Javier Milei’s disruptive populism: Analysis of his discursive strategy on social media

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31637/epsir-2025-2064

Keywords:

Right-wing populism, Political leadership, Election campaign, Hate speech, Discourse analysis, Ethos, X (Twitter)

Abstract

Introduction: Based on a theoretical reflection on populism as an illiberal ideology and social media as an essential channel for populist rhetoric, this research analyzes the discursive strategy of the Argentinean candidate and eventually president-elect Javier Milei in the platform X during the 2023 campaign. The aim of this article is to verify the presence of populist traits such as anti-politics, illiberalism, polarization and charismatic leadership. Methodology: Through discourse analysis, we delimit linguistic and narratological aspects of the candidate’s ethos present in all the tweets posted in campaign (n=426). Results: Fortitude and authority emerge as the main attributes of the leader, without evidence of a challenge to the values of liberal democracy or incitement to violence. Milei protagonizes a narrative of maximum polarization supported by the masses and the emotional force of slogans and sentences. Discussion and conclusions: Milei’s disruptive discourse is characterized by anti-politics and radical confrontation as a response to political “caste”. With a rhetoric that emphasizes the moral dichotomy between the people and the elite, an informal style and grandiloquent tone, he projects charismatic authority as a combative outsider against the system.

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Author Biographies

Pedro Luis Pérez-Díaz, University of Murcia

Dr. Pedro Luis Pérez-Díaz is a professor in the Department of Journalism at the University of Murcia (UMU). He is a member of the Research Group on Social Communication, Culture, and Technology at the same university and also of the Research Group on Communication, Politics, and Image at UCAM, an institution from which he received the Extraordinary Doctorate Award in Social Sciences. He teaches courses on public speaking, communication theory, and technological innovation applied to the media ecosystem. His research focuses on civic and participatory journalism in digital contexts, with a special focus on the analysis of public discourses shared by media outlets, citizens, and political actors on social media in contemporary democratic societies. Author of several publications in high-impact journals, his contributions have been included in monographs by some of the leading publishers in the sector. He has participated in competitive research projects related to the impact of social media on politics and accountability in the field of digital public administration. He has also completed research fellowships at international institutions such as the Deliberative Democracy Lab at Stanford University and the University of Florida. He tweets from @pedroluis.

Enrique Arroyas Langa, Saint Anthony Catholic University

Dr. Enrique Arroyas is a member of the Communication, Politics, and Image Research Group at the Catholic University of Murcia (UCAM), a multidisciplinary group primarily interested in political communication, journalistic mediation, and image consulting. His research focuses on the processes of public opinion formation, especially on contemporary challenges to democracy. He investigates the intersection between media and politics, particularly the relationship between news media and political discourse. Much of his work uses rhetorical methods to study political discourses, including the role of social media in the rise of populist movements. He is currently a professor at UCAM in the Communication Sciences program and a columnist for La Opinión de Murcia, where he has published his column "Dulce Jueves" since 2014.

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Published

2025-04-11

How to Cite

Pérez-Díaz, P. L., & Arroyas Langa, E. (2025). Javier Milei’s disruptive populism: Analysis of his discursive strategy on social media. European Public & Social Innovation Review, 10, 1–23. https://doi.org/10.31637/epsir-2025-2064

Issue

Section

Innovation through the Reality Shaped by Social Media