Javier Milei, the hard rocker in Argentina's highest office, turns his book talk into wild show

A book presentation about neoclassical economic theory may not sound like a crowd-pleaser.

But on Wednesday in Buenos Aires mobs of star-struck fans packed a giant auditorium to hear Argentina's president, the libertarian economist Javier Milei, lecture on the importance of freeing capital from the control of the state.

As he strode through a sea of fans jostling for selfies and climbed onstage, the shouting crowd leapt to its feet. Whistles, stomps and chants of his political slogan «Long live liberty, dammit!” filled the theater.

They were greeting Milei like a stadium rocker. And within moments, he became one.

Grabbing the mic and swinging into a cover of “Panic Show” by Argentine hard rock band La Renga, Milei jumped frenetically around the stage, whipping 10,000 fans into a frenzy.

“I am the lion,” he hollered, shaking his unruly hair to the beat. “I am the king of a lost world.”

When the music came to a stop, he tossed off his black leather jacket to reveal a business suit underneath and stepped up to the podium, returning to his usual persona as a disheveled academic. “I wanted to do this because I really wanted to sing,» he said.

Then Milei launched into the presentation of his new book, “Capitalism, Socialism and the Neoclassical Trap," published May 1, a contribution to the so-called Austrian School of economics that calls for governments to step out and let the market decide.

“Market failures do not exist,” he said. “First, check there is no state intervention.”

Milei had initially planned to promote his book at the Buenos Aires International Book Fair, the country's largest literary event that kicked off earlier this month. But when the left-leaning organizers gave speeches calling out Milei for