Andrés Malamud at the Book Fair: 'Milei is a product of the guts of Argentines, not their brains'

Can we talk about politics and the Argentine reality alphabetically? Yes. Appealing to his academic training added to a high dose of irony and humor, political scientist Andrés Malamud published Diccionario arbitrario de política (Intellectual Key) and presented it on Thursday at Espacio Ñ, before officially doing so at the Book Fair.

"40 years of democracy" was the reason for the talk that summoned Malamud, a man of radical ideas born in Olavarría. He has a degree in Political Science from UBA and a PhD from the European University Institute. He currently lives in Portugal, where he works as a professor and researcher at the University of Lisbon.

The talk was attended by journalist Héctor Pavón, deputy general editor of Revista Ñ, who offered as moderator. Together, they reviewed several themes from the book. They also talked about the current situation of politics in Argentina: Cristina, Alberto Fernández, Kirchnerism and the figure of Javier Milei, among others, before a large attendance.

"Diccionario arbitrario de política", by Andrés Malamud (Clave Intelectura, $4,500).

In this talk, the author of The Oldest Trade in the World and Radical Forward, among other titles, told how he isDiccionario arbitrario de política, his brand new book.

It is a very particular dictionary since the words were chosen by Malamud arbitrarily, as the title indicates. It also comes with illustrations by Juan Soto.

There are more than 255 words with concepts from the social sciences in which you can read definitions such as "Brazil tell me what it feels", "Argentine State", "crack", "Peronism and 2001" and "corruption", to name a few. All definitions are arranged alphabetically, at the discretion of the author.

"To analyze Argentine politics you need humor otherwise you can't resist it. If they don't have it, they have a hard time. It is a necessary condition to be happy as a political scientist," Malamud began.

"To analyze Argentine politics you need humor or you can't resist it," Malamud said. Photo: Rafael Mario Quinteros

About AMBA

"I am struck by that entry: AMBA. An area that we are always talking about that is controversial, brings a lot of debate, "Pavón opened the game, who added: "There are practically two zones, the City of Buenos Aires and the Conurbano, although that word is much more complex. Two geographies so different, so big and so decisive for everyone."

"Let's start by comparing: half of Uruguayans live in Montevideo, 50% of Uruguay in a Department (referring to the Uruguayan capital). We do not have so much concentration: 35% of Argentines live in the AMBA but its territorial proportion is much smaller than in Montevideo, the AMBA is 0.5% of the Argentine territory, "explained Malamud.

"That is, 35% of Argentines live in 0.5% of the territory but we decide for everyone: the presidents are porteños, the ministers are porteños and the ideas are porteñas. There is nothing wrong with this for the porteños but let's ask the interior of what they think, including the interior of the province of Buenos Aires: they feel governed from the Obelisk, "he added.

He also referred to the Supreme Court's decision to suspend elections in two provinces and linked it to the geographical situation. "Of the three supreme judges who voted, one is from Buenos Aires, the other is from Santa Fe, the other is from Córdoba. However, in Tucumán and San they blame everything on the porteños," Malamud said.

Malamud: "For now we invent problems, not solutions." Photo: Rafael Mario Quinteros

In another passage of the talk, Malamud drew a parallel between the current situation of the country and the roller coaster. "The roller coaster has two ever-present characteristics: violent curves, ups and downs. What defines the roller coaster is that it always comes back to square one. And that's Argentina."

"There are Nobel prizes in Argentina but none in Economics. Why will it be?" asked Pavón.

"We have Nobel laureates in Chemistry, Medicine, Literature, Peace... but none in Economics. For now we invent problems, not solutions," replied the graduate in Political Science.

In the Arbitrary Dictionary of Politics, Malamud defines Alberto Fernández as "Argentine president (2019-2023), creator of an original model of indecision-making." "What else can you tell us?" asked Pavón.

"It's the worst nightmare of the one that put him there," said the political scientist, and continued: "There are many who thought he was going to be a puppet, there are others who thought that Fernández was going to revolt and gain autonomy from his creator. He didn't do much of either."

In the "Arbitrary Dictionary of Politics", Malamud defines Alberto Fernández as "Argentine president (2019-2023), creator of an original model of decision-making". Photo: Rafael Mario Quinteros

"The speech hitting the Supreme Court is a concession to Kirchnerism but the most important concessions that Kirchnerism would like were not made. He did not do them because he revolted but because he crawled at his feet," he added.

He also fulminated Kirchnerism: "He took office 20 years ago, in 2003, to recover two things that had been lost: the value of the currency and presidential authority, and he will end the mandate on December 10 with a president put in place by Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, without currency and without presidential authority. In 20 years they broke everything they had rebuilt. It's 20 years lost," he said.

In his arbitrary dictionary, Malamud defines the rift as "affective polarization."

"It sounds academic, but the important thing is that it's not ideological polarization. The rift does not divide us into left or right but into them and us. We are not those who think differently but those who do not tolerate the one in front. We know this is because it divides families and groups of friends who previously thought alike. They didn't suddenly become a Hitler or Stalin," he mused in the Ñ space.

"What we have here is an identification that is more visceral than ideological that we then rationally cover with ideology," he added.

Asked about Javier Milei, whom he does not name directly in his book, Malamud said that the presidential candidate for La Libertad Avanza "is a histrionic character, an actor in politics. Those who vote for Milei vote against those who are, from the political establishment, from the caste. And what he does is embody feelings. Milei is a product of the guts of Argentines, not their brains."

Basic Malamud

• Degree in Political Science from the University of Buenos Aires and PhD in Political Science from the European University Institute.

• It is of radical political formation and tradition. Currently living in Portugal, working as a senior researcher at the University of Lisbon.

• As a professor, he teaches courses, talks and seminars at universities in eight countries. His writings are published in academic journals, books and magazines in several countries.

• He also published The World's Oldest Office and Forward Radicals. He defines himself as an "expert" in rugby.

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See also

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