A few days after Javier Milei celebrates seven months at the head of the Presidency of the Nation, the British newspaper The Times analyzed the phenomenon that the Argentine president generates among his followers, his positive image despite the cuts and poverty rates, his anti-progressive policy and his difficulties in Congress. “Opponents predicted that it would not last even six months”they highlighted in today’s publication.
“So far, Milei’s economic policy has included reducing the official value of the currency, the peso, by 50%, laying off tens of thousands of public employees and using a metaphorical chainsaw in all government departments.” , summarized the newspaper, which also highlighted the closure of the Ministry of Women, Gender and Diversities, as part of policy anti woke (which could be translated as anti-progressive).
In the journalistic note titled Brutal adjustment and anti-progressive agenda (woke) drive Argentina’s star leader, written by journalist Stephen Gibbs, There is a brief review of Milei’s arrival to power and the resistance of the political system. In fact, we remember the day that the Peronist leader Guillermo Moreno He predicted that his administration would last six months: “On Tuesday, Milei will begin his seventh month in office,” the note states.
“The President says there is evidence that the therapy is working. Argentine inflation, which remains the highest in the world at nearly 300%, is slowing. In April, the country recorded its first quarterly budget surplus since 2008″, they published in The Times.
In contrast, they add: “However, one would expect that any government that applied an aggressive program of cuts would already be paying a severe political price, or at least not celebrating it at a rock concert. But Milei, a former television commentator and economics professor, challenges conventional analysis. Last month, while the number of Argentines living in poverty reached 55% – an increase of ten percentage points since he took office – his approval rating increased slightly, to 54%..
Nor did the newspaper go unnoticed by the fact that many of Milei’s “fans” “were wearing t-shirts with the legend “There is no ‘silver’”. “This motto has become a slogan of her administration: a reference and a justification for the deep austerity program that her government has imposed,” she said. Times.
Among the explanations for this phenomenon, the newspaper cites Nicolás Saldías, from The Economist Intelligence Unitwhich states that “Milei continues to take advantage a deep-rooted desire for profound political change in Argentina,” a country that saw times of prosperity, “but has since collapsed, largely due to poor governance.” Another reason is that The President was “sincere with the Argentines” regarding the “difficult times” that lay ahead.
“In Argentina there are many who do not agree,” says the newspaper, however. The cut in state subsidies for transport and fuel has caused a sharp increase in the cost of living. A visible consequence is the increase in the number of homeless people on the streets of Buenos Aires. Meanwhile, the government has frozen aid to thousands of soup kitchens, as part of an attempt to put an end to what the president calls the ‘business of poverty,’ specifically, corruption in federal aid programs. According to a report published last week by the Social Debt Observatory of the Argentine Catholic University, 17% of the population is classified as indigent,” they highlighted.
They also reviewed Milei’s meetings with the boss of Meta, Mark Zuckerberg, OpenAI’s Sam Altman, and Apple CEO Tim Cook. “Milei has previously met with Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, who has shown interest in accessing Argentine lithium for the production of electric vehicle batteries,” they detailed and mentioned his presence at the inauguration of Nayib Bukelewho was re-elected with more than 80% of the votes in San Salvador.
“And Milei’s gift for seducing tech billionaires in California has not been reflected in his ability to legislate in his country, where laws to allow the privatization of state companies, along with other deregulation plans, are being implemented. They have stalled in Congress, where their party does not have a majority. The blockade led Milei to accept the resignation of his chief of staff, Nicolás Posee, last week, in what has been the highest-level departure since he took office,” they said.
At that point, the newspaper clarified that Milei threatened “to use his veto power to force the approval of some of the reform measures, but ultimately, to govern effectively, he will have to negotiate with those who are not his natural allies, something he doesn’t stand out at. That was evident last month, when she called the wife of the Spanish Prime Minister “corrupt” at a rally in Madrid, prompting Spain to recall her ambassador in Buenos Aires.”
