Conan (Javier Milei's dog)

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Conan
SpeciesDog
BreedEnglish Mastiff
SexMale
Born2004
Argentina
DiedMay 2017
Argentina
OwnerJavier Milei
Named afterConan the Barbarian
This article is part of
a series about
Javier Milei
Political career
President of Argentina
Elections
Bibliography

Javier Milei's signature

Conan (2004 – May 2017) was an English Mastiff adopted by Argentina's president Javier Milei as a puppy in 2004, and named after the title character in the 1982 film Conan the Barbarian.[1] Milei, who never married and is childless, referred to Conan as his closest friend and confidant.[citation needed] Conan died from spinal cancer in 2017. Milei cloned Conan in 2018, and Conan and the other dogs have since attracted international attention during his 2023 Argentine presidential election campaign.[1]

Life[edit]

Conan was born around 2004, and Milei took him as a puppy that year and treated him as a family member. Milei referred to Conan as one of his "four-legged children",[2] and in 2018 told Perfil that Conan "is literally a son to me".[1] He also reportedly gave Conan champagne.[3]

In May 2017, Conan died as a result of spinal cancer.[4][5][6] Of Conan's death, Milei said that he had not really died (he called it "his physical disappearance" and continued to refer to Conan in the present tense) but gone to sit next to God to protect him, and that it was thanks to this that he had begun to have talks with God himself.[7]

Cloning[edit]

From left to right are American economists Milton Friedman (1912–2006), Murray Rothbard (1926–1995), and Robert Lucas Jr. (1937–2023). Five out of six of Conan's clones were named after them.

Milei had Conan cloned in 2018 and named the six resulting puppies after the original Conan and the economists Milton Friedman and Murray Rothbard, and Robert Lucas Jr.; two of them were named after the latter.[8][9] Another one was named Angelito.[10] Milei said that he cloned Conan because he understands cloning as "a way of approaching eternity".[6] To do this, he went to a clinic in the United States; the process cost him about $50,000.[6]

Milei allegedly stated that he communicates with the dogs through a mystic,[11] and that he seeks counseling from them.[2] He also allegedly commented that the new Conan provides ideas on general strategy, Robert is the one who makes him "see the future and learn from mistakes", Milton is in charge of political analysis, and Murray of the economy.[12] When asked about this by El País journalist Martín Sivak and Nicolás Lucca of Radio Rivadavia, Milei did not deny it, and said: "What I do with my spiritual life and in my house is my business. If Conan advises me on politics, it means that he is the best consultant of humanity."[5] In addition to having dialogues with the likes of Rothbard and Ayn Rand, Milei allegedly cited Conan as a source of inspiration for his writings in 2015.[5]

2023 presidential campaign[edit]

Described by Milei as his "family album", this AI-generated image was his first Instagram post after being elected president.

Since Milei's rise to prominence in politics, Conan and the other mastiffs cloned after him attracted international attention due to Milei's comments about them. Milei does not distinguish between the current cloned Conan and the original, considering both to be his son, and the other puppies his grandchildren. He has claimed to receive policy and campaign advice from his dogs,[2] and thanked them after his win in the 2023 Argentine primary elections.[13]

Ron Gillespie, who runs PerPETuate, a genetic preservation company in Hawaii, said about Milei's cloned mastiffs: "I don't have a vote in the Argentine election, but I do have five dogs in the race."[14] Milei maintains that he and Conan have a mission assigned to them by God. According to various sources consulted by La Nación, Milei maintains that he and Conan first met in a previous life more than 2,000 years ago as a gladiator and a lion in the Roman Colosseum, and that the pair did not fight because they were destined to join forces in the future, referring to his presidential campaign.[2]

Conan's owner Javier Milei as president of Argentina with vice president Victoria Villarruel at their inauguration on 10 December 2023

On 24 November 2023, Milei shared an AI-generated image on his Instagram that depicts himself and his five dogs (with one of them much larger than the others in reference to Conan), calling it his "family album" in the caption.[15] The image, which was widely commented on online, was his first post on the social network after being elected president five days earlier.[16]

