Long before Javier Milei was the president of a country, he was just an economist and then, eventually, a candidate for the Argentine Chamber of Deputies, who took walks with regular people to discuss the economy.

On October 22, 2020, this little-known economist and political figure was wished a happy 52nd birthday by the Social Media Manager for SFL Spain.

“We just saw it was his birthday and tagged him on an Instagram post, and he shared it on his stories,” Manuel Ferretti Martinez, pictured above with Milei, said. “It was an honest connection, but I didn’t think much of it.”

Manuel, born in the year 2000 in Barcelona, returned there to study political science after living most of his life in Italy. And after attending LibertyCon Europe in Madrid in March of 2020, he quickly became one of SFL’s most active European volunteers, handing out literature and SFL’s signature “Less Marx, More Mises” t-shirts. But in the crucible of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was on social media where he really found his groove.

“Spain and Italy were the early ground zeros for Covid,” he said, “and also suffered some of the world’s most extreme lockdowns. That, plus SFL giving me the opportunity to find my voice, inspired me. We ran some good social media campaigns that, I hope, raised people’s spirits in that awful time.”

Milei must have discovered and enjoyed one of those campaigns; he rewarded SFL Spain with a follow and got a follow back from Manuel, who had seen some of his YouTube videos.

“He was a total showman,” Manuel said. “I couldn’t get enough of him.”

Following up and following through

After that first interaction on Milei’s birthday, the future president and Manuel developed a digital friendship.

“He was a normal person,” Manuel said. “Very smart and energetic. We would ask him about economic ideas, he would answer, and that was it.”

Manuel credited Students For Liberty’s culture of professionalism with instilling communication and networking skills.

“There’s a big difference between communicating with people because you want something and communicating with people because you actually care about them and enjoy talking to them,” Manuel said. “Before I got involved with SFL, I might have done the first kind. And yeah, in the back of my mind, I knew Javier was someone who might visit Spain or Italy sometime, maybe give an economics lecture at an event. But who could’ve predicted he’d become president?”

Manuel continued, “But you learn very quickly with SFL: People in this world are passionate about their ideas and want to share them. And if you can truly listen and understand and engage with them, it’ll be better for them AND for you. I was genuinely interested in Milei’s point of view, and I think he recognized that.”

When Milei became a congressman, Manuel congratulated him. “I think I sent something like, ‘It’s time to move to Argentina!’” he said with a laugh. They also discussed whether socialism and communism are synonymous. Later, Manuel noticed that Milei often wore a Students For Liberty pin on his blazer; Manuel told the then-congressman it looked sharp.

In 2022, Milei took the national stage as a political Cinderella. His popularity surged. He won the presidency. He suddenly had thousands of interview requests and millions of people who wanted to be his “friend.” But, while it remains to be seen whether he — or any politician — can stay true to his roots in the long run, Milei doesn’t seem to have forgotten who supported him in the early days.

The president pays a visit

Exhibit A: In February 2024, Milei and his staff were planning their first international tour, which would include Italy, Manuel’s adopted home … but only for 36 short, busy hours.

Then, Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, invited Milei to return to Italy to discuss free trade and Mercosur — the South American trade bloc comprising Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay.

“When I heard about that second trip, I knew it could be a great chance to invite him to speak in Italy and to teach us a thing or two, because free trade was something we were both passionate about,” Manuel said. “Remember how I said ideas matter? I could tell free trade, as an idea, was important to him.”

Milei, by then the sitting president of Argentina, responded in an hour and a half. Manuel remembered: “He said something like ‘Thanks for this invitation … we can manage it.’ He sent me the number of a spokesperson, and my heart skipped a beat.”

When he had gathered himself, Manuel got to work. He reached out to the Milton Friedman Foundation; the trip had been announced almost at the last minute, so he had less than 10 days to organize and promote an event that would give Milei a forum to spread the message of free markets and free trade in Italy.

“Those were some very stressful days,” he said. “But I had other Students For Liberty working with me, and many of them had planned events before. They showed me how to use all the skills I had learned in communication and networking to, you know, just figure it out, just make it work.”

Manuel navigated the long hours and differences in time zone, working almost around the clock with another Manuel, Manuel Adorni, the Spokesperson and Communications Officer of the Government of Argentina, to ensure Milei’s arrival would be smooth.

Another logistical challenge was to find a venue. One venue was arranged, then ruled out, because members of the Italian government wouldn’t be allowed there. Manuel worked with the Friedman Institute to find a Plan B; they settled on Palazzo Wedekind, the historic headquarters of the newspaper Il Tempo in Rome.

And then, when the sun rose on December 13, 2024, Manuel felt a sense of calm. “Suddenly, it was The Day, and there was nothing I could do to change anything. So I wasn’t nervous anymore; I was proud.”

At the event, Milei spoke for about 40 minutes on how Milton Friedman’s ideas had influenced his own.

“Milton Friedman played a fundamental role in guiding the world back to the ideas of freedom. In the 1970s, thanks to his studies, it became possible to dismantle the Keynesian framework and restore the centrality of the free market,” Milei said. “In Argentina, we are proving that his ideas are more relevant than ever.”

And in Spain and Italy, Manuel Ferretti Martinez proved the value of showing genuine interest in those ideas and staying in touch with people about them — whether they’re a little-known economist, a little-known congressperson, or the president of a nation of 45 million people.

“Without SFL, I wouldn’t have had the confidence to reach out in the first place,” Manuel said, “but I also wouldn’t have known how to. I’m grateful for that.”