‘I know you don’t understand much about economics’: the fight on social media between Javier Milei and Cristina Kirchner over Argentina’s finances

The former Argentine president Cristina Kirchner warned this Friday of “a lethal combination” of recession and indebtedness in Argentina, in a letter on social media to which the president Javier Milei He responded with a provocative invitation to give him “a private lesson” in economics.

“I know that you don’t understand much about economics, as demonstrated by the fact that you surrounded yourself with anumerical illiterates who destroyed the country with their economic shamanism,” Milei said on social network X in response to the former president.

Before, Kirchner had published a long article in X criticizing the current economic situation.

The moderation of inflation, which fell from 20.6% in January to 4% in July, and which “Milei and his ineffable Minister of the Economy (Luis Caputo) want us to believe is a success, is a true social tragedy as it occurs in the context of a deep economic recession,” said Kirchner, referring to the fall in demand.

Argentina’s GDP plummeted 5.1% in the first quarter compared to the same period last year, with declines of more than 30% in industrial and construction sectors.

“This tragedy is already undeniable. From the rapid increase in unemployment to the more than one million children who go to sleep every night without a plate of food,” Kirchner said, citing a UNICEF study.

The figures of the economy in Argentina

The Social Debt Observatory of the Catholic University of Argentina estimated that poverty reached 52% in the first half of 2024, the highest figure in 20 years.

“Don’t be so nervous, you’ll like my class,” Milei responded on X after Kirchner recalled Milei’s past as a television columnist before launching her political career.

“Talking about the economy, saying anything on television sets, or writing plagiarism from books is one thing. Governing Argentina is quite another. And from the way Argentines live, it’s clear as day that you don’t have a clue,” Kirchner responded.

“As for governing, if the model is yours, I’ll pass. I came to rescue the country and not to sink it, CIAO!!”, insisted the Argentine president.

“Oh President! You see that I’m right! You only continue to confirm what I said: you spend your time wasting your time on social media. Get off Twitter and start managing the State, because Argentines are having a very, very bad time. THE END,” concluded the former president (2007-2015) and former vice president (2019-2023).