On his inauguration as Argentina's president, Milei broke with the tradition of using an official presidential baton (Spanish: bastón presidencial [es]) carved by goldsmith Juan Carlos Pallarols [es], opting for a design featuring Conan and his four clones carved on it.[17] According to sources consulted by Clarín, Milei will bring his four dogs to live with him in the Quinta de Olivos (the official presidential residence), which has caused security concerns among the staff there, as they are known to be "problematic".[18] Milei announced that the presidential residence would be renovated to accommodate the four dogs, who are used to living separately.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Nicas, Jack (19 October 2023). "The 5 Clones in Argentina's Election". The New York Times. ISSN 1553-8095. Archived from the original on 24 November 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d De Guzman, Chad (20 November 2023). "Argentina Just Elected an Eccentric Populist Who Seeks Counsel From His Cloned Dogs". Time. ISSN 0040-781X. Archived from the original on 29 November 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  3. ^ Brigida, Anna-Catherine (22 October 2023). "Milei's cloned dogs steal limelight in Argentina election". Reuters. ISSN 2293-6343. Archived from the original on 24 November 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  4. ^ "Su perro muerto, esoterismo y la 'misión' de Dios: los secretos de Javier Milei". iProfesional (in Spanish). 6 July 2023. Archived from the original on 22 August 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  5. ^ a b c González, Juan Luis (9 August 2023). "Milei y su perro muerto: quién es la fuente secreta de 'El Loco', el libro sobre él". Revista Noticias (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 24 August 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  6. ^ a b c "Conan, el perro cordobés de Milei que murió y fue clonado por miles de dólares". El Doce (in Spanish). 15 August 2023. Archived from the original on 22 August 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  7. ^ Salomé, René (2 July 2023). "Los secretos mejor guardados de Milei: telépatas para hablar con su perro muerto y la misión que le encomendó Dios". Infobae (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 20 November 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  8. ^ "Milei presentó a su 'hijo' Conan y a sus 'nietos' de cuatro patas en Infama Recargado". América TV (in Spanish). 20 August 2018. Archived from the original on 28 March 2019. Retrieved 1 December 2023 – via MSN.
  9. ^ Portes, Ignacio (9 July 2023). "Argentina's media takes aim at Milei's craziest side". The Brazilian Report. Archived from the original on 10 July 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  10. ^ "Revelan los secretos místicos de Javier Milei: esoterismo, la 'misión' de dios y charlas con su perro muerto". Ámbito Financiero (in Spanish). 5 July 2023. Archived from the original on 16 August 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  11. ^ "Javier Milei, il leader di estrema destra che ha vinto le primarie in Argentina". Il Post (in Italian). 14 August 2023. ISSN 2610-9980. Archived from the original on 16 August 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  12. ^ Pokorowski, Federico (30 July 2023). "Elecciones 2023: 'El loco', un viaje al lado oscuro de Javier Milei". El Destape (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 20 November 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2023 – via Diario Lateral.
  13. ^ Viriglio, Veronique (16 August 2023). "Il 'Trump argentino' che sfida Kirchner". AGI (in Italian). Archived from the original on 18 August 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  14. ^ "Quotation of the Day: In Argentina, Five Cloned Dogs and an Unusual Political Run". The New York Times. 20 October 2023. p. 2. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 29 November 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  15. ^ "El 'álbum familiar' de Javier Milei junto a sus 5 perros". La Capital (in Spanish). 24 November 2023. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  16. ^ "Javier Milei, Conan y el resto de sus perros: la foto con IA que posteó en Instagram". Ámbito Financiero (in Spanish). 24 November 2023. Archived from the original on 4 December 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  17. ^ Devita, Marina (10 December 2023). "El sorprendente bastón presidencial de Javier Milei con sus cinco perros tallados". Clarín (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 10 December 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  18. ^ Niebieskikwiat, Natasha (10 December 2023). "La nueva vida de Milei en Olivos: temor en la seguridad por los perros mastines del nuevo presidente". Clarín (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 9 December 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
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