On Monday, euphoric Javier Milei rang the bell that marks the start of trading on Wall Street. That will be one of the iconic images of the Argentine president’s sixth trip to the United States, the destination of half of his trips abroad since he took office on December 10. The agenda for these days combines meetings with businessmen and public speeches. The most notable will be the one he will give on Tuesday before the United Nations, but Milei, an economist by training, began with a closer audience, that of the New York Stock Exchange. In front of 200 people from the world of finance, the far-right leader reiterated his “unwavering” commitment to the fiscal deficit and in a hyperbolic tone described his administration as the protagonist of the “largest structural reform in history” in order to turn Argentina “into the freest country in the world.”
Although he has been in power for almost nine months, Milei began his speech with a description of the difficult legacy he received from the government of Peronist Alberto Fernández. In his opinion, Argentina “was on the brink of what would have been the worst crisis in its history,” but he maintains that it was precisely this catastrophic scenario that allowed the arrival of a political outsider like him to the country’s presidency. He then began to recount the achievements of his government, sprinkled with praise for ministers who were in the audience, such as the Minister of Economy, Luis Caputo; the Minister of Security, Patricia Bullrich; and the Foreign Minister, Diana Mondino.
Milei highlighted the fiscal surplus, the slowdown in the rate of inflation, the reduction in monetary issuance and the fall in country risk. He also defended the presidential veto of the law that increased retirement pensions because he considered that it put fiscal balance at risk. He omitted, however, that the paralysis of public works and the large cut in public spending that have allowed the public accounts to be balanced have had the adverse effect of a collapse in consumption, manufacturing activity and construction. Argentina is the only major country in Latin America with an economy in recession in 2024.
The exchange rate restriction remains in place
Argentina has approved a generous incentive regime for large investments (RIGI) with which it hopes to attract foreign companies, especially in the energy, mining and agro-industrial sectors. Investors, however, are demanding the elimination of exchange controls in force since 2019, a promise by Milei that he put on hold on Monday until inflation disappears. “We will release the restrictions when the inflation rate is zero,” he said. If so, it will not be in the near future: the increase in prices in Argentina has been stagnant for four months at around 4% per month and in the last year the CPI rose by 237%.
Polls show Milei’s image has fallen from 51% during the first months of his presidency to 44-46% today, but he remains one of the most highly valued politicians in Argentina. Outside the country, he also enjoys media attention that his immediate predecessors lacked: neither the Peronist Fernández nor the conservative Mauricio Macri.
Milei arrived in New York on Saturday and started the next day with a visit that has already become a ritual, that of the grave of the Lubavitch rabbi. On Monday, after her visit to Wall Street, she met for the third time with the technology magnate Elon Musk. Both show great rapport both in person and through X, the social network known as Twitter until Musk bought and renamed it. This time, the meeting was held in New York for about an hour.
Presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni reported via social media that Milei and the Tesla owner talked about the deregulation process being carried out by the Argentine government, the benefits offered by the RIGI to entrepreneurs who want to invest in the South American country “and the path Argentina is taking in its return to normality.” Both Milei and Musk were quick to share the photo of the meeting on their social media shouting “Freedom!”
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