SALTA, Argentina (AP) 鈥 Javier Milei, a right-wing populist who admires Donald Trump and made a name for himself by shouting against Argentina's 鈥減olitical caste鈥 on television, finds himself the front-runner for this month's presidential election.
If he emerges as Argentina鈥檚 next president, it will be in large part thanks to support from people like Paola Aguirre, a mother of two young girls who lives in a makeshift wooden shack near a landfill in the northern province of Salta.
Like many Argentines, Aguirre has been overwhelmed by that has her struggling to feed her family and made it impossible to afford the room they used to rent. Just over 40% of the country's 46 million people live in poverty, a big jump from a little more than 30% in the second half of 2016, according to Argentina's INDEC statistics agency.
Aguirre sees hope in Milei, a firebrand economist-turned-lawmaker who describes himself as an anarcho-capitalist and says the answer to reining in is to get rid of the Central Bank and dollarize the economy. He also vows to privatize state companies, get rid of public infrastructure programs, change labor rules to make it easier to fire employees and carry out a big overhaul of the government to decrease spending.
鈥淲e want a radical change,鈥 said Aguirre, who lives without running water nor electricity with her 6- and 8-year-old daughters. 鈥淲e鈥檙e hopeful that what he promises will come true.鈥
Milei, 52, shocked Argentina鈥檚 political class when he unexpectedly received the most votes in August primaries. He is the favorite to win the Oct. 22 presidential election, although opinion polls, which have been notoriously wrong in the past, suggest he will not get enough votes to avoid moving on to a runoff election next month.
Milei鈥檚 strongest competitors are seen as Economy Minister Sergio Massa of the governing left-of-center Union for the Homeland coalition and Patricia Bullrich of the main opposition coalition, the right-of-center United for Change.
Milei has recently been dominating the political conversation in the South American country and has led to a sharp depreciation of the peso. One prosecutor against him for inciting public fear.
鈥淎re they going to blame me for the disaster? Why don鈥檛 they take responsibility for the problems?鈥 Milei said in a recent rally in Salta.
Milei, who regularly characterizes politicians as thieves who live like monarchs, is known for strong opinions that rankle many people. He opposes abortion, wants to abolish sex education, calls for eased gun regulations, disputes that humans are responsible for climate change and says the sale of human organs should be allowed.
But in Salta, many of his supporters say they would rather focus on the way Milei promises a break from politics as usual. They gleefully talk about him brandishing a chainsaw on campaign stops as a symbol of his vow to cut corruption and government spending.
鈥淕od forbid, if something bad happens, we will learn from our mistakes, but we definitely need a change,鈥 said Bel茅n Salva, a health worker who does mammograms.
Salva is frustrated because she cannot afford basic essentials. 鈥淚 want to buy a refrigerator and it鈥檚 impossible,鈥 she said.
Milei paints himself as a change from the politicians who 鈥渄ecimated your income,鈥 a reflection of how many Argentines are scraping by despite having jobs.
He received 50% of the vote in Salta in the August primaries, 20 points more than he got at the national level in an election that was seen as a national poll of voter preferences.
In San Antonio de los Cobres, a remote Salta town 3,776 meters (12,388 feet) above sea level, Milei got 60% of the votes. Prosperity is a distant dream for its residents and the candidate鈥檚 outsider status seems to hold particular appeal.
鈥淵ou hear words, words. Over time, you get tired, and what you want is action,鈥 said Alejandrina Quispe, a teacher.
Milei is the candidate of Liberty Advances, a nascent party that could see its congressional representation soar if he manages to repeat or surpass his primary performance in the Oct. 22 election.
But even so, Milei would need to make alliances to get his agenda through a divided Congress, and political analysts warn there is an almost messianic feeling among many of his supporters that carries the danger of crushing disappointments.
鈥淭here is this magical thinking among people about his political proposal to turn the situation around,鈥 said Jorge Arias at the Polilat consulting firm.
Although Milei鈥檚 support is strong in Salta, his fate in the election will largely play out in Buenos Aires province, which is home to more than a third of Argentina's voters and many suburbs of the capital .
Rub茅n D谩valos, who once supported the governing Peronist coalition, now campaigns for Milei mainly because he feels connected to the candidate who comes across 鈥渓ike an angry Argentine citizen.鈥
Andr茅s Ferreira, who works as a delivery driver, also campaigns for Milei in the Lomas de Zamora municipality of Buenos Aires. He expresses optimism Milei鈥檚 hard-on-crime stance will end the practice of 鈥渃riminals being treated as victims.鈥
Ferreira is particularly angry about pervasive political corruption. In recent days, the former mayor of Lomas de Zamora resigned from a high-ranking post in the Buenos Aires provincial government after photos on social media showed him vacationing on a luxurious yacht in the Mediterranean with a model.
鈥淚t demonstrates the treachery of how Argentine politicians laugh at the people in the midst of one of the worst crises in history,鈥 Ferreira said.
In San Antonio de los Cobres, El铆as Agust铆n Rivero, who works in a restaurant owned by his parents, supports Milei in part because he thinks a Milei presidency would lead to more jobs for young people.
He said he isn't swayed by those who deride the unconventional candidate.
Many people 鈥渨ill tell you he鈥檚 crazy, that he鈥檚 no good, that we shouldn鈥檛 vote for him,鈥 Rivero said. 鈥淣othing will make me change my mind.鈥
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Associated Press writer Daniel Politi in Buenos Aires, Argentina, contributed to the report.
