Myriam Bregman, the Trotskyist who is the Argentine politician with the best image

Myriam Bregman warned during the 2023 presidential campaign about Javier Milei, using an ironic, irreverent style that directly challenged his growing popularity. Over two and a half years in office, she has maintained a hard line against Milei’s policies, including labor reform and cuts to education, healthcare, wages, and pensions. She criticizes an opposition she portrays as hesitant and fearful about resisting these measures, and as overly focused on avoiding contradiction with prevailing trends and marketing guidance. Her stance has contributed to strong poll performance, including the highest positive image rating among measured leaders, though positive image does not necessarily translate into voting intention. She has increased recognition for herself and her party, which previously remained electorally marginal.

"While many politicians avoided confronting a figure whose popularity was rising fast, Bregman delivered one jab after another, using the same ironic, irreverent style that infused the libertarian discourse only in the opposite direction. Over Milei's two and a half years in office, Bregman has held that line, setting herself apart from an opposition she describes as hesitant and fearful when it comes to resisting policies such as labor reform or cuts to education, healthcare, wages, and pensions."

"An opposition, she warns, that seems overly concerned with not contradicting the spirit of the times or the dictates of marketing handbooks. That stance, in part, is what has propelled her in Argentine polls. She appears as the political figure with the highest positive rating in surveys such as those by Atlas Intel, where she scores 47 points of positive image (against 46 negative) and is the only one among the 14 leaders measured to show a favorable balance."

"Pollsters note that a positive image does not equate to voting intention, but the figure reflects growing public recognition of her and her party, which until now has always been electorally marginal. In the 2023 presidential election, Bregman finished fifth, with 2.7% of the vote. Nicknamed La Rusa the Russian because of the combination of her Jewish surname, blond hair, and light eyes, Myriam Bregman was born in a tiny town called Timote, 280 miles from Buenos Aires."

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