Argentina marks first budget surplus since 2008
In the first quarter of 2024, Argentina recorded a budget surplus of 275 billion pesos (around 300 thousand dollars), a record not reached since 2008. Argentine President Javier Milei announced it on national television in a triumphalist tone, referring to the very year in which his left-wing political rival, Cristina Kirchner, came to power. Therefore it is “an undertaking of historic proportions on a global scale”, an “exploit” insisted Milei, in office since last December. “If the State does not spend more than it collects and does not resort to issuing money, there is no inflation. It is not magic”, explained the controversial president, an ultra-liberal economist who defines himself as an “anarchist-capitalist”.
The president also promised to reduce the budget deficit to zero, a more ambitious goal than that set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF)., with which Argentina has a $44 billion loan agreement. To this end, he has launched a draconian austerity program – much criticized – which involves stopping public works, sacking public employees, closing government offices, cutting subsidies and freezing the budget, at a time when inflation reaches 290% per year and half the population lives in poverty. “Don't expect public spending to be a solution,” reiterated Javier Milei.
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