume that this sudden turn by Europe’s mainstream media in favour of Milei’s policies isn’t due to ideological affinity alone. Clearly, it is also due to the fact that, as a good libertarian, Milei advocates total freedom of trade, i.e. a policy diametrically opposed to the aggressive protectionism preached by Trump. This protectionism obviously frightens the European bourgeoisie, all the more so as Trump is multiplying his threats to impose exorbitant tariffs on their products.

However, some difficulties in building a Brown International should not lead people to believe that its creation is doomed to failure. For, even divided, neo-fascists and other right-wing extremists still have the wind in their sails, coordinating, going on the attack and threatening human rights, people’s freedoms and lives as never before in 80 years.

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Frontier
Vol 57, No. 33, Feb 9 - 15, 2025