LETTER FROM BUENOS AIRES

All eyes are on Sunday, November 19, in Argentina – the date of the second round of an unprecedented presidential election. For the first time, a political outsider, the far-right libertarian Javier Milei, has a chance of coming to power. After garnering 30% of the vote in the first round on October 22, he will face the candidate of the center-left government coalition, Economic Minister Sergio Massa, who received 36.7% of the vote.

But for thousands of Taylor Swift fans, the month of November has a different significance. For three days, from November 9 to 11, Buenos Aires is beating the rhythm of the American singer's hits "Cruel Summer" and "Is It Over Now?" as she performs at the 84,000-seat Estadio Monumental as part of her first Latin American tour. But politics and music go hand-in-hand according to "Swifties" – how fans of the superstar singer go by – for whom Swiftie fever is driving them to take a stand against the libertarian candidate.

"Milei and La Libertad Avanza [LLA, 'Freedom Advances,' Javier Milei's coalition] represent a danger to democracy and to the human rights of all Argentines, especially women and minorities. As Swifties [...], we can NOT vote for this," reads a message posted on X (formerly Twitter) on October 26, punctuated by "Milei = Trump."

While the Argentine candidate has never hidden his affinity for the former American president, the Swiftie's message against LLA was viewed 1.5 million times, and shared or "liked" nearly 20,000 times. In a statement accompanying the message, fans criticized Milei's anti-feminist positions. Among them: His wish to abolish the law legalizing abortion (approved by Congress in 2020) and his denial of wage inequalities between women and men.

"Javier Milei scares me," admitted Macarena, a 29-year-old economist who was one of those behind the statement along with a group of 10 friends. She preferred not to give her surname because of the attacks she said she has received on the fan account, which has since been deleted by X "without explanation." A new version had to be created, "Swifties por la Patria" ("Swifties for the Fatherland"), an allusion to Sergio Massa's "Union for the Fatherland" coalition.

Macarena, an early fan of Swift, insists she is not an activist in support of any particular party. "I'm worried that some of my relatives are voting for Javier Milei when he's a candidate who denies the crimes of the dictatorship [1976-1983]," she explained. "What we want is to attract the attention of people who are not very well informed. If two Swifties change their minds, it will have been useful," she continued. A 155-member Telegram group called "Swifties contra LLA" has also organized the distribution of anti-Milei leaflets on the days of Swift's concert.

